Cover Story
It’s time to elect Naya Young to Tampa City Council
Tampa voters will select their District 5 city councilperson this month, and Naya Young is best fit for the job.
Interview: Talking to Paul Levine ahead of Hulaween 2025
Festival founder Paul Levin talks about Hulaween, which returns to Live Oak, Florida Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2025.
DeSantis administration is interfering with getting recreational pot on the ballot again, lawsuit alleges
Smart & Safe Florida, the political committee sponsoring the amendment and which is largely supported by Trulieve, a medical marijuana company, last week filed a lawsuit over an effort by state election officials to toss out as many as 200,000 signatures for the initiative. They call the actions by Secretary of State Cord Byrd, appointed…
Tampa Bay physicians urge Florida lawmakers to resist ban on vaccine mandates
A group of doctors—many of them pediatricians from the Tampa Bay area—urged members of the Hillsborough County legislative delegation on Tuesday to oppose any such proposals if they come before them early next year.
Pied Piper’s Haunted Carnival brings EDM stars to Tampa’s Armature Works this weekend
Rick Ross joins Steve Aoki onstage for Friday’s headliner. Swedish dance-pop duo Galantis headline Saturday’s set, which also includes a DJ set from the late Hulk Hogan’s son, Nick Hogan. Sickick and Brice Vine finish off the celebration on Sunday.
John’s Pass Seafood Festival returns to Madeira Beach for its 44th year this weekend
Fresh Gulf seafood, live music on multiple stages, arts and crafts vendors, and a packed schedule of family-friendly entertainment take over the John’s Pass Village & Boardwalk.
Branded Content
Modernism in Intimate Gestures: The Bloomsbury Group at Rollins Museum of Art
On the back of a folded letter fragment, Duncan Grant sketched his friend Vanessa Bell. The small pencil drawing is both intimate and radical: her mask-like features, low bun, and beaded necklace are strikingly modern.
Pinellas residents can get free fresh groceries this Thursday
The program, part of a partnership with the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) and the St. Petersburg Free Clinic (SPFC), is designed to address food insecurity and mitigate the financial strain on residents facing high costs of living.
Doechii told A&R to check out Tampa. Did they listen?
Last February, Doechii won a Grammy for Best Rap Album and told the music industry to look to Tampa for talent. As she comes come for a big headlining show, local music industry figures weight in on whether or not A&R actually listened.
Creative Loafing is going to this week’s University of Tampa journalism fair
The University of Tampa hosts its first-ever Journalism Student and Professional Fair on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025—and Creative Loafing Tampa Bay is among the participants.
Philly-punk outfit Sweet Pill plays last show of the year in Tampa next month
Its new EP is a handful of rerecordings called “Unraveled,” a term that turned out to be Sweet Pill-coded for “acoustic.”
In Bradenton, DHS Sec. Kristi Noem touts Florida partnership
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem came to the Tampa Bay area on Monday, where she praised the partnership between the federal government and Florida law enforcement agencies in cracking down on undocumented immigration “Florida has been, I think, the state that has provided the most law enforcement agreements under the 287(g) than any other state”…
To cut I-4 traffic, DeSantis wants to test flying car rideshares in Polk County
Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue hope to land the next generation of air transport companies at a testing facility in Central Florida. Perdue for years has championed advanced air mobility, which would involve establishing “vertiports” in urban areas that could serve as hubs for short aerial commutes by battery-powered aircraft that…
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson bringing Rush reunion tour to Tampa next year
The surviving members of Rush announced another wave of dates for their reunion tour this morning, and there’s a Tampa show locked in for next November.
Audra McDonald headlines Florida Orchestra gala event in Tampa next year
Don’t be too surprised if the 55-year-old lyric soprano takes on a little bit of Aretha Franklin, as a look back on starring as the soul legend’s mother Barbara in 2021’s “Respect.”
Q&A: Before Tampa show, Ravyn Lenae talks going viral, performing live, and being herself
Pop songwriter Ravyn Lenae discusses her new album and more ahead of a Tampa concert happening Oct. 27, 2025.
Jennifer Archibald, perhaps the world’s foremost choreographer, now calls Tampa Bay home
Earlier this year, Jennifer Archibald was pictured on the cover of Dance Magazine, America’s most prestigious journal for professional dancers and choreographers. Now she’s based out of the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus.
Pinellas Republican re-files bill that would require all employers to use E-Verify
Rep. Berny Jacques, a Seminole Republican, issued HB 197 to mandate all private businesses use E-Verify, a federally operated system allowing employers to electronically verify whether new employees can legally work in the United States.
$4.1 million for South Tampa Howard Avenue flood relief project goes in front of city council this week
A much-talked about flood relief project for Howard Avenue in South Tampa goes in front of Tampa City Council again this week.
Tampa Bay Watch’s ‘Fishing Line Island Cleanup’ hopes to saves lives
Tampa Bay Watch (TBW) and Audubon Florida’s 32nd Annual Fishing Line Island Cleanup runs October 18 to 26.
![‘Pedo King’: In downtown Tampa, more than a thousand ‘No Kings’ protestors line the streets [PHOTOS]](https://i0.wp.com/www.cltampa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/No-Kings-October-2025-Photo-by-Dave-Decker-10.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
‘Pedo King’: In downtown Tampa, more than a thousand ‘No Kings’ protestors line the streets [PHOTOS]
Tampa joined hundreds of Florida cities last Saturday for a “No Kings” anti-Trump protest that drew thousands to downtown.
St. Petersburg among more than 100 Florida cities and towns that staged ‘No Kings’ protests
More than 100 Florida cities and towns took part in the No Kings protests held Oct. 18, 2025.
Column: This boomer went to a St. Pete ‘No Kings’ protest—and no one gave him an Antifa black bloc
A self-proclaimed boomer checks in from the Tyrone-area St. Petersburg “No Kings” rally on Oct. 18, 2025.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers stars, if they were R&B songs
With the team headed to Detroit, Buccaneers columnist Carter Brantley wonders what R&B songs best represent Tampa Bay’s star players.
Clearwater Jazz Holiday tops Tampa Bay’s best live music happening Oct. 16-23
A listing of the best live music and concert events happening in Tampa Bay Oct. 16-23.
Riot grrrl-inspired trio Suzie True plays no-cover Tampa dive bar concert on Thursday
Riot grrl trio Suzie True plays no-cover Tampa concert on Oct. 23, 2025.
St. Pete’s Palladium Theater gets $2.5 million for renovation
100-year-old St. Petersburg venue Palladium Theater just got a big boost to its renovation fund, just in time for a new concert from Zeta The Babe.
UK house DJ Jimpster plays St. Pete concert on Thursday
U.K house DJ Jimpster plays St. Pete show in Warehouse District on Oct. 23, 2025.
Savage Beat’s annual Pre-Fest brings the world’s best punk-rock to Tampa this week
Longtime Tampa Bay area promoter Chewy Hemphill brings his annual Pre-Fest punk-rock mini festival back to Tampa on Oct. 22, 2025.
Photos: The Weeknd buys $50 million Florida mansion
The 18,000-square-foot waterfront estate boasts a prime spot on a unique V-shaped peninsula, 574 feet of Biscayne Bay water frontage, a 200-foot private dock, a massive pool and elevated amenities throughout.
Hypnotic-pop singer-songwriter Cornelia Murr brings new album to Ybor City next month
Songwriter Cornelia Murr opens for Matt Maltese in Tampa on Nov. 4, 2025.
Walk The Moon co-founder Adrian Galvin brings Yoke Lore project to Tampa
Yoke Lore, the solo project of Walk The Moon’s Adrian Galvin, plays Tampa on Oct. 21, 2025.
Grammy-winning ‘Yellowstone’ actor Ryan Bingham plays Clearwater on Tuesday
Ryan Bingham, a Grammy-winning actor, brings his country band to Clearwater on Oct. 21, 2025.
Mexican Slum Rats brings bold new LP to St. Pete on Tuesday
California rock band Mexican Slum Rats brings a new album to St. Petersburg, Florida for Oct. 21, 2025 concert.
‘Lilo & Stitch’ ‘American Idol’ winner plays St. Pete on Monday
‘American Idol’ winner Iam Tongi plays October 2025 concert in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Aretha Franklin songwriters play St. Pete bungalow show on Saturday
Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriters, play an intimate St. Petersburg concert on Oct. 18, 2025.
![Everything we saw at weekend one of Austin City Limits [PHOTOS]](https://i0.wp.com/www.cltampa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ACL_2025_Sunday-_Wet_Leg-4298-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Everything we saw at weekend one of Austin City Limits [PHOTOS]
Photos from weekend one of Austin City Limits music festival 2025.
Tampa Am’s concrete jam includes hardcore concert
Skatepark of Tampa’s 31st Tampa Am competition is happening Oct. 14-19 in Tampa, and includes a hardcore concert on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Free Tampa concert from US Army Jazz Ambassadors canceled as government shutdown enters third week
U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors were supposed to play Tampa on Friday Oct. 17, but canceled the show, blaming, “a lapse in appropriations by the federal government.”
Crowbar stages its final ‘Fangsgiving’ charity concert this weekend
Fangsgiving, an annual Tampa charity concert series, holds its last event at Ybor City venue Crowbar on Oct. 17-18, 2025.
Safety Harbor’s Crooked Thumb Brewery celebrates 10th anniversary with two days of live music and 30 beers
Safety Harbor’s Crooked Thumb Brewery celebrates its 10th anniversary Oct. 17-18 with free concerts, special beer, and more.
Prog-rock outfit The Mars Volta brings new album to St. Pete next month
While on tour with Deftones last year, main creative forces Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala made a point to stage an opening set that would make the El Paso band come off as a completely unknown act for fans that had never heard of it. The six-piece spent its set performing an unreleased album of…
The last Datz location in Tampa Bay is now closed in St. Petersburg
Once part of a thriving local restaurant group, American restaurant Datz recently closed its last remaining restaurant.
Arbitrator blocks labor strike at Disney’s Epcot in Orlando
An independent arbitrator has stopped what would have been a history-making labor strike, had it happened, by food service workers at Disney World’s Epcot in Orlando, thereby forcing workers to take a different approach to leverage their demands for a new union contract.
