Cimafunk Credit: Photo by Daryl Bowen c/o Gasparilla Music Festival

In April, Afro-Cuban funk and soul superstar in the making Cimafunk announced a slew of U.S. dates that regretfully skipped Tampa Bay for a May 7 date in Orlando. Well that’s changed now that the 33-year-old born Erick Iglesias Rodriguez announced a fall date at the Cuban Club in Ybor City.

Tickets to see Cimafunk play the Cuban Club in Ybor City on Friday, Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. go on sale Friday, May 20 for $25-$100, with proceeds benefiting Gasparilla Music Festival’s (GMF) Recycled Tunes program and Bay area community radio station WMNF 88.5-FM.

In March, WMNF live streamed Cimafunk making his Tampa debut at GMF during what was one of the best sets in festival history. It was some true life-changing James Brown-level shit and a grand introduction from the former medical student from Pinar del Rio, two hours west of Havana.

The outdoor, rain-or-shine show is the the last date on a global tour supporting El Alimento, Cimafunk’s 2021 album lauded by critics who say Rodriguez is on a path to world domination.