THURSDAY MARCH 8
set and setting tour Kickoff w/Windhand/Flying Snakes/Old Soul The Bay area's own high-quality instrumental post rock outfit, set and setting, take their heavy droning, well-layered compositions and drawn-out swells of sound onto the road for a national 36-day tour that includes a stop in Austin for SXSW and ends April 13 in Tampa. (Fubar, St. Petersburg) —Leilani Polk

of Montreal We've been treated to of Montreal's sensory overloading live show for the last several tours. Unfortunately, the Athens psyche pop/glam rock group led by outrageously creative visionary frontman Kevin Barnes skips Tampa all together and heads directly to Orlando on this tour, which promotes of Montreal's Paralytic Stalks. The 2012 record finds Barnes returning to the confessional personal style of 2007's Hissing Fauna amid the band's vibrant and noisy sonic palette. Not my favorite album by one of my favorite bands, but worth the drive to see live, especially considering Barnes recent Facebook post: "… I just hope no one goes blind or has a seizure, myself included." Here's hoping they stop here next time around. (Plaza Theatre, Orlando) —LP

Psychedelphia w/Jeff Lloyd A jamtronica band from Philadelphia (if you couldn't tell by their name) that draws on elements of jazz, funk, dance music and groove-oriented psyche rock, the clear, crisp guitar solos sailing over the band's driving jams. Joining the four-piece for this pre-Aura Fest party is Jeff Lloyd, guitarist for The Heavy Pets doing the solo singer-songwriter thing before joining the Pets at Aura. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin)—LP

Big Head Todd and The Monsters Last tour, Big Head Todd and The Monsters took their soulful Delta blues-fused grooves onto the road to support 100 Years of Robert Johnson, an album that captures the spirit of an influential bluesman and celebrates his 100th year on earth via re-imagined covers of his songs with a guest roster that included BB King, Charlie Musslewhite and late greats Hubert Sumlin and David "Honeyboy" Edwards, among others. On this tour, the band fronted by smoky-voiced slide-guitar slinging axeman Todd Park Mohr will likely play select cuts from the new LP, but will also appeal to their long-standing fans with a full-album performance of their 1990 breakout, Midnight Radio. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP

FRIDAY, MARCH 9
Lights w/Ambassadors "We'll find ways to fill the empty, far from all the hysteria / I don't care if we suddenly / find ourselves in Siberia," Lights croons fondly in her saccharine soprano on the fuzzed-out title track from 2011's Siberia. Her sophomore LP finds the Juno-winning electro pop songstress from Canada (born Valerie Anne Poxleitner) introducing a skuzzier element into her sticky electro pop sound, some cuts marked by the fuzzed-out wobbling synths most overused in dubstep. Lights appears drops into Daddy Kool for a 3 p.m. in-store, and performs at the State later with support from bombastic Brooklyn electro rock outfit Ambassadors. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP

The Paul McKenna Band A folk quintet from Glasgow, Scotland, headed by singer, songwriter and guitarist McKenna, their repertoire of traditional and original material fleshed out by instrumentalists on bouzouki, fiddle, flute and whistles, and percussion. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)—LP

Cults NYC duo Cults produce sunny, Phil Spector-era girl pop that's as haunting as it is smile-inducing. Case in point, the video for "Go Outside" off their self-titled 2011 debut, which splices clips of Cults members Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin into Super-8 footage of People's Temple cult members worshipping, hanging out in Guayana, and, well, you likely know the rest… if not, look up the Jonestown Massacre. Bonus points for the song boasting the catchiest xylophone melody, like, ever. (Plaza Theatre, Orlando) —Andrew Silverstein

Bachaco w/Sudakaya Named for a leafcutter ant used by Venezuelan indians to make hot sauce — because they're spicy — Bachaco fuses elements of roots reggae, dancehall, cumbia, ska and hip hop into their upbeat sound as delivered by a multi-cultural lineup of musicians led by Venezuelan brothers Edilberto and Jose Morillo. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)—LP

Ballyhoo! Alt reggae rockers and self-styled party band Ballyhoo! hails from Maryland and infuses their sound with punk energy and acoustic pop catchiness. Likeminded band Pepper signed Ballyhoo! to their Hawaiian-based indie label, LAW Records, in 2011 and issued their fourth LP, Day Dreams, later that year. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)—LP

Excision w/Liquid Stranger/Lucky Date Another DJ/producer who uses dubstep wobble-synths as his sonic foundation, sometimes to great effect. Excision hails from British Columbia and is known for turning up the fuzz factor, integrating elements of drum and bass, heavy-riffing metal, and hip hop drama. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)—LP

SATURDAY, MARCH 10
Hank3 w/Hellbilly/Attention Deficit Domination/3 Bar Ranch He may have strayed far from the well-worn path of his traditionalist grandfather and taken a wilder turn than his outlaw father, but hellbilly pioneer Hank Williams III (better known as Hank3) has blazed his own damn trail, set fire to it and all. He started off twangy before following his raucous heart into a shit-kicking mix of heavy metal, punkabilly and cheeky country music. Last year, after terminating his contract with Curb Records and starting his own label, he released four albums that included the newly recorded Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown, a screwball double album with Cajun and zydeco flavors (accordion included) and guest spots by Tom Waits and Les Claypool, among others. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP

Seth Glier MPress recording artist Seth Glier is a high-toned singer, songwriter of folk and pop-fused rock, and instrumentalist proficient on guitar and piano who dropped out of Berklee College of Music after a year because he decided he should be playing for people, not for grades. He’s since supported the likes of James Taylor and Mark Knopfler, earned comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, and at the ripe young age of 23, has already earned a Grammy nom for his 2011 album, The Next Right Thing. (Craftsman House, St. Petersburg)—LP

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis The 15-piece orchestra is comprised of some of today’s most accomplished jazz soloists and ensemble players as directed by trumpet great Wynton Marsalis, their repertoire encompassing everything from rare historic compositions to Jazz at Lincoln Center-commissioned works by the likes of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie, and Marsalis won a Pulitzer Prize in music for one of his own commissions, Blood on the Fields. He's been the orchestra’s director since its inception in 1987. (Carol Morsani Hall at the Straz Center, downtown Tampa)—LP

Jukebox The Ghost w/Speak/The Elwins Philly-by-way-of-DC trio Jukebox the Ghost sets clever turns-of-phrases and infectious choruses against buoyant synth-and-keys propelled pop with electro-rock tendencies. It's bright, melodic, danceable music, and the band is getting ready to release a whole new album's worth of it, Safe Travels, produced by Dan Romer (Ingrid Michaelson) and due out June 12. (Crowbar, Ybor City)—LP

Gasparilla Music Festival The inaugural music fest brings big name headliners to the downtown Tampa riverfront. Check out our story and further details about the fest by clicking here. (Curtis Hixon Park, downtown Tampa)—LP

Yellow Dubmarine A DC area septet that performs deep groovin’ dub reggae arrangements of Beatles tunes — specifically, the ones off Abbey Road, with horns taking the place of vocals. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)—LP

Beth McKee w/Standback Band The drawling New Orleans singer, songstress, and mistress of the ivories and accordion serves a swampy mix of blues, R&B, roots rock, and soul. Her new solo record of original material, 2012's Next to Nowhere, adds a serving of gospel, '70s-flavored grooves and some mild Cajun spice. This tour celebrates its release. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)—LP

SUNDAY, MARCH 11
Karibbyan Kruze Music Festival A celebration of Caribbean music with an overlying Lucky Dube theme. Reality Band, Impulse, The Haitian Boys and upwards of 15 other performers of island, Afro-beat and reggae pay swaying tribute to the influential and highest-selling South African reggae great with covers of his songs re-imagined throughout the day. Visit wmnf.org for the full lineup. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)—LP

Common Ground Reunion Concert From 1986 to the mid-1990s, jazz quartet Common Ground played five nights a week as the house band at Hurricane Restaurant on St. Pete Beach. This concert hosted by Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association marks the official reunion of sax and flute player David Moss, pianist Richard Drexler, bass player Mark Neuenschwander, and drummer David Hardman. (Palladium Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP

Frankenstein Brothers feat. Buckethead & That 1 Guy w/Wolff Buckethead is the experimental rock guitarist who won't leave home without his blank-faced white mask, bucket headwear, and collection of guitars, some custom-made. That One Guy is the experimental one-man band who makes his own instruments, and can most frequently be found playing his Magic Pipe. Together, they collaborated on an album, Bolt on Neck, and released is as Frankenstein Brothers in 2008. The idiosyncratic duo treats locals to their out-there explorations on their latest tour. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP

Caveman w/Milagres/Gentlemen Please Coco Beware, the 2011 debut from Brooklyn five-piece Caveman, is the sort of album that creeps into your consciousness with its moody understated beauty. Ghostly vocals rising in gorgeous four-part harmonies, dreamy washes of synthesizer haze, spacey guitar melodies, and echoing percussion-fueled rhythms come together in Caveman's mix of psyche, shoegaze and folk pop, which landed the band a deal with well-regarded indie label Fat Possum Records (Band of Horses, Wavves, Spiritualized) in February. The label will re-release Coco Beware later this month. For fans of Grizzly Bear. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)—LP

Space Capone Retro-mod disco funk and R&B with hip hop swagger carries the falsetto croon of Aaron Winters, alias Space Capone, a Nashville artist who’s prepping a self-titled debut set for release sometime in 2012 via AVJ Records (Nappy Roots); groove swaggering first single "I Just Wanna Dance" dropped in December. (Crowbar, Ybor City)—LP

FL Strawberry Festival: Easton Corbin / Reba McEntire The fest's 10-day run of headline entertainment draws to a close with an afternoon set by Florida native country music singer Easton Corbin ("A Little More Country Than That," "Roll With It"), and an evening concert by the fiery-haired "Queen of Country" and best-selling female artist of all time in her genre, Reba McIntire, (Festival Fairgrounds, Plant City)—LP

MONDAY, MARCH 12
Langhorne Slim and The Law "I'd like to invite you all to sing along to any song you might know,
roots rock/alt folk troubadour Langhorne Slim said early on in his show at Crowbar last fall, one of my favorites of 2011. "And if you don't know the words, make some up and sing the shit out of those!" His backing band, The Law — drummer Malachi DeLorenzo, upright bassist Jeff Ratner, and David Moore on banjo and keys — delivered energetic, full-bodied accompaniment to Slim's rusty high-toned warble and acoustic guitar melodies. His well-thought-out setlist went from tender or bittersweet balladry like his metaphorical rebirth in new song "Past Lives," to anthemic, free-spirited, uplifting numbers like "Hello Sunshine" and the joyous life-affirming "Be Set Free," all of his songwriting colored with his uniquely Langhorne outlook and narrative style. He returns to Ybor on a tour leading up to the release of The Way We Move, a new studio LP and Pledgemusic.com fan-funded release due out in May. (Crowbar, Ybor City)—LP

TUESDAY, MARCH 13
We Came As Romans w/Emmure/Bless the Fall The metalcore outfit makes their fourth stop in town in a little over a year on their seeming never-ending tour, though it’s only their second as official headliners; the last two saw them supporting the Hollywood Undead-Asking Alexandria tour and before that, A Day to Remember. In the midst of it all, the Indiana sextet released a second studio album, Understanding What We've Grown To Be, which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)—LP

The Moody Blues The sensitive, symphonic prog rock band led by resonant crooner David Justin (guitar) with longtime members John Lodge (bass) and Graeme Edge (drums) swings through town on a tour marking the 45th Anniversary of their 1967 breakthrough, Days of Future Passed, which spawned well-known hits like "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin." (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)—LP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14
Carey Murdock w/Jayne Kelli Nashville-based singer-songwriter Carey Murdock has hoarse, lower-register vocals that complement his acoustic guitar-driven heartland rock leanings and general Springsteen sort of appeal. Joining him on this mid-week date is local roots songstress Jayne Kelli. (The Ale And The Witch, St. Petersburg)—LP

CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.

This article appears in Mar 1-7, 2012.