Thursday, March 22

SUWANEE SPRINGFEST (22-25) with JORMA KAUKONEN/DONNA THE BUFFALO/PETER ROWAN & TONY RICE QUARTET/DAN HICKS & THE HOT LICKS/THE DUHKS/THE AVETT BROTHERS/DARRELL SCOTT/JIM LAUDERDALE/OTHERS Spend a long weekend camping, cavorting and digging on some tunes in the gorgeous wilds of Suwanee Music Park. Headliners include Hot Tuna's Jorma Kaukonen, bluegrass greats Peter Rowan & Tony Rice, jam-band faves Donna the Buffalo — and don't miss Florida's own Lee Boys, the hottest sacred steel act this side of Robert Randolph. For more info on this event go to magmusic.com. (Suwanee Music Park, Live Oak)

HELLA w/THE DIRTY PROJECTORS/WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE SON? Ritalin-rockers Hella hail from Sacramento and feature helium-laced vocals inside willfully weird sound collages that swirl and squirm, slow, speed up and never sit still. (Crowbar, Ybor city)

CARTEL w/COBRA STARSHIP/PERMANENT ME/BOYS LIKE GIRLS Atlanta's Cartel is a five-piece emo outfit that plays supposedly serious songs about a guy stuck on a girl. The band's current Top 40 hit "Honestly" finds the vocalist pleading "Now you know why I'm begging you to stay" across the requisite guitar crunch. Admittedly, by the time the hook comes around for verse three, it does start to burrow into the ol' memory bank. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)

PILLAR w/SHOWBREAD/TYLER READ/SINCE OCTOBER Pillar is a by-the-numbers pop-metal act from the Midwest operating under the "Christian rock" banner. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)

SHA NA NA While today's generation of young adults is fixated with everything '80s — including, for chrissake, the flipped-up collar — Sha Na Na began their career peddling 1950s nostalgia to hippies, starting with a breakout performance at Woodstock in '69. The band also made an appearance in the film version of Grease, with band member Screamin' Scott Simon cowriting the show-stopper "Sandy." (Largo Cultural Center)

JON MCLAUGHLIN w/MATT WERTZ/MIKE DUNN & KINGS OF NEW ENGLAND Indiana piano man/recording artist Jon McLaughlin plays stately pop à la Ben Folds with a husky vocal approach reminiscent of John Mayer. The dude's got an MTV-friendly mug, catchy tunes and an album titled Jon McL "coming soon" on Island Records. Wouldn't be surprised to see him back in the near future playing Tampa Theatre or opening for someone like Mayer at Ford Amp. (Orpheum, Ybor City)

RICK RECHT BAND "Rick Recht is the ultimate in Jewish Rock!" proclaims the man's website. I guess it's only natural that the Jews have finally gotten their own dc Talk, a parent-friendly, message-driven pop-rock artist with enough chops to lure in the skeptical. The guy's corny, but how can I talk trash about somebody whose latest album is all about "dismantling racism"? (Flanzer JCC/Sarasota Family YMCA, Sarasota) —Cooper Levey-Baker

Friday, March 23

SMASH 8: A BENEFIT FOR SMASH RADIO w/GERI X/THE SEMIS/AUDITORIUM/MILITARY JUNIOR/MALAYNE A cluster of standout Bay area acts ranging from the hard-hitting Semis to the melancholy acoustic musings of Geri X (see music feature) come together to benefit SMAsh Radio, the monthly podcast helmed by Auditorium's Joran Oppelt and Ryan Bauer that features music by regional acts, interviews and on-the-scene reporting. (The Garage, St. Petersburg)

POETRY N' LOTION/NERVOUS TURKEY/WORLDWIDE ZOO/OPHELIA Poetry n' Lotion plays heavy rockin', jazz-flavored instrumentals of anything from the Knight Rider theme to Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," their sound marked by the high sweet notes of a mandolin. Nervous Turkey's lead singer sounds like he's spent some time smoking in smoky bars, his gravelly vocals the perfect accompaniment to the band's lively barroom rock. The laid-back funk-jazz of Worldwide Zoo is punctuated by the occasional toot of horns, and Ophelia's quirky psychedelic folk-rock features the falsetto warble of its single member. An appealing bill of local tastes for a discerning musical palate. (New World Brewery, Ybor City). —Leilani Polk

TOM RUSH Perhaps best known for introducing listeners to a then-unknown Joni Mitchell via a cover of "The Circle Game" on his '68 album of the same name, Rush is also an accomplished songwriter, whose heart-ripping ballad "No Regrets" holds its own on the Wonder Boys soundtrack alongside works by Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan's Oscar-winning cut "Things Have Changed." (Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center)

1349 w/GOATWHORE/NACHTMYSTIUM/AVERSE SEFIRA An evening of scary, loud shit best known as black metal that's jolting enough to make me wanna change my ways if this is what's playing 24/7 in hell. (Crowbar, Ybor City)

CHILD OF THE SUN JAZZ FESTIVAL The fest, deeply committed to acoustic jazz, celebrates its 20th year and honors former Lakeland resident, the late Nat Adderley (who was a hallmark of the event in its early days). Tonight's show features trumpet great Lew Soloff as well as drum legend Jimmy Cobb joining John Webber and the Festival Winds performing Gil Evans' arrangements of Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain. The event continues on Saturday with the Victoria de Lissovoy quartet, the Philip Booth Quintet, the FSC Jazz Ensemble, the Jimmy Cobb Trio featuring Richard Wyands and John Webber, and the Roni Ben-Hur Quintet with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. (Florida Southern College, Lakeland) —Eric Snider

BONEY JAMES AND MINDI ABAIR Saxophonists James and Abair join forces for an evening of smooth jazz that's about as soulful and adventurous as a used-car ad. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)

Saturday, March 24

ALL TIME LOW w/HIT THE LIGHTS The members of Baltimore area pop-punk quartet All Time Low are barely out of high school (class of '06) and already are apt pop-punk purveyors whose debut disc Put Up or Shut Up shot to No. 20 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums. (Orpheum, Ybor City)

Sunday, March 25

THE WHO In the wake of The Who canceling its March 13 Ford Amp show 30 seconds into the first song (due to Roger Daltrey's bronchitis, Pete Townshend said from the stage), word has circulated that the singer has suffered vocal maladies for virtually the entire tour. We still think it was lame that the band didn't cancel the March 13 show earlier in the day, saving fans all the Big Night Out preparations and expenditures. We also wonder when and if The Who will decide to pull the plug on the entire trek if Daltrey can't cut it. Anyway, here's hoping he's blessed with a miraculous recovery, and The Who makes good on Townshend's promise as he left the stage: "We'll make it up to you." I interpret that to mean a balls-out, transcendent performance. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —ES

JUNIOR BOYS w/CANDY BARS Canada's Junior Boys are a synthy, sad-sounding, electro-pop duo offering what one might want to hear after being ditched by his girl during a gig by an upbeat electro-pop outfit like The Presets. (Crowbar, Ybor City)

JED LEVY A two-decade veteran of the NYC jazz scene, Levy, who plays mostly tenor sax (plus a little flute), brings a straight-ahead sensibility to his work, but can also function in big band and outré worlds. His matinee (3 p.m.) at the Gorilla will likely focus on swinging post-pop. He'll be joined by the sterling Bay area cast of pianist Kenny Drew Jr., bassist Richard Drexler and drummer John Jenkins. For more info, go to gorillatheatre.com (Gorilla Theatre, Tampa) —ES

BOBBY VINTON Mr. Vinton crooned "Blue Velvet," the brilliant, breathtaking smash from the early '60s featured in the David Lynch flick of the same name. His single wasn't half as creepy as the film. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)

FOUR BITCHIN' BABES A quartet of talented female singer/songwriters who first came to my attention with a funny tune about their love for "Bald Headed Men." (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center)

DAN HICKS & HIS HOT LICKS The veteran cult fave blends Western swing, vintage blues, novelty songs and more into an entertaining melange. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) —ES

THE EVERYBODYFIELDS A power trio of sorts, the band is touring away from their home base of Johnson City, Tenn., spreading their slow and melancholy folk/country/bluegrass sound around the South and then all over. The three have a dramatic, slow-burning chemistry, with stately plucked and strummed arrangements that wouldn't be out of place on a back porch anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon. (Fogartyville Café, Bradenton) —CLB

MYAKKA BLUEGRASS BAND Husband-and-wife folk/country/bluegrass/rock duo Brad and Lisa Fitzgerald have recruited a whole new crew to back up their upbeat rustic tunes. They'll (gently) rock the Crowley Museum & Nature Center early this afternoon. The park, which hosts the annual Sarasota Folk Music Festival, just happens to be the best possible place to hear this brand of music. (Crowley Museum & Nature Center, Sarasota) —CLB

MONDAY, MARCH 26

JET w/THE VIRGINS Neo-classic rockers Jet, from Australia, rattled windows and made sweet asses shake a couple years back with their breakthrough single "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and its smoking follow-up "Cold Hard Bitch." Like their fellow countrymen Wolfmother did at the same venue, I'm expecting Jet to give fans their money's worth. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)

TUESDAY, MARCH 27

THE DUHKS Young, talented, high-energy bluegrass pickers return from Suwanee Springfest (see Thursday) for an encore performance at the Skipperdome. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)

GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE w/YIP YIP/ UH-OH SPADES!/WOLF WOLF The headliner with the long, silly name comes all the way from Tokyo (or at least claims to) and on its website brags about being "the new wave of progressive rock." If by progressive, they mean tricky time signatures, I don't hear it. What I do hear, though, is pretty damn crazy. Across a series of thunder stomps, Hendrix-y guitar solos weave in and out of madman vocals that rise, rise, rise and then explode all over the joint — leading me to believe this is an act worth paying to see live. (Skatepark of Tampa)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28

ANBERLIN w/BAYSIDE/MEG & DIA/JONEZETTA Orlando's Anberlin are a standout among the current crop of emo bands inclined to epic, electro-leaning walls of sound. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)

March

29 Live Jannus Landing

29 Joshua Radin w/Schuyler Fisk State Theatre

30 Modern Skirts New World Brewery

30 Lúnasa Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center

30 Victims of Circumstances Orpheum

31 Lamb of God w/Trivium, Machine Head/Gojira Jannus Landing

31 Gilberto Gil Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center

APRIL

2 Chuck Mangione Ruth Eckerd Hall

2 Vince Gill Ruth Eckerd Hall

2 The Colour w/Simon Dawes Orpheum