Ellie Williams, who plays Crowbar in Ybor City, florida on May 17, 2025. Credit: Photo by Juneau Janzen (@juneaujanzen)

Crowbar, hands down, is the local venue most vocal about the plight of independent concert spaces across the country. Its leadership is also most involved with trying to work on solutions.

General Manager Tom DeGeorge, regional president for the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) recently told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay about the “One Night Live” collaboration between Live Music Society, Salt Lick Incubator and D-Tour.

Knowing that hitting the road is cost-prohibitive for emerging artists, DeGeorge tasked D-Tour—a network of independent venues catering to indie artists—to work with Salt Lick Incubator, whose advisory board includes Jon Batiste, Susan Tedeschi, Charlie Puth and others.
The tour’s inaugural outing kicks off this week in Florida with Ellie Williams, Sofia Lafuente and Farayi Malek for a night of Fleet Foxes-inspired folk and Americana (Ellie Williams), plus gospel-tinged blues and jazz (Farayi Malek), and the bilingual songs of Sofia Lafuente.

The hope is that other young artists will be able to break into markets and fanbases that would have otherwise been unattainable.

“Now more than ever these pathways are needed to protect the relationship between independent venues and artists as well as to enhance the experience of the music fan who finds value and joy in discovering their next favorite artist in this intimate setting for one night live,” DeGeorge told Pollstar.

Tickets for One Night Live with Ellie Williams and others, happening at Crowbar in Ybor City on Saturday, May 17 are still available and start at $10.