At its core, Gasparilla Music Festival (GMF) exists to serve the community. The bulk of that mission happens year-round as the nonprofit teams up with businesses and community members to refurbish instruments and distribute them back into Bay area schools, but for one weekend in March the festival turns that attention to the area’s music makers.
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Once again, another healthy slice of homegrown talent anchors GMF’s two-day lineup, and in 2017 more than two dozen of the nearly 50 acts booked come from within just miles of Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa. You know who they are, too. They’re our accountants, baristas and bartenders. They’re the artists who hold day jobs in the area, but spend their free time and energy creating art that we can all consume after clocking out of work every night. In almost every way, the creative work these songwriters and producers do is thankless, but you can bet that all of the artists profiled below don’t mind the sacrifice one bit. Here are four can’t-miss Tampa Bay acts performing this weekend.
Pajamas (Saturday, 4:15 p.m. Amphitheatre Stage) It’s been just about a decade since Shane Schuch’s band Mouse Fire released their debut LP, Wooden Teeth, on beloved indie imprint Lujo Records. In case you missed it, the 36-year-old composer has spent the last year reintroducing himself and reinventing his sound under the Pajamas moniker. His output is a pastiche of all your favorite electro bands, but the way Schuch organically weaves synth lines, MPC beats and guitar riffs together is incredibly infectious and will likely earn him a nod as this year’s best new local artist.
Veiny Hands (Sunday, 4:45 p.m. Tibbet’s Corner) There is something to be said for relentlessness, and Veiny Hands exhibit the quality at every turn. The St. Petersburg-based collective of fresh-faced 20somethings is seemingly always on tour, and that bodes well for the entire area as the band plays ambassador by bringing a loud, unforgiving brand of dingy, reverbed garage blues to any corner of the country that will host it. For proof, head to the internet, where their new-ish 7-inch single (“Dirty Sheets”/“Tonguing”) is streaming in all of its bluesy glory.
QueenofEx (Saturday, 5:45 p.m. Amphitheatre Stage) Pajamas’ Shane Schuch is good, but we can bet he doesn’t mind playing before QueenofEx (Carter). The North Carolina native now calls Tampa Bay home, and her braggadocious live set has earned her a reputation as one of the more raucous live acts in the Bay area’s already talented hip-hop scene. The fact that she’ll be joined by St. Pete producer Roger Lanfranchi on drums only adds to the idea that this could be the small stage set that leaves jaws ajar.
Jinx (Sunday, 3:15 p.m. Amphitheatre Stage) It’s not surprising that hip-hop and electro make up a majority of this list, and Jinx is a happy marriage of the two. As an emcee, Jason Smith is one of the most uplifting, skilled wordsmiths on GMF’s entire bill, but his secret weapon is an almost offensively understated knack for flawless production that's consistent throughout his online catalog. Don’t expect Jinx to flaunt his beat expertise at this set, but keep an eye on how much of a grasp he has on his entire live set.
This article appears in Mar 9-16, 2017.