Musician Javier Solaris performs live on stage during the Gasparilla Music Festival at Meridian Fields in Tampa, Florida. The artist, wearing sunglasses, a beige short-sleeved button-up shirt over a black t-shirt, and a festival credential lanyard, stands behind a Roland JUNO-Di electronic keyboard. They are singing into a microphone with one hand extended outward, surrounded by tropical palm fronds and stage equipment under daylight.
Javier Solaris plays Gasparilla Music Festival at Meridian Fields in Tampa, Florida on April 10, 2026. Credit: c/o Gasparilla Music Festival

Florida Democrats are rallying around a former Republican in the governor’s race, but not all lefties are rolling over.

The Democratic Progressive Caucus of Hillsborough County gets its ‘Murica 250 on with a Commodore theater showcase featuring a talk from Florida Rep. Angie Nixon (now running to unseat Sen. Ashley Moody in Washington D.C.), an art auction, plus sets from a diverse slate of musicians including Bethune-Cookman grad and R&B songwriter Javier Solaris, Danish-American indie pop songwriter Mia Marlene, Antro Banks (guitarist for Katara and Actual Bank Robbers), and more.

There’s no cover to see Antro Banks, Mia Marlene, and Javier Solaris at The Commodore in Tampa on Sunday, June 28 (donations accepted).

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Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...