✔️ = Critic’s Pick
✔️ The Beer Garden Sessions w/Micah Schnabel/Geri X/Scott Harrell/Hector Mayoral/Stephen Vaclavik Bills like this one are what Crowbar’s Beer Garden Sessions were built for. Staged in the long-running Ybor City venue’s courtyard, this edition of the monthly showcase finds Stephen Vaclavik (Woeful Ones) providing an old-school Tampa feel to an eclectic lineup that also happens to include three of the Bay area’s most respected creators (world music guru Hector Mayoral, melody maestro Geri X and CL’s own Scott Harrell) all opening for Micah Schnabel. The 36-year-old Ohio-based songsmith is best known as frontman of Two Cow Garage, and he arrives in support of a 2017 album (Your New Norman Rockwell), which inadvertently became a empowering, personal and political statement on the American existence after this country’s 45th president was elected in November of that year. “This album helps give us the strength — even when it seems as if society at large is treating us as if we’re disposable,” No Depression, an authority on Americana, wrote in its review of the effort. “[It] is the reminder of the dignity and strength we all carry, and if we were to unleash that anger and demand change from those who harm us rather than turning it on ourselves and our loved ones, think of the world we could have.” This no-cover show features an outdoor market and food by This Little Pig. Locals who can’t make it (you know, because life is fucking hard sometimes) can tune into WMNF 88.5 FM’s Postmodern Hootenany from 6 to 8 p.m., where host Ed Lehmann will host Schnabel before the gig. (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
✔️ Shooter Jennings w/Lisa Bouchelle Shooter Jennings isn’t exactly a fortune teller, but listening to the 39-year-old songwriter’s 2009 album, Black Ribbons, is pretty eerie. On it, Jennings, who is the son of country music legends Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, presents a dystopian view of an America in which an authoritarian government limits free speech (“They’ll try to turn me against you, so, divided, we’ll turn to them,” is how one lyric from album highlight “Wake Up” goes). He arrives for this intimate listening room gig as part of the run-up to a honky-tonkin’ new album, Shooter, which is his first LP since a 2016 Giorgio Moroder tribute album. Jennings has described the work, due on August 10, as his “Bocephus album,” and finds him reunited with Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, who was at the board when Jennings was working on his debut, Put the ‘O’ Back in Country. (The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City) INFO
Jazz Night w/James Suggs/Nate Najar/John Lamb/Bryan Hughes The Bay area is spoiled, and this show at a homey South Pasadena pub is an example why. In the last month, trumpeter Suggs and guitarist Najar have played headlining sets at places like St. Petersburg’s Museum of Fine Arts and the Palladium Theater. On Thursday they come together for a night of jazz alongside bass player John Lamb and singer Bryan Hughes. Reservations are recommended, since the dining room does get pretty busy. (The Horse and Jockey, Pasadena) INFO
✔️ Hurricane Party w/John Ditty/Buffalo Joe/Sign One/BC Rickolus and Bleubird come from totally different parts of the Sunshine State (Jacksonville Beach and Fort Lauderdale, respectively). The pair has come together, however, for a joint project called Hurricane Party. It’s a little unfair to see the group described as “Florida’s answer to Gorillaz,” but hip-hop and pop sound more than fine in the hands of these two (watch a Fuzz Baby Records live video from May for proof). New York’s Buffalo Joe will provide some more experimental sounds at this free show while a triumvirate of Florida emcees (Tampa’s BC, Dunedin’s Jon Ditty and Orlando’s Sign One) play support. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) INFO
See even more live music options via local.cltampa.com. Visit cltampa.com/musicweek every Thursday morning for a new list of the week’s best concerts.
ALSO PLAYING
“Living Room Live” Open Mic w/ Rebekah Pulley (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
Vintage Youth w/VJ Jason Barco (Orbit 19 Lounge, Holiday) INFO
Left Lane Ent. Presents: WLCM2KNXVLL (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
The Strangeways (Ringside Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
Nelson Mariscal (c.1949 Florida Beer Garden, Tampa) INFO
Florida Jazz Express (Dockside Grille, New Port Richey) INFO
Mallory Moyer (Stirling Wine, Dunedin) INFO
Bass By The Bay w/Nate Verde/Sway-Ja-Vu/Wolfsaibot/Lean & Dro/Kaiseki (Fubar, St. Petersburg) FREE PIZZA
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 5, 2018.
