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✔️ = Critic’s Pick
✔️ Janelle Monáe w/St. Beauty Janelle Monáe is occupying the top slots of summer festivals all over the globe, so getting to see the 32-year-old singer at the relatively intimate Jannus Live courtyard is head-scratchingly awesome. The show couldn’t have come at a better time either, since Monáe — who just owned her latest appearance on Colbert — is supporting a sure-to-be Grammy-nominated new album, Dirty Computer, on which she addresses a menagerie of topics including what’s right (and wrong) with this country plus her newfound approach to sexuality. “Being a queer black woman in America, someone who has been in relationships with both men and women — I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker,” Monáe, who initially identified as bisexual, said in April. “[I] read about pansexuality and was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.’ I’m open to learning more about who I am.” You’ll also be kicking yourself for a late arrival to the show since buzzworthy indie-pop duo St. Beauty is opening. (Jannus Live, St Petersburg) INFO
ECLECTIC LADY
Janelle Monáe shares bodacious new LP, comes out as pansexual ahead of St. Pete show
WLCM2KNXVLL w/Aych/B-Breakerz/Btmvle Jotta/Keezie Free/DJ Spaceship King Knoxygen’s St. Petersburg monthly returns to The Bends and once again welcomes a cast of Bay area rappers to showcase their styles at this free-to-attend party. Long-running Tampa emcee Aych holds it down for the local lifers, and the party opens the floor up to Kito Frapwell (aka BTMVLE Jotta), Keezie Free and B-Breakers as it looks for what the scene’s future hip-hop sounds may be. (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
✔️ Yes 50th Anniversary Tour Bay area prog-rock fans have come to expect an annual visit from Yes, but the one happening on Thursday marks a milestone for the group since keyboardist Tony Kaye (a founding member, Grammy-winner and Rock Hall inductee) will be joining Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood for the 50th anniversary of the band. The only thing that sucks about the show? It’s sold out, so you’ll have to find a roundabout way to get into the intimate Capitol Theatre if you want to party with the golden boys. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) INFO
SAY WHAT
Interview: Jumping In The Deep End With Yes Drummer Alan White
✔️ Red Light Cafe: NoMaD w/Caity Mobley/Josiah Plummer Influenced by French artists like Garou and Francis Cabrel, Togo-born songwriter NoMaD adopted the sounds of his favorite American artists (Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, Tracy Chapman) and left his African home in 2007 before serving as a worship leader at local Bay area churches and finally recording and sharing his own music in 2010. NoMaD’s 2017 album, Extra Mile, explores the thoughts that entered his mind after he was diagnosed with a rare, incurable form of GI tract cancer. “My songs are about love, life, hope, faith, and the dream and promise of fullness of life beyond this broken one,” he said. “[The album] was a moment for me to test out what I sing and rediscover myself as a person, but also as an artist wanting to inspire my friends to live to the fullest.” (The Bunker, Ybor City) INFO
Jadget Gam Dunedin Brewery has always been a safe space for experimental sounds, and this show finds East Lake High alum Paul Cook manning the controls for Jadget Gam, which is an open-format jam that describes itself as “experi-porti-improvi/hip-tronic-avant-trap-tweak-bot/guerrilla performance art.” (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) INFO
Traditional Latin Mass Do the musical offerings of a post Vatican-II Catholic Mass just bore the hell out of you? Find your way to Tampa’s Epiphany Church of God where the parish works through a weekday mass (6:30 a.m.) where prayers are chanted out loud and in Latin, which means pretty much nobody understands what anyone is saying (except for the priest and altar boys, usually). Early morning meditation and a music offering that’s way out of the box? We might skip a night of drinking to check this out. (Epiphany Church of God, Tampa) INFO
PHOTOS SESSION
Two Cow Garage’s Michah Schnabel brings all-star cast of Tampa Bay songwriters to Ybor’s Crowbar
✔️ The Beer Garden Sessions w/Kaleb Stewart/Joshua Reilly/Crash Mitchell/Melissa Grady/Joe Grady/John Allen James Crowbar’s monthly songwriter series rolls through the summer and welcomes Gainesville’s Kaleb Stewart to headline in support of a new split he recorded with British punk and blues artist Tim Holehouse. Stewart — whose European tour kicks off in mid-November — will be joined by Melissa and Joe Grady, which means that Bay area fans will get some orchestral folk at this one, too (the Gradys make up two pieces of Tampa’s Best of The Bay-winning Same Day Delivery Orchestra). Free to attend, but bring money for beer, BBQ and the makers’ tables. (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
Alterbeast w/Inferi/Reaping Asmodeia/more (The Noise Box, Tampa) INFO
Nelson Mariscal (c. 1949 Florida Beer Garden, Tampa) INFO
Florida Jazz Express (Dockside Grille, New Port Richey) INFO
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 2, 2018.
