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✔️ = Critic's Pick
✔️ John Pizzarelli Duo He’s been called a genius and the rare entertainer who can revitalize the Great American Songbook under the guise of jazz. Seeing Sinatra and James Taylor collaborator John Pizzarelli in such close quarters is a rare thing, too. He’ll kick off a short three-venue duo tour with two nights at The Attic above Rock Brothers Brewing’s tasting room, and you can fully expect to see all the jazz nerds queued up for this one. Listen to Pizzarelli's great appearance on WUSF 89.7-FM here. (The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City) INFO
✔️ Blest Fest w/Blestian/They Hate Change/Bedside Kites/Jeremy Trevino Blestian’s new EP, Left Out, was recorded at home on a Tascam Portastudio 424 MKII four-track and finds guitarist Matt Alexander writing songs exclusively in an open C-sharp tuning. Drums on songs like “U Can’t Convince Me I’m Wrong” were produced by Halsey Alexander, who used a Roland TR-8 drum machine as well as a Roland SP-404SX sampler. The result is a fun summer record that the band plans to release via cassette on June 1 and then take on the road in September for an east coast tour. “Blest Fest” — featuring records, live art and vendors — happens on home turf (Matt and Halsey Alexander, a wife and husband duo, are baristas St. Pete’s Black Crow) and also finds some of Blestian’s favorite bands playing support. Listen to a premiere of “U Can’t Convince Me I’m Wrong” and get more information on a Kickstarter campaign for the tour here. (Black Crow Coffee Roasting Co., St. Petersburg) INFO
I Love 90s Reggae w/Jah Movement You could’ve seen the actual band Morgan Heritage play in St. Pete exactly one week ago, but old-school reggae fans who missed that show can settle for this one at Skipper’s where a venue favorite, Jah Movement, will run through 90s hits from Morgan Heritage as well as others like Marcia Griffith, Maxi Priest, Luciano, Beres Hammond, John Holt, Sugar Minott, Patra, Beenie Man, Buju Banton and even Shabba Ranks. (Skipper’s Smokehouse) INFO
IRON & ADDERALL
The Coathangers to celebrate new live album at Ybor City's Crowbar
✔️ Coathangers w/Woolly Bushmen/Glove. The Coathangers wrote their own rules during their early, sloppy shows at small Atlanta venues, and it’s fitting to find Orlando’s Woolly Bushmen and Tampa’s own Glove. — two Bay area bands forging their own paths through the Sunshine State rock and roll scene — opening this show. Turn to the front of the music section to read our interview with The Coathangers’ Julia Kugel. (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
Andrew Jankura A well-known Bay area jazz quintet — guitarist Nate Najar, saxophonist Jeremy Carter, James Suggs on trumpet, bassist Steve Boisen and Tony Cintron on drums — will be at St. Pete’s historic Manhattan Casino to play backup for a Hammond organ master, Andrew Jankura, who is in town and onstage for one night only. (The Historic Manhattan Casino, St. Petersburg) INFO
✔️ Joyner Lucas Lucas’ “I’m Not Racist” clip featuring Tampa native Maxx Forman has earned more than 70 million YouTube views and was one of the most powerful music videos of 2017. On Friday, the 29-year-old Massachusetts rapper — who spent some time cutting his teeth right here in Tampa Bay — brings his Atlantic Records debut (the 508-507-2209 mixtape, released last year) to Orpheum, which has become a must-play room for any hip-hop act hoping to eventually break big. (Orpheum, Ybor City) INFO
✔️ Sonic Graffiti w/The Venus/Fever Beam The Bends continues to relish its role as an incubator for young Bay area bands when it plays host to a new band, Fever Beam, which opens for two CL favorites who play Joe Meek-doting retro rock (The Venus) and straight-ahead, bluesy garage-rock fire (Sonic Graffiti). This free show doubles as the opening night for an art show featuring works by Bloom Collective founder James Oleson. (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
THAT'S EVIL
CL Premiere: Sonic Graffiti shares "Evil," the 12-minute opening track from their new LP Loner
The Rhapsody Suite: The 2000s It’s the end of a (short) era for The Rhapsody Suite, which says toodle-oo to its home at Mojito lounge, where renovations are set to take place over the summer. To say goodbye, organizers have put together a show that’ll pay tribute to the best soul and R&B from the 2000s. (Mojito, Tampa) INFO
Vince Di Mura There are lots of cozy jazz happenings in the Bay area this week (read: John Pizzarelli, Andrew Jankura and Harry Connick Jr.), and you can add this one from composer, arranger, pianist and musical director Vince di Mura to the list. The wunderkind who first played Carnegie Hall at the age of 14 is sure to make it a tight squeeze at this St. Pete space, so visit craftsmanhousegallery.com to see if the venue can accommodate you. (Craftsman House Gallery, St. Petersburg) INFO
Departure Fridays w/Adrian Hour Techno fans will be happy to see a little bit of South America make it up to SoHo when Argentinian producer Adrian Hour arrives at The Kennedy. Shamrat — Hour’s collaborative EP with Mark Knight — debuted on the Saved Records platform and features a gift for melding groove and interesting vocal hooks that should get the room moving on Friday. (The Kennedy, Tampa) POSTPONED
Analogue w/Manny Cuevas/Selekta Chang/Uncle Tone House music has come a long way since Manny Cuevas was gifted a mid-'80s mixtape featuring a show curated by by Chicago producer Farley “Jackmaster” Funk. Cuevas (better known as DJ M-Traxx) brought that love of Windy City and Detroit house to Orlando, where he played it on WPRK 91.5FM — Rollins College radio — and at house parties. He’ll probably play all strains of house at at this free Fubar show, but don’t be surprised if he strays far from home, too. “The bottom line is this, if you’re going to book me to play at your event, I have to play 100 percent what I am feeling at that moment and throughout the entire night,” he once said. Carlitos Corcho (aka Selekta Chang) and Uncle Tone play support at this free show. (Fubar, St. Petersburg) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
Kids Music
Mr. Brad (Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, Safety Harbor) INFO
Blues/Funk
Betty Fox Band (Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, Safety Harbor) INFO
Mama’s Batch (The Ale & the Witch, St. Petersburg) INFO
Rock
Samuel Davis Jr. And Leo Pons (Studio@620, St. Petersburg) INFO
Singer-songwriter
John Waite (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) INFO
Leah & Dave (Cage Brewing, St. Petersburg) INFO
Gulfport Art Walk INFO
Jazz
La Lucha (Independent Bar and Cafe, Tampa) INFO
DJ
80s Video Night w/VJ Jason Barco (The Dungeon at The Castle, Ybor City) INFO
Country
Joe Nichols (The Stockyard, Holiday) INFO
Rock
The Bird Tribe (Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe, Tampa) INFO
Fear The Spider w/American Bastard/Rancid Polecats (Brass Mug, Tampa) INFO
EDM
Dirt Monkey and Subtronics w/Blunts & Blondes (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
Tribute/Cover
Highway to Hell w/Ultimate Def Leppard (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) INFO
Unlimited Devotion (Hideaway Cafe, St. Petersburg) INFO
Strombringer (Buckets Grill & Tap, Tampa) INFO
Jaded (Two Buks, Clearwater) INFO
Southern Express (Smokin’ 19, St. Petersburg) INFO
Daisy & the Drivers (3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg) INFO
Americana
American Song Box (Dunedin Brewery , Dunedin) INFO
Classical/Chorale/Opera
St. Petersburg Opera: La Traviata (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Jam
June 1-2, Purple Hatters Ball (Spirit of Suwannee Music Park) INFO
This article appears in May 31 – Jun 7, 2018.