Three men sit on an antique four-poster bed and a chair in an ornate room, looking at the camera.
Better Strangers Credit: Andres Birnbaum / Clarion Call

Nic Collins, son of drummer Phil Collins, brings his band Better Strangers back to Tampa ,this time without former singer Luis Santiago and wielding a darker, denser, and more complex sound.

Fresh off a four-track live EP recorded at soon-to-close hometown haunt Gramps, Collins’ trio (which includes guitarist Joey Rodriguez and bassist Yang Waingarten) is supported by a triumvirate of local favorites.

Tickets to see Better Strangers play the music hall at New World Tampa on Sunday, Nov. 9 are still available for $19.99.

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This article appears in Oct. 30 – Nov. 5, 2025.

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...