A promotional photo of the alternative rock band Sweet Pill shows five members, all wearing black, standing against a vibrant red background. The lead singer, who is centered and slightly forward, has short, dark curly hair and is wearing a black blazer over a black top, revealing chest tattoos and necklaces. They hold a small, ornate mirrored hand fan out towards the viewer. Four male band members stand behind her; two have long, dark curly hair and one has short dark hair with a baseball cap and glasses. On the left and right sides of the image, duplicates of two of the male members are partially visible, with surreal, distorted reflections of small hand mirrors superimposed near their faces, adding a dreamlike or unsettling effect. The strong red lighting gives the image a dramatic and intense feel.
Punk outfit Sweet Pill Credit: Uv Lucas

Open your diamond eyes, because Sweet Pill is about to wrap up its year by headlining a trio of gigs in Florida, including a grand finale in Tampa.

In terms of studio work, the five-piece has been taking a different route this year. Its new EP is a handful of rerecordings called “Unraveled,” a term that turned out to be Sweet Pill-coded for “acoustic.” As is tradition for a band’s acoustic era, the unplugged approach isn’t being met onstage at all. But considering how lead singer Zayna Youssef recently fractured her elbow after stage-diving while opening for Pool Kids in Philadelphia, there’ll probably at least be a sense of delicacy that isn’t usually on a punk stage, just for recovery purposes.

On a positive note, Sweet Pill has never headlined a show in Florida, and the Ybor City stop will also feature fellow Philadelphian, “emo mathcore” outfit Kaonashi, and scream queen trio-slash-Girls Rock alum Kitty Kitty Meow Meow on the bill.

Tickets to see Sweet Pill play Ybor City’s Crowbar on Sunday, Nov. 16 are still available and cost $25.98.

Sweet Pill w/Kaonashi/Kitty Kitty Meow Meow

Time Sun., Nov. 16, 7 p.m. 2025

Location Crowbar, 1812 North 17th Street, Tampa

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This article appears in Oct. 16 – 22, 2025.

Josh Bradley is Creative Loafing Tampa's resident live music freak. He started freelancing with the paper in 2020 at the age of 18, and has since covered, announced, and previewed numerous live shows in...