The Florida Orchestra: Final Fantasy w/Arnie Roth Video game fans will flock to a pair of Florida Orchestra shows in which American conductor, composer, and record producer Arnie Roth will lead the ensemble through music from the popular Final Fantasy games for fans in cosplay — plus original FF composer Nobuo Uematsu. Jan. 28, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg. 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. $25-$75. 727-892-5767. mahaffeytheater.com.
DJ Sandman Birthday Bash & Old School Skate Jam w/Kool DJ Red Alert/DJ Jimi-O/DJ Shizm/DJ Chase/Queen B DJ Sandman is one of Tampa hip-hop’s elder statesmen, and he’s inviting the city to his Port Tampa neighborhood for an old-school roller-skating party in celebration of his getting another year older. Pioneering Big Apple radio DJ Kool DJ Red Alert (98.7 FM, Kiss FM) headlines the family-friendly festivities. Jan. 28, Pattinis, Tampa. 7 p.m. $15. 813-734-7655. streetlaced.com.
A Star In Life’s Clothing w/Dynasty The one-woman music and monologue show from Tampa emcee Dynasty was powerful enough in its initial run to earn a trip back to Stageworks in February. Tickets for the celebration of love, life and lyrics will likely move quickly, so don’t say we didn’t warn you this time around. Feb. 3, Stageworks Theatre, Tampa. 9 p.m. $20. 813-374-2416. yagirldy.com.
Career Vinyl Release w/Permanent Makeup/Sean Hamilton We might be a little biased, but CL Space (aka our office) is a great spot to have a show. It’s even better when the band (in this case Career) is one of the most promising, loud and technically proficient rock outfits to come out of the area in a long while. This one is in celebration of the vinyl release for “Structures” — a piece written and performed for the Music Box: Tampa Bay art installation and recorded at Springs Theatre Arts & Recording. Percussionist Sean Hamilton opens along with St. Pete punks Permanent Makeup. Feb. 9, CL Space, Ybor City. $10-$20. 8 p.m. 813-739-4856. tampanoise.com.
’80s Valentines Dance w/Wolf-Face/Doll Parts/Pretty Voices Planet Retro Records’ Rob Sexton is one of those burly, handsome, tough-as-nails guys who’s also a teddy bear, and for Valentine’s Day he’s shedding the ornery record store owner image and turning Planet Retro into your high school dance, complete with tacky decor, disco balls, contests and punch that someone is bound to spike. All ’80s tunes from the DJs and live music from Doll Parts, Pretty Voices and Wolf-Face. Feb. 10, Planet Retro Records, St. Petersburg. 7:30 p.m. Door charge TBD. 727-218-7434. planetretroecords.com.
Forq w/Lucy Woodward Remember when you slept on those Snarky Puppy shows at Crowbar? Don’t do that again. Forq, a New York-based instrumental quartet, features members of Snarky Puppy (bassist Michael League, guitarist Chris McQueen) joining drummer Jason “JT” Thomas (Roy Hargrove, D’Angelo) plus David Bowie and Empire of the Sun keyboardist Henry Hay for a sound that is a sometimes-swampy anglam of each member’s respective band’s sounds. Snarky Puppy is hosting its GroundUP Music Festival in Miami in the three days before this Ybor show, so there’s no telling who’ll show up for this club gig. Feb. 12, Crowbar, Ybor City. 8 p.m. $10-$13. 813-241-8600. crowbarybor.com.
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John Moreland This show is the “Pearls” poster child. It’s effectively a make-up show for a canceled, Irma-related Straz gig, built around an album called Big Bad Luv, which Oklahoma songwriter John Moreland started to write after first meeting his soon-to-be-wife, Pearl, at a songwriting convention. “I feel that belonging now… she makes me feel just OK about whatever,” Moreland told CL of the way Pearl influenced “Latchkey Kid,” a Luv highlight. “It’s easy to start feeling isolated and alienated like a kind of homeless, but I don’t feel that anymore ’cause she’s my home, and she’s there.” Plus it’s at the gorgeous and quirky Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, and what you have is a Valentine’s Day show you just might fall in love at. Feb. 14, Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, Safety Harbor. 7 p.m. $20-$25. 727-725-4018. safetyharborartandmusiccenter.com.
JJ Grey and Mofro w/North Mississippi Allstars/Marcus King Band/Bobby Lee Rodgers Up until this show, seeing JJ Grey in the Bay area involved driving to Jessie’s in Winter Haven or trying your luck at scoring tickets to his super-intimate solo shows at The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing. The maestro of North Florida swamp rock brings the party outside to this St. Pete courtyard this time around, and he’s tapping a killer support bill to mark the occasion. Feb. 23, Jannus Live, St. Petersburg. 5 p.m. $35. 727-565-0550. jannuslive.com.
Fleet Foxes Tampa Bay indie-folk fans hit paydirt with the news that Seattle’s Fleet Foxes would make its Tampa debut in support of an excellent new album, Crack-Up. And while fans surely would’ve liked to have seen frontman Robin Pecknold & Co. at Gasparilla Music Festival a week later (where ex-Fleet Fox Josh Tillman — aka Father John Misty — headlines on March 11), catching the group in a setting this up-close-and-personal will be more than fine. March 1, The Ritz, Ybor City. 7 p.m. $36.50 & up. 813-248-4050. theritzybor.com.
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Japanese Breakfast w/Snail Mail One of the biggest bummers of Irma-geddon concert cancellations was the Japanese Breakfast gig with Mannequin Pussy and The Spirit Of The Beehive. Well, fans of Michelle Zauner — who penned her 2017 LP Soft Sounds From Another Planet in the weeks after her mom died of cancer — have been resting easy since the band announced an April 7 makeup date. The record — which bounces around all kinds of new sounds for Zauner — is one of last year’s best, and it’s rad that she’ll arrive with Baltimore songwriter Linset Jordan (aka Snail Mail) in tow. Fans with tickets to the cancelled September 12 show should’ve received refunds already, so you’ll have to re-up on tickets if you haven’t already. April 7, Crowbar, Ybor City. 7 p.m. $12-$15. 813-241-8600. local.cltampa.com.
The Royal Guardsmen 50th Anniversary Celebration The Royal Guardsmen came out of the gate before Tom Petty did, and while the Ocala-based band never went to live in Malibu, the group did sell 5 million copies of its hit single “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.” Members of the band — including certified musical savant Billy Taylor — regroup at this St. Pete show in conjunction with release of CL contributor Bill DeYoung’s book about Floridian record producer Phil Gernhard, Phil Gernhard, Record Man (read more about the book, due out this spring from the University Press of Florida, here). April 29, Side Door Cabaret at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg. 4 p.m. $30-$50. 727-822-3950. mypalladium.org.
This article appears in Jan 18-25, 2018.