Nina Simone Credit: Ron Kroon for Anefo Restored by Bammesk, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

You know what’s crazy? There’s absolutely no evidence of Nina Simone having ever performed anywhere close to Tampa Bay before her death in 2003.

The soul legend’s career has had a bit of a resurgence in recent years, following the release of Questlove’s “Summer Of Soul” documentary, which showed lost footage of 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Simone’s performance of “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” was certainly a highlight of the two-hour doc, and we can only hope that Sarasota-based jazz singer Synia Carroll throws it into her setlist when she pays tribute to the singer who would have celebrated her 90th birthday on Feb. 21.

Carroll is backed by drummer Paul Gavin, pianist John O’Leary III, trumpeter James Suggs, bassist Brandon Robertson and percussionist Mark DeRose for this one.

Tickets to see Synia Carroll sing the “Nina On My Mind” tribute concert at Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg on Thursday, March 2 are still available and start at $20.

This article appears in Feb 16-22, 2023.

Josh Bradley is Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's calendar editor. He started as a freelance music writer in 2020 at the age of 18, and after spending years covering, announcing, and previewing concerts in...