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✔️=Critic’s Pick
✔️ Noname There may come a day when an intimate room like The Ritz cannot contain Noname, and it’ll be a shame. The 27-year-old Chicago rapper and poet born Fatimah Nyeema Warner wields some of the most transparent and painful lyrics in hip-hop, and she’s been selling out clubs across the country thanks to fans devoted to undressed prose that tackles tough topics like black representation in pop culture, factory farming, America’s prison-industrial complex and even making it in the music business. Her debut LP, Room 25, feels like a fully realized statement, and this show will be an early contender for concert of the year. (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
✔️ Polyenso Year of the Dog Album Release Celebration w/Millenium Youth/Fr33dback St. Petersburg trio Polyenso finally gives fans the whole of a new EP, Year of the Dog, where the band rallies against assholes of every stripe (“Bastard”), internal sadness (“Happy”) and the way time and distance affect our relationships with one another (“You Go I Go”). Bay area producer Fr33dback will open and also program lights for this communal show for which every band is likely to sit in on each other’s sets. (The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City) INFO
✔️ One Nation Under A Groove: A Night of Funk & Neo-Soul w/Danny & Alex/Garden Club/Blassafrass/All-Star Jam Bungalow Entertainment’s carefully curated tribute shows were highlights on last year’s concert calendar, and the promoters roll into 2019 with this funk and neo-soul concert built around two opening bands plus an all-star jam featuring members representing at least a dozen different Bay area bands. There’ll even be a brass section, plus auxiliary vocals and rapping from the likes of Rochelle Siddiq, Jroc Jones and Jus Henry. (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
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✔️ Tonstartssbandht w/Steve Jr./LEYA/Justin Depth CL was lucky enough to catch an out-of-state solo show from Mac Demarco, but one of the people the indie-pop prince kept talking about was his once Orlando-based guitarist Andy White. White brings his own outfit, Tonstartssbandht (pronounced “tahn-starts-bandit”), to this St. Petersburg warehouse space in support of the band’s first full-length studio album since 2011 (Tonstartssbandht has at least 17 other releases to its name). Sorcerer is schmaltzy, yes, but the lazy guitars and occasional jams make for a style of slacker rock that is seriously good without taking itself super-seriously either (the band’s 2009 album is called Dick Nights for chrissake). (Paper Crane, St. Petersburg) INFO
Yarn Blake Christiana brings his Brooklyn-based Americana project, Yarn, to St. Petersburg for the band’s Ale & The Witch debut. It’s been many years since the band’s boldly optimistic This Is the Year album arrived, and Yarn can probably dig into the breadth of its half-dozen studio albums at this free outdoor gig. (The Ale & The Witch, St. Petersburg) INFO
✔️ Nile Rodgers & Chic Liking Chic and Cher don’t always go hand in hand, and that’s why it’s cool to see famed songwriter and producer Nile Rodgers breaking off the Cher tour for this one-off headlining side show. Read our interview with the legend, and then come dance the rest of the night away at an after-party happening at the nearby Hyatt Place. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Trippysquad Takeover Three-Year Anniversary w/Nate Verde/Trippysquad/A Midd/Karlton/AC Darko/Krampus/Slick Vizion/Big Hogie Bay area production collective and lifestyle brand Trippysquad is celebrating three years of dank beats (that’s what the kids say, right?) and simply good times. Tunes will revolve around house music, but there’ll probably be some trap mixed in there, too. (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
Sauce Boss The Sauce Boss took his one-man band to Nashville to make his latest EP recording, Blind Boy Billy, which is a companion to the bluesman’s new memoir and cookbook. Yes, the Boss will be cooking at Skipper’s, but he’s also cooked up a premiere of Blind Boy track “Little Driver.” Stream it via cltampa.com/music starting Thursday, January 17. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) INFO
✔️ Road to III Points w/Jaialai/Haute Tension/The Venus Life is good when you can see Haute Tension twice 24 hours in the same town. This evening from the Magic City rock outfit happens as part of a special run of shows that feature homegrown Florida talent that’ll be playing Miami’s III Points Festival next month. Ticket raffles and limited-edition merch will be available at this show, which is free to attend. See Haute Tension again the next day at Daddy Kool Records when the band has a release party for the new album it recorded at St. Petersburg’s Yoko Phono studios. (Green Bench Brewing Co., St. Petersburg) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
*See a list of venues hosting residencies and tribute or cover bands at the bottom of this post.
DJ/EDM
Keoki (Pegasus Lounge, Tampa) INFO
Element Live w/Eliana Blanchard (Hooch and Hive, Tampa) INFO
John Tejada (Ichicoro ANE at Station House, St. Petersburg) INFO
JUNK! presents Nile Rodgers & CHIC Official Afterparty (Hyatt Place, St. Petersburg/Downtown) INFO
#Pound Fridays w/ATLiens (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
Funk/Blues
The Tony Tyler Trance (Ka’Tiki, Treasure Island) INFO
Jazz
Diego Figueiredo & O Som Do Jazz (Side Door Cabaret at the Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Reggae/World
Bahama Breeze Reggae Fest w/Jah Movement (Bahama Breeze, Tampa) INFO
Rock/Pop
Vetnough w/The Cast Integral/The Holy Terror (The Blue Note, Tampa) INFO
WPC w/Nervous Girls/Story Mode/The Manic Episodes (Lucky You Tattoo, St. Petersburg) INFO
Midwinter Bash (Brass Mug, Tampa) INFO
Kyshona w/Shannon LaBrie (Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, Safety Harbor) INFO
Low Season w/Laser Mouth/Critical Hits (Cage Brewing, St. Petersburg) INFO
Tribute
Tampa Punk Rock Karaoke (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa) INFO
Singer-songwriter
Live & Local w/Eden Shireen (Jaeb Courtyard at David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa) INFO
Kyle Miller (c. 1949 Florida Beer Garden, Tampa) INFO
Acho Brother (Nebraska Mini-Mart, Tampa) INFO
Geri X Duo (Independent Bar, St. Petersburg) INFO
Classical/Chorale
Yakov Smirnoff (Central Park Performing Arts Center, Largo) INFO
The Florida Orchestra: Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 (Ferguson Hall at David A. Straz Center for Performing Arts, Tampa) INFO
Americana/Country
Lake Street Dive (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) INFO
Aaron Watson (Dallas Bull, Tampa) INFO
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Below is a list of clubs and restaurants that either regularly book both original music acts as well as tribute and cover bands or feature a concert calendar stocked with higher-quality residents. Follow the links to see more.
Residencies
c. 1949 Florida Beer Garden 6905 N Orleans Ave., Tampa
Hideaway Café 1756 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
Jazz House Supper Club 9331 East Adamo Dr., Tampa
The Landing at Jannus 200 First Ave N., St. Petersburg
The Living Room 487 Main St., Dunedin
The Mandarin Hide 231 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
Ringside Café 16 2nd St N., St. Petersburg
Ruby’s Elixir 15 3rd St. N., St. Petersburg
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 5223 Orient Rd, Tampa
Tampa Armature Works 1910 N Ola Ave., Tampa
The Vinoy Renaissance 501 5th Ave NE, St. Petersburg
Tribute/Cover/Open Mics
3 Daughters Brewing 222 22nd St., St. Petersburg
Barefoot Billy’s Friendly Tavern 3120 W. Gandy Blvd, Tampa
Buckets Grill & Tap 4535 Gunn Hwy., Tampa
Captain Jack’s On The Water 21 Oscar Hill Rd., Tarpon Springs
Caddy’s On The Beach 9000 W Gulf Blvd, Treasure Island
Café Hey 1540 N Franklin St., Tampa
Gator’s 12754 Kingfish Dr., Treasure Island
Green Iguana 4029 S. Westshore Blvd., Tampa
Ferg’s Live 490 Channelside Dr., Tampa
JD’s Restaurant & Lounge 125 Gulf Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach
Hula Bay Club 5210 W Tyson Ave., Tampa
O’Briens Irish Pub Multiple Locations, Tampa
Rick’s On The River 2305 N Willow Ave., Tampa
Smokin’ 19 3080-3090 34th St N., St. Petersburg
Two Buks 1915 N. Hercules Ave., Clearwater
Yeoman Cask & Lion (two locations: 202 N. Morgan St., Tampa; 200 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg)
Related Stories
Q&A: Before Tampa show, Florida dream-pop fave Tonstartssbandht talks ‘Petunia,’ COVID and more
This article appears in Jan 17-24, 2019.
