✔️ = Critic's Pick
✔️ Recloose w/Luv Jam/Austen van der Bleek Intermezzo is just all kinds of cool, and on Saturday the Central Avenue hotspot has teamed up with promoters from Open House Conspiracy, which has moved its parties from Orlando to St. Pete as of late. This free all-ages gig is a pre-party for the Movement festival and features Detroit odd nips specialist Recloose (Planet E, Rush Hour, Peacefrog), who has made a career out of pulling inspiration from the weirdest sections of the record store and turning it into dance floor gold. Andrew Cole (aka U.K. producer Luv Jam) plays an exclusive U.S. show in the direct support slot, and Austen van der Bleek (fresh off an appearance at Okeechobee) rounds things out. (Intermezzo Coffee & Cocktails, St. Petersburg) INFO
✔️ Sounds@620 Music Series w/Sonic Graffiti/Spoiled Horse Rider It’s always a treat to hear the eardrum-bursting garage rock of Sonic Graffiti, but this show is extra special thanks to the addition of a new project by Bay area writer and musician Eva Avenue (Nightly Noodle Monthly Publishing Co., Creative Pinellas), who is sharing songs from a piano-pop project dubbed Spoiled Horse Racer. Avenue is famously low-drama in real life, but songs like the triumphantly joyous “Silver and Gold” make us wanna spend all night romantically drinking wine on a rooftop while dancing with our all of our closest friends. (Studio@620, St. Petersburg) INFO
LONG AND ALONE
Sonic Graffiti shares "Evil," the 12-minute opening track from their new LP Loner
✔️ Gullwing w/Sonic Aftermath/Quasi Mojo Red Star isn’t normally the first place one thinks of when looking for live music music in Seminole Heights, but the venue has tapped post-rock band Gullwing for this one — and we’ll jump at any chance to see the Bay area outfit spill waves of gorgeous, wordless atmospheric rock on a venue. (Red Star Rock Bar, Tampa) INFO
WAHH Brother Ray CD Release This is the Friday, Pinellas iteration of the release party for Brother Ray, the new album from Tampa Bay world music collective WAHH, which we profiled in our music feature here. (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
Bubble Boys w/Sketchie/The Nervous Girls Orlando’s Bubble Boys is here and the band is ready for you to take a ride on its Demosaurus (Bubble Boys’ insanely fun 2017 EP of crunchy garage-pop). We’re not expecting to hear anything about the band’s hilarious origin story (“It was sometime after Bruce Willis lost his hair but before Harambe died,” the group told Orlando Weekly), but we are going to get to The Bends early to see a set from local faves Nervous Girls and Sketchie. (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
NO SHIT (MUSIC)
Q&A: Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning talks band's “Spirit Purposes,” turning a vet towards politics and more
✔️ Broken Social Scene w/Belle Game Toronto’s Broken Social Scene is set to bring its revered take on boisterous indie rock to St. Pete (read our Q&A here), but fans should try and get to Jannus early to catch a set of lush, ethereal pop from Belle Game, a Vancouver-based quartet which has been compared to Jessy Lanza, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and even the Cocteau Twins. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) INFO
NO MIND GAME
Demi Lovato’s Tampa show with DJ Khaled is doubling as an optional mental health counseling session
Demi Lovato w/DJ Khaled/Kehlani Fans lucky enough to see Oakland R&B singer Kehlani at a sold-out Ybor City show last summer knew that the Gen-Z phenom was headed for greatness, and they’ll get a chance to see if the sound can fill an arena as she opens for Demi Lovato and DJ Khaled at Amalie. This one also happens to be the second-to-last date of Lovato’s spring run in the U.S. (it wraps on April 2 in New Jersey before heading to Brazil), so don’t be surprised to see some end-of-tour pranks or surprises. (Amalie Arena, Tampa) INFO
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✔️ Chuck Brodsky 13th Annual Spring Training Show NPR has called Chuck Brodsky one of America’s greatest songwriters, so it’s cool to see the self-professed baseball lover sneak a few concerts in while he visits for spring training. This one is at the always-welcoming Craftsman House space and serves as a release show for the 57-year-old’s new, crowdfunded album. (Craftsman House, St. Petersburg) INFO
6th Annual Mieux Awards When it comes to music+culture websites, a community can never have too many. Especially when the URL is devoted to locals the way Mieux has been for the last seven years. Some of Florida's best artists (like emcee/producer Betty Dawl) will get shine at this Ybor City awards show happening at a hip off-the-(7th)-avenue venue. (Lot 1901, Ybor City) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
R&B
Boyz II Men (Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival, Tampa) INFO
Ambient/Experimental
Infinite Third: Tour Kickoff w/ Mountain Holler and Don Cooper (The Movement Sanctuary, St. Petersburg) INFO
Misc.
Chris Sgmatto Student Showcase (The Ale & the Witch, St. Petersburg) INFO
Blues
Jeff Jensen Band (evening show) (The Ale & the Witch, St. Petersburg) INFO
Pop
Betty Who w/Pretty Sister/Amy Guess (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) INFO
Fusion/Jam
Jonathan Scales Fourchestra w/Electric Kif (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) INFO
Tribute/Cover
Jah Movement: Reggae Legends Tribute concert w/DJ Steel (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) INFO
Kettle of Fish (late show) (3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg) INFO
4X (Two Buks, Clearwater) INFO
Smoke and the Angels (Buckets Grill & Tap, Tampa) INFO
DJ
Open Format w/Crate Bros. (First Chance Last Chance, Ybor City) INFO
So What'cha Want w/DJ Fader (Orbit 19, Holiday) INFO
Retro Red Square Recall w/DJ Rig/Noi (Orpheum, Ybor City) INFO
DJ MP Soup (Ferg’s Live, Tampa) INFO
Hip-hop
GMSH TOUR w/Jess Jones/ Jayali/Harold Jamez (The Blue Note, Tampa) INFO
Singer-songwriter
Danielle Mohr (Living Room On Main, Dunedin) INFO
Acoustic Saturdays w/Cormac Kavanagh (c. 1949 Florida Beer Garden, Tampa) INFO
Live & Local w/Francesca Ani (Jaeb Courtyard at David A. Straz Center for the Performings Arts, Tampa) INFO
Acoustic Thunder (early show) (3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg) INFO
EDM
Amp!d Saturday (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
Bandlez & Xaebor (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
Folk
Karla Bonoff w/Livingston Taylor (Capitol Theater, Clearwater) INFO
Mahray (The Wild Rover Brewery, Tampa) INFO
Rock
Camp Cope w/Turnover (Orpheum, Ybor City) INFO
Somatic (SubCentral at Iberian Rooster, St. Petersburg) INFO
Simian Theory (Cage Brewing, St. Petersburg) INFO
Stormbringer (Ringside Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
Country
The Bearded Brothers (The Stockyard, Holiday) INFO
This article appears in Mar 29 – Apr 5, 2018.