✔️= Critic's Picks
✔️ Grupo Niche Busch Gardens’ annual Food & Wine Festival kicked off on Saturday with sets by Sister Hazel and Edwin McCain (and includes future appearances by TLC, Boyz II Men, Daughtry The Fray, Goo Goo Dolls and more), but on Sunday it turns Colombian for a set by 1980s salsa outfit Grupo Niche. The concert is included with any pass, Fun Card or daily admission to the park. The season schedule as well as VIP info is available via buschgardens.com. (Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival, Tampa) INFO
✔️ Sykes Chapel Concert Artist Series w/Nancy Jo Snider/Grigorios Zamparas Cellist Nancy Jo Snider — a soloist, collaborative musician, sound designer and arts administrator from Washington D.C.’s American University — collaborates with violinist Yuri Namkung, violin and viola player David Yang and University of Tampa pianist Grigorios Zamparas for an afternoon of chamber music by Beethoven, Joaquin Turina and Andrew Norman. (Sykes Chapel at University of Tampa, Tampa) INFO
A MAN ALONE
Poetry ‘n’ Lotion principal John Nowicki steps out on his own
9th Annual Brewer’s Ball After-Party w/Poetry ‘N’ Lotion You’d think that a day-long celebration of the state’s best beers would be enough for brewers, but the Brewer’s Ball (happening at the Tampa Riverwalk’s Water Works Park) ends at 5 p.m., and that’s just way too early. That’s why folks are headed (in cabs, hopefully) to the Independent, which hosts an after-party soundtracked by the woozy sounds of Tampa instrumental band Poetry ‘N’ Lotion. (Independent Bar and Cafe, Tampa) INFO
Sound of Gospel Awards and Recognitions Hate going to church, but love gospel music? Maybe head to the Palladium on Sunday when this awards show — featuring a battle of the choirs and church bands — goes down starting at 5 p.m. We don’t think you’ll burst into flames when you walk through door. (Hough Hall at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
Betty Fox Band (The Ale & the Witch, St. Petersburg) INFO
Indie/Alt Night w/Youth Antics/King Complex/Phantom Phunk (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
The Florida Orchestra: Hot Latin Nights w/Mambo Kings (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) INFO
Showbiz Kids (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) INFO
Florida Strawberry Festival w/Reba McEntire/Lee Greenwood (Florida Strawberry Festival, Plant City) SOLD OUT
The Righteous Brothers (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Joe Marcinek Band feat. Steve Molitz w/Freekbass/Voodoo Visionary (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) INFO
The Hit Men (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) INFO
Rutenberg Series: Soroka-Greene Duo (Barness Recital Hall at University of South Florida, Tampa) INFO
Comin’ Home (3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg) INFO
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2018.