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✔️= Critic’s Pick
✔️ Clearwater Sea-Blues Festival w/Vintage Trouble/Fantastic Negrito/Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band/the Devon Allman Project feat. Duane Betts/Christone “Kingfish” Ingram/Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics/Mark Telesca/Jamie N Royce/Davy Knowles/RJ Howson/Victoria Ginty and Ladyhawke Northern California bluesman Fantastic Negrito is no stranger to the area, but the 51-year-old returns this time with yet another Grammy award in hand (his latest roots-rock, blues and funk record — Please Don’t Be Dead — took home the golden gramophone for Best Contemporary Blues Album). He’s the highlight on a two-day Clearwater Sea Blues Festival bill that also includes The Devon Allman Project with Duane Betts, young guitar phenom Christone Ingram and more. A schedule is available via myclearwaterevents.com. (Coachman Park, Clearwater) INFO
✔️Car Seat Headrest w/Naked Giants Life is pretty damn good for Will Toledo right now. His Seattle-based indie-rock band just opened for its Matador Records labelmate Interpol at Madison Square Garden, and the group has been selling out venues across the country during this tour supporting a brilliant re-recording of Car Seat Headrest’s self-released, DIY-recorded 2011 album Twin Fantasy. CL was fortunate enough to catch up with Toledo, and your can read his first interview since a January 2018 chat with Rolling Stone by visiting cltampa.com/music. (Orpheum, Ybor City) INFO
✔️ Pink It Up 10! Ska Bands & Fans Against Breast Cancer w/Victims of Circumstance/Unchecked Aggression/M.B. Banned/Jeremy Gloff/Saganaki Bomb Squad/Noel Rochford/Bargain Bin Heroes/D.J. Kelly Blanx Who said ska isn’t grown-up? A long-running benefit concert built around the punk and reggae subgenre hits the decade mark this year, and it’s pretty heartwarming to think about all the patients who’ve benefited from the funds raised over the years. Proceeds from this year’s party will go towards Morton Plant Mease Healthcare Foundation’s Mammography Voucher Program, Cancer Support Services (CaPSS) and the Susan Cheek Needler Breast Center at Morton Plant Mease. (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
✔️ Heights Unites Music & Arts Festival w/Five Eight/The Burke Brothers/The Dollyrots/Johnny Mile and the Kilometers/Hello Joyce/Badda Skat/Fever Beam/Kerry Courtney/Jordan Esker & The Hundred Percent/Kristopher James/Cormac Kavanagh/Shawn Kyle/Lassyu/Jack Sprouse/The Tiny Terror/Damion Suomi/Lauris Vidal Many different folks make Brew Bus’ Heights Unites festival happen, and one of them is Bay area scene staple Keith Ulrey. Last year, someone at Heights Unites did the right thing by handing the loveable, bald-headed, bearded guy who co-founded longrunning Tampa label New Granada the keys to the music portion of the event, and they must’ve entrusted Ulrey again, because an Athens, Georgia export (revered indie-rock and power-pop band Five Eight) is going to headline the neighborhood block party alongside Burke Brothers (featuring members of Bay area Americana favorite Have Gun, Will Travel), while some of the best rock and roll, reggae, folk and indie-pop acts from across the region play support. We can’t wait to see the looks in the audience when John Nowicki’s freaky folk and madman-country project Tiny Terror takes the stage. Online dustups surrounding polarizing Tampa City Council candidate Stephen Lytle have surfaced as of late (the president of the South Seminole Heights Civic Association is affiliated with Heights Unites, and CL interviewed him for a story about the festival last year), but the personality conflicts (yeah, we’ll probably vote for Dingfelder) aren’t enough to keep us away from what is ultimately a fantastic community event. (Brew Bus, Tampa) INFO
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G Herbo If you think the headlines on racks above the grocery checkout line are bad, then you should read what the online hip-hop tabloids write about. G Herbo’s been on the shiity side of the rumor mill lately (critics have also been split over the quality of a new single, “Still Swervin”), but the Southside Chicago emcee shouldn’t worry about it. The 23-year-old formerly known as Lil Herb is one of the Windy City’s most coveted rap scene exports, and while late-night sets like this one at Carrollwood nightclub Whiskey North aren’t our favorite way to get live hip-hop, it’ll still be a good chance for diehards to be in a small room with a rapper whose name we might be hearing a lot for years to come. (Whiskey North, Tampa) INFO
✔️ Indelible Disdain: The Art of Scumrag w/DJ Silence/Ranmecca/Mes McDonald Scrumrag’s work is already part of the Heights Walls project outside of Café Hey, but the Tampa artist will go inside for his first solo exhibition, which also happens to be a beathead daydream thanks to sets by Bay area producers Rude 100, Ranmecca and Mes McDonald. (Café Hey, Tampa) INFO
✔️ Matt and Kim w/Yuno In 2011, Matt and Kim put on a thrilling set at Czar in Ybor City (the legendary club has since been shuttered; it would’ve been neighbors with that boutique hotel going up near The Bricks), and it has been a joy to see how far the high-energy pop duo has come since its art school days. Kim Schifino was recently sidelined by injury, but the band used that year off to make Almost Everyday, its most personal and uplifting album ever. We’re willing to bet that it’ll be a sweaty, possibly sold-out spectacle at Jannus, where Jacksonville songwriter Yuno opens the show. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) INFO
✔️ Unicorn Fukr You could catch Unicorn Fukr at festivals like BUKU in his hometown of New Orleans, or you could just head down to Cass Street in downtown Tampa where lifestyle and music collective Trippy Squad has asked the genre-agnostic producer born Erik Browne to headline a set under the roof at Hooch and Hive. We’re pretty sure curfew is at 3 a.m., and we wouldn’t be surprised if this party went all the way to the last minute. (Hooch and Hive, Tampa) INFO
There’s more to the Tampa Bay concert calendar, and we’ve got it waiting for you on local.cltampa.com. Visit cltampa.com/music every day to get daily concert roundups plus all the latest concert announcements and local music. Follow us on Twitter (@cl_music) and subscribe to the newsletter, too.
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ALSO PLAYING
*See a list of venues hosting residencies and tribute or cover bands at the bottom of this post.
Rock/Pop/Americana
Armature Works Anniversary w/The Logan Grant Band/Chris Sgammato and Friends/Holey Miss Moley (Tampa Armature Works, Tampa) INFO
The Lauren Mitchell Band (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
Crystallized w/Story Mode/Balooga (Hillcrest Coffee, Lakeland) INFO
Cottondale Swamp (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa) INFO
Blackbird Morning (The Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
Viewers Like You w/Discord Theory/Man The Hunter (The Blue Note, Tampa) INFO
War of Thrones w/Saxon (Brass Mug, Tampa) INFO
Gypsy Wind (Crooked Thumb Brewery, Safety Harbor) INFO
Shawn Kyle and Lauris Vidal (The Hub, Tampa) INFO
Unknown Hinson w/6 Volt Rodeo (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) INFO
Art Garfunkel (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) INFO
DJ/EDM
[Beatsnchill] Missy Elliott Night (The Bricks, Ybor City) INFO
Felix Da Housecat (Ichicoro ANE at Station House, St. Petersburg) INFO
Sunset Saturdays w/Keys N Krates (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
Blues
Selwyn Birchwood (8 p.m) w/The Florida Mountain Boys (3 p.m.) (The Ale & The Witch, St. Petersburg) INFO
Classical/Chorale/Jazz
The Florida Orchestra Masterworks: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hough Hall at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Tribute
Rex Floyd (Red Star Rock Bar, Tampa) INFO
Misc.
St. Pete Punk Rock Flea Market (Planet Retro Records, St. Petersburg) INFO
Daddy Kool Records Sidewalk Sale 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)
This article appears in Feb 21-28, 2019.
