\\
✔️=Critic's Pick
✔️Hallucination Before Christmas w/Tommie Sunshine/MONK/Gene Farris/Öona Dahl/Praying Mantis/Brian Busto/Nerd Rage/Thee Joker B2B FootSouljahs/more Netflix junkies have probably seen DJ Tommie Sunshine unpack his EDM stories in After the Raves, but here’s a chance to see him make the bread and butter in person while also providing food for the Bay area’s least fortunate families. The 24th annual Hallucination Before Christmas party will collect canned goods (last year partygoers donated more than 2,200 pounds of food) and reward attendees with an iconic Ybor City concert experience which includes Chicago house-music legend Gene Farris playing alongside some of the Bay area’s most respected DJs inside of a Castle that’s all dolled up like a mindfuck winter wonderland. (The Castle, Ybor City) INFO
93.3-FLZ Jingle Ball 2018 w/Shawn Mendes/Khalid/Marshmello/NF/Bebe Rexha/Bazzi/Sabrina Carpenter/Bryce Vine/AJ Mitchell/Madison Beer/Alex Angello/more Shawn Mendes already has a July 2019 date with Amalie Arena, but Tampa radio station 93.3-FLZ is giving fans a sneak preview. The Top 40 station and other iHeartRadio properties have tapped Mendes (who played Amalie in 2017) to headline the party along with another fresh-faced singer, Khalid, masked EDM star Marshmello, Christian rapper NF plus songwriters Bebe Rexha, Bazzi and Sabrina Carpenter and more. Mendes appears on all but two of 12 Jingle Ball lineups happening across the country, which makes complete sense since Top 40 sounds exactly the same in Every City, U.S.A. these days. (Amalie Arena, Tampa) INFO
✔️ Adaliah w/Varials/Barrier/I AM/Afterlife/Losing Vision/Suitcase City/Madtown In July CL spoke with Adaliah guitarist Austin Coupe, who co-founded the band before he could even drive, watched it get signed to Mediaskare Records and also scored gigs opening for metal giants like Knocked Loose. Well, it’s time to close the chapter on the band, and this is the farewell show that none of the group’s devoted fans want to have to attend. Yes, that’s a vegan hot dog cart you’re seeing outside of the venue. (Orpheum, Ybor City) INFO
\\
✔️ Lakewood High Jazz Band CD Release In 2018, the students of Lakewood High’s Jazz Band made a springtime appearance at the New York City Jazz Festival, where the 19-piece ensemble played onstage at the historic Apollo Theater and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The trip was partially financed by sales of an album of original songs (Swingin’ On 54), and on Saturday the ensemble returns with another disc (Southside Groove) recorded, mixed and mastered by legendary Tampa engineer Tom Morris. (Carter G Woodson African American History Museum, St. Petersburg) INFO
✔️ The Archaeas w/Golden Pelicans/Gino & The Goons Orlando’s oldest pile of trash (insanely rowdy punk outfit The Golden Pelicans) joins a Bay area rock and roll band (Gino and the Goons) for a show headlined by Louisville psych-rock quartet The Archaeas, which is arrives supporting an unhinged and magically sloppy 2016 EP titled Archaea. (Hooch and Hive, Tampa) INFO
✔️ Pep Rally Presents Mascot w/Oprah Spinfrey & Friends Most Tampa residents probably don’t realize it, but they’ve been enjoying the beautiful work of Bay area art collective Pep Rally for a while now (ever been to Sparkman Wharf or a Lightning game?). For the first time ever, Pep Rally is inviting the public to its NoHo HQ and showcasing some of its favorite local artists (Mega Supremo, Emiliano Settecasi, Count Trillions and Cory Robinson, to name a few) and tapping Crate Brothers’ Oprah Spinfrey to make a vibe on the ones and twos. Free entry. (Pep Rally Inc., Tampa) INFO
✔️ The Pauses w/Lassyu/Claire Kelly/Mouth Council Nashville songwriter Claire Kelly jumps onto a bill built around acts whose music ventures into ambient-experimental (Mouth Council), rock-tronic (The Pauses) and psychedelic-rock and soul (Lassyu). It’s an eclectic mishmash of genres, which’ll play out well in a Green Bench beer garden that welcomes music fans of all ages for the show. (Green Bench Brewing Co., St. Petersburg) INFO
Holy Locust w/Cousin Boneless/Sketchie/Ricky Steece The punk side of folk music gets the lion’s share of the stage on Saturday at all-ages tattoo shop and D.I.Y. venue Lucky You where Bay area songwriter Ricky Steece plays hometown host to Pittsburgh quintet Cousin Boneless and New Orleans five-piece Holy Locust, which is playing in support of its 11-track, 2018 LP of end times-inspired roots and jazz, Fever Dream. St. Petersburg’s Sketchie brings a touch of ska to the evening. (Lucky You Tattoo, St. Petersburg) INFO
✔️ Gripper/Grave Ascension/Carnal Ruin/Apocalypse Siren Carnal Ruin is a young band whose guitarist, Giani Martinez, was first exposed to Tampa death metal thanks to Death’s 1998 album The Sound of Perseverance. He didn’t move here until May, which explains why the band is influenced not just by Florida death metal, but other acts like Vomitory, Grave, Autopsy, and Dismember. Listen to Carnal Ruin’s debut EP, Immortal Domain, via cltampa.com/music before it plays on this bill that includes a couple more heavy Tampa outfits (Apocalypse Siren, Grave Ascension) plus Tallahassee thunder-punk trio Gripper. (VFW Post 424, Tampa) INFO
David Lee Murphy w/Josh Gracin/Haley and Michael If you’re happy to see David Lee Murphy headlining shows again, then thank Kenny Chesney. Country music’s answer to Jimmy Buffett got Murphy, 59, to collaborate on "Everything's Gonna Be Alright,” which took home a Country Music Award last month. The “Dust On The Bottle” singer headlines Jannus Live during this Saturday show, which is making it feel a lot like the mid-90s around First Block. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) INFO
Drake Night Toys For Tots Drive w/Big Kris Kringle Some kids won't have Christmas. Are you upset? Yes indeed? Well, don't be emotionless about it. Get in your feelings, get it together and fulfill God's plan for the Bay area's less fortunate youth by attending The Bends' Drake night Toys For Tots fundraiser. Bring an unwrapped toy and get a mask of the 6 God's face, a free "Worst Behavior" shot and raffle ticket. A Drizzy-themed cocktail menu will water you while Big Kris Kringle and friends DJ all night. (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
Alex Harris Classic holiday tunes plus soul and R&B staples from the Motown, Stax and Atlantic catalog all get attention when St. Petersburg export Alex Harris comes back home to stage his version of a Christmas show. (Hough Hall at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
Rock
The Hot Rod Hornets (The Ale & the Witch St. Petersburg) INFO
Beerwolf w/Frostfang/Gullwing (Fubar, St. Petersburg) INFO
Rod Hamdallah (Ella's Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa) INFO
Rise of Saturn (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) INFO
WD Han w/Growler/Quaint Delusions (Microgroove, Tampa) INFO
Rising Down w/Raising Cadence/Elys:um/Interstellar Overdrive (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
Hyper Zenith (The Brass Mug, Tampa) INFO
Silver Alert w/Slap of Reality/The ProblemAddictsFL (Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg) INFO
Classical/Chorale
The Florida Orchestra: Holiday Pops w/Michael Lynche (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Florida Brass Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps Holiday Concert (Coachman Park, Clearwater) INFO
Singer-songwriter
Ronny Elliott (The Ale & the Witch St. Petersburg) INFO
Danielle Nicole (The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City) INFO
JT Brown w/Chris Sgammato (Tampa Armature Works, Tampa) INFO
Cormac Kavanagh (c. 1949 Florida Beer Garden, Tampa) INFO
Electronic/EDM
Terrapin (Speakeasy Kava, Largo) INFO
Sunset Saturday w/Bijou (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
Historic Ybor City's Bricksmas Vacation w/[beatsnchill] (The Bricks, Ybor City) INFO
Americana
Jenu Six & The Old Souls w/Joshua Reilly (Hideaway Café St. Petersburg) INFO
Applebutter Express (Skipper's Smokehouse Tampa) INFO
Whiskey Dregs (3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg) INFO
World
Celtic Thunder (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) INFO
DJ
Retro Red Square Recall w/DJ Noi/DJ Rig (Orpheum, Ybor City) INFO
Country
The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo Anniversary Tour w/Roger McGuinn/Chris Hillman/Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) INFO
Tribute/Cover
Stonegrey (3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg) INFO
Rusted (Red Star Rock Bar, Tampa) INFO
Underground Pilot (Ka’Tiki, Treasure Island) INFO
The Ship (Ka’Tiki, Treasure Island) INFO
Flip the Bird (Smokin’ 19, St. Petersburg) INFO
Eccentric (Two Buks, Clearwater) INFO
This article appears in Dec 13-20, 2018.