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✔️= Critic's Pick
✔️ Christina Aguilera w/Big Boi We’re not sure who’s happier about this show: Christina Aguilera fans or Big Boi devotees. Mr. Boi’s springtime cancellation of a May 24 show at The Ritz was a bummer and a bit confusing since dates in Pensacola, Orlando, Jacksonville and Ft. Pierce remained on the itinerary, but Lauryn Hill quickly announced that the Outkast emcee would open her show at Al Lang Stadium in July. Hill, naturally, canceled that show, which was OK since Aguilera had already tapped the Atlanta rap icon to open the bulk of the dates on this month-and-a-half-long comeback tour in support of her new album, Liberation, which finds the former Mouseketeer abandoning pop hooks in favor of smoky ballads and tons of hip-hop beats. Xtina and Mr. “Daddy Fat Stax” may be an odd pairing on paper, but this could end up being one of the best concerts of the year. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
✔️ Jazz at Intermezzo w/Nate Najar/James Suggs/Tommy Cecil It’s not uncommon to see bassist Tommy Cecil, trumpeter James Suggs and guitarist Nate Najar together onstage, but we’ve never seen the jazz trio billed for a hyper-intimate set at a much-beloved, ultra-hip downtown St. Pete coffee, cocktail and oyster spot, so consider us smitten. (Intermezzo Coffee & Cocktails, St. Petersburg) INFO
Tech N9ne w/Krizz Kaliko/Futuristic/Dizzy Wright Horrorcore hip-hop mainstay and Strange Music founder Tech N9ne has a new album due next year, but the 46-year-old Kansas City emcee recently gave fans a pack of fresh tunes, N9NA Collection 1, to hold them over. Expect him to play cuts from Collection — and give his most devoted followers more new stuff — at this Tuesday-night show alongside fellow Strange Music signee Krizz Kaliko, Arizona rapper-songwriter Futuristic and Hopsin protege Dizzy Wright. (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
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ALSO PLAYING
Jazz Dead Tuesday (The Ale & the Witch, St. Petersburg) INFO
Guest Artist Recital w/Fischer Duo (Barness Recital Hall at University of South Florida, Tampa) INFO
Zebra (Central Park Performing Arts Center, Largo) INFO
Chopin Project Concert w/Matthew Graybil (Hough Hall at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
James Drakes w/Jonathan Fisher (Black Crow Coffee, St. Petersburg) INFO
Melody Artisans of the Crooked Thumb: Patience Songs(Crooked Thumb Brewery, Safety Harbor) INFO
This article appears in Nov 8-15, 2018.