Some rather fine concerts are happening on this Thurs., April 28. Take a look at the breakdown below.
The Joy Formidable with Funny Bunny Welsh alt-rock power trio The Joy Formidable [pictured above] hits town hot on the heels of releasing a third full-length, Hitch. First single “The Last Thing on My Mind” finds bassist/frontwoman Ritzy Bryan taking on a sultry commanding vocal tone and slinging self-assured lyrics amid the slink-grooving and ominous-grinding instrumentals. Make sure to arrive early enough for their Bay area date to rock out with Tampa’s own femme-led post-disco/New Wave/punk trio, Funny Bunny. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)–Leilani Polk
ABC’s Nashville In Concert After a short but successful run of dates in the spring of 2015, the Nashville in Concert tour returns, bringing several singing stars of ABC’s country music-driven drama to a single Florida stage near you. Which stars, you ask? Clare Bowen (who plays Scarlett O'Connor), Chip Esten (Deacon Claybourne), Chris Carmack (Will Lexington), and Aubrey Peeples (Layla Grant), who’ll all be performing select tracks from the show among other surprises. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) –LP
Selwyn Birchwood The Bay area guitar-slinging and sliding bluesman has been on the come-up since playing his way to a win against 125 acts during the Blues Foundation’s 2013 International Blues Challenge. Since then, he’s earned glowing press from Rolling Stone and The Washington Post, opened for the likes of Robert Cray and Buddy Guy, got signed to Alligator Records to release his full-length debut, 2014’s Don't Call No Ambulance, and earned a Blues Music Award in the “Best New Artist Album” category for the LP last year. (Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg)–LP
Flogging Molly Celtic folk-punk legends Flogging Molly come through town in a flurry of beer, bar brawls and unrelenting good vibes that leave grins on the faces of fans all around – that and the sheer audacity of the otherwise contradicting aural textures the L.A. band adds to their fun-thrashing sounds so perfectly, whether it’s the hum of accordion, the perky toot of pan flute or strains of bagpipe, or maybe just the string-plucked twang of banjo or mandolin. No new albums have dropped since 2011’s Speed of Darkness but the fast-kicking rah-rah stomp of “The Hand of John L. Sullivan” (a new track that dropped last month) holds much promise for fresh material to come. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) –Justin Croteau
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2016.