THURSDAY, APRIL 26
Malcolm Holcombe w/Ronny Elliott Since his 1996 debut, N.C. native troubadour Malcolm Holcombe has lingered on the fringes of the insurgent folk-Americana scene, and he’s managed to earn his fair share of street cred and critical attention without ever really changing his underground status. Holcombe pits his crusty backwoods drawl against vigorous guitar strums, and each of the 12 tracks on his eighth and latest album, To Drink the Rain, were recorded in a single take. (Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg) —Leilani Polk
An Evening with Yanni Greek musician and composer Yanni is on the road in support of a 2011 live CD/DVD release, Yanni Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico. Backed by an energetic 12-piece orchestra, Yanni leads instrumentals that combine New Age, classical music and pop rock. He doesn’t read or write down his music, but his perfect pitch means he can deliver a dynamic performance regardless. Last year, he was honored by China when the government invited him to adopt a panda. He’s since partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to promote conservation and sponsors a program in which he's guaranteed $50k in donations from April 17 to August 19, a time frame that happens to coincide with his current 80-show North American tour. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) –Rebecca Forman
Roy Schneider A singer-songwriter from Ft. Myers who produces downhome folk-Americana music, his vocals a rich lower-toned timbre and his instrumentation encompassing guitars, mandolin, harmonica and light percussion; Schneider is usually accompanied by his wife, Kim Mayfield, on piano and backing vocals. (Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg) —LP
FRIDAY, APRIL 27
Out Go The Lights w/DieAlps!/Lights At Night/Rising Down Three fresh-faced Orlando-based musicians make up Out Go the Lights – singer-guitarist Alex Clements, drummer Allen Clark and bassist Elliott Lane, who craft upbeat, jangly guitar pop marked by piping vocal harmonies and moments of tinkling prettiness as displayed on their self-released 2011 debut full-length, Sun. Live, the trio is joined by manager/best friend/aux player Sean Egan (backing vocals, keys, samplers). (Crowbar, Ybor City) —LP
Bill Wharton, "The Sauce Boss" Bringing another round of slide guitar-drenched boogie woogie blues and bowls of his trademark spicy gumbo to town is Tallahassee-based musician Wharton, who seasons and stirs a giant steaming pot of gumbo all through his set, adding plenty of his own "Liquid Summer" hot sauce, and personally serves it at the end. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) —LP
Casanova's Blast Friday w/Firefall The concert at this week's free Blast! Friday street festival is Firefall, formed in Boulder, Colo. in the 1970s. Their soft and mellow country rock hits still get airplay, including biggest single, "You Are the Woman." ("You are the woman that I've always dreamed of, I knew it from the start / I saw your face and that's the last I've seen of my heart"). The band has been through its ups and downs, including a break-up and enough band shuffling that only a single original member remains today, lead guitarist Jock Bartley, though drummer Sandy Ficca and vocalist/guitarist Steven Weinmeister have been official players since 1984. (Cleveland Street, downtown Clearwater) –RF
Florida Rules Fest This all-ages two-day (Friday-Saturday) fest showcases an array of Florida bands practicing regular hardcore, progressive hardcore, melodic hardcore, powerviolence, grindcore, post-metal, death metal, emo, pop punk, thrash, and good old-fashioned punk rock. (Orpheum, Ybor City) —LP
Lit w/Devil Made Microphones/Nine Mile Drive/Red Calling Remember the heavy punk-pop hit from 1999, "My Own Worst Enemy," that became a sort of WTF-happened morning-after anthem? (Chorus: "Please tell me why, my car is in the front yard? And I’m sleeping with my clothes on? Came in through the window last night and you're gone…"). The quartet is getting ready to release a fifth full-length and their first album of new material in eight years, The View from the Bottom, out in June via Megaforce Records. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —LP
Roadkill Ghost Choir Lightly mournful and haunting Americana from Orlando area sextet Roadkill Ghost Choir, their indie influences leaning to My Morning Jacket and Fleet Foxes – less heavy than the former, less pastoral than the latter, a sound they've described as "cosmic American music." (Ella's Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa) —LP
SATURDAY, APRIL 28
Halcyon w/simply.abigail The monthly Skipper's appearance by acoustic guitar-wielding, powerfully harmonizing femme duo Halcyon (Deb Hunseder and Steph Callahan), who've been playing together for more than two decades. Young folk pop songstress simply.abigail opens. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) —LP
The Birthday Takeover A glitch-hop, drum 'n' bass and dubstep birthday throwdown in honor of three Bay area DJs celebrating another year's pass – Tuff Love Dubs founder ClrH2o; West Coast implant and owner of Low Pass Records, Polish Pat; and Turbo Tuesday founder, St. Pete's King Krow, who is joined by the other half of Low Pass, Thee Joker. The Social has added 10,000-watts of bass to its upstairs lounge and promise "to shake the foundation." (The Social, Ybor City) —LP
Greg Lake British singer-guitarist Greg Lake started his career playing bass in the earliest incarnation of King Crimson (he appeared on the first two albums) before moving on to become one-third of influential progressive-art rock outfit Emerson Lake and Palmer. In his current "Songs of a Lifetime" tour, he offers enlightening insight into his musical journey via stories about his experiences and performances of those tracks he helped write –"Karn Evil 9" and "Lucky Man" among them – along with covers of songs by other artists that have impacted Lake’s musical career over the years. Lake plays a second show at the same venue on Mon., April 30. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)—LP
Ska Prom 2012 w/The Taj Motel Trio/After The Fact/Won't Be Arsed/Orpheus/Four Minute/Warning/Yugoskavia/Poundsalt/UNRB/CIO Floridaska.com presents its annual party showcasing Southeastern ska-punk acts, with Georgia’s Taj Motel Trio (which really ranges from four to six members depending on how many horn players are present) taking the headlining slot and a huge bill of high-quality Florida acts filling out the rest. (Transitions Art Gallery @ Skatepark of Tampa)—LP
98Rock Fest w/Shinedown/Evanescence/Five Finger Death Punch/ Halestorm/Trivium/P.O.D./more Another rather insipid lineup of mainstream rock from the radio station that does it best. Shinedown, from Jacksonville, heads it up with their meh brand of alt rock and fourth LP that has topped the Alternative, Hard Rock and Rock Albums charts. Five Finger Death Punch livens things up a bit with their heavy thrashing groove metal as ring-led by vocalist Ivan Moody, who vomits up rage-filled verses amid the deep monster roars and clearer-toned cries of his choruses; third album American Capitalist dropped last year. The fest kicks off with a free show on the West Plaza by Christian nu metal foursome P.O.D. (Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa) —LP
Sister Hazel Capella Music Festival w/Miggs/Jr. Doctor/The Hip Abduction/Woody & the Nutcrackers/Daniel B Marshall/Fifty Five South with Ken Apperson Sister Hazel, the group from Gainesville that dominated the 1990s pop rock charts with their hit, "All For You," headlines this outdoor festival. Hazelnuts (what their fans call themselves) will likely be treated to tunes off their eighth and most recent full-length, Heartland Highway, which adds a bit of country twang to their "American road trip music" blend of Southern rock, folk and pop. Miggs, "one of the best bands you've never heard of," produces pop-rock with an alternative edge. The trio has toured with Maroon 5 and Plain White T’s, and the music video for their song "Let the Games Begin" stars Lindsay Lohan. (Williams Park, downtown St. Petersburg) –RF
Lacuna Coil w/Candlelight Red The darkly yearning and dueling masculine-feminine vocals of co-singers Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro soar over a heavy dose of distorted, down-tuned guitars and pounding basslines in the music of Italian gothic metal outfit Lacuna Coil, on tour behind their sixth studio album, Dark Adrenaline, which was produced by Don Gilmore (Bullet For My Valentine, Linkin Park) and debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP
Bikini Blues Bash: Lucky Peterson with Sarasota Slim/Little Jake Mitchell and the Soul Searchers/Betty Fox and the Dirty Bastards/many more If you're not getting burned by the sun, you're getting scorched by the blistering blues at the inaugural Bikini Blues Bash. Attendees are treated to 10 hours of music for $10. Headlining the festivities is Lucky Peterson, who got started real young (age 3), and managed to grow from a prodigy to a professional who sings in a rugged howl and plays R&B-fused blues on B3, Rhodes and electric guitar with a seasoned vet's finesse. His band features vocalist wife Tamara Peterson and he'll also be joined by local guitar-slinger Sarasota Slim. Also of note: Little Jake Mitchell and the Soul Searchers, an authentic soul and blues nine-piece band from Gainesville. (104th Avenue and Gulf Boulevard, Treasure Island Beach) —LP
John Gold w/Goodnight Neverland/Henry! Henry! Henry!/Happiness Machine/APOW Our own young and sweetly poignant DIY singer-songwriter John Gold has been spreading his buoyant sun-kissed folk pop around the U.S. on his first-ever national tour – successfully funded by a Kickstarter campaign – and makes his triumphant return at this show with some other great make-ya-feel-good local acts. (Crowbar, Ybor City)—LP
Rowan Cunningham Band A trio featuring Rowan brothers Chris and Lorin – who've toured with the Grateful Dead and Allison Krauss, among others – on acoustic guitar, with Lorin adding mandolin melodies and Sue Cunningham rounding it out on fiddle. All three sing and deliver three-part harmonies amid a bed of rousing Americana and bluegrass. (Craftsmen House Gallery, St. Petersburg) —LP
SUNDAY, APRIL 29
The Hummingbirds For this Soul Food Sunday, Ella's welcomes back repeat returnees The Hummingbirds, from Detroit, their breezy country-roots sound marked by the winding vocal melodies and guitar work of Rachel Lynn and Stephen Grant Wood. (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)—LP
Jazz Appreciation Month – Culmination Concert This event is presented by the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum and celebrates the rich history of jazz. Winners of 2012's Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association Jazz Scholarship perform alongside several Bay area jazz greats, among them, saxophone player Ernie Calhoun, bassist John Lamb, pianist Stan Hunter, trombone vet Buster Cooper, guitar slinger Vincent Sims, and drummer Ron Gregg. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) –RF
MONDAY, APRIL 30
A Day to Remember / Rise Against w/Title Fight A metalcore and pop punk favorite of Bay area audiences, Ocala's A Day to Remember returns to town on a co-headlining tour with Rise Against, a propulsive punk/melodic hardcore foursome from Chicago that issued a rather bleak sixth studio album last year, Endgame, about "the end of humankind as we know it." In an interview with Spin magazine, frontman Tim McIlrath explained: "Every day, there's news about our financial system or the environment collapsing or stories about nuclear proliferation. We're living under this black cloud of doom – everything's spiraling out of control. The record is about all that." (Stadium Green Iguana, Tampa)—LP
Holiday / Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt / The Back Pockets Three bands for the price of none – that's right, this is a free show and national electro-quirky party band Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt performs along with our own eccentric indietronic music purveyor, Holiday, and The Back Pockets, from Atlanta, their music fuzzy, garage-noise pop with outrageous vocals that can also be rather pretty and restrained, in a wacked-out sort of way. (Fubar, St. Petersburg)—LP
TUESDAY, MAY 1
Behemoth w/Watain/The Devil's Blood/In Solitude Headlining "The Decibel Tour" (presented by metal-only Decibel Magazine) is Polish blackened death metal quartet Behemoth, with like acts supporting. You can expect it to be loud and full of heathens. Enter at your own risk and let the raging begin. (Orpheum Ybor City)—LP
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2
For All Those Sleeping / In Fear And Faith w/Dream On Dreamer/Casino Madrid/Adestria/Rising Down St. Cloud, Minn.-based foursome For All Those Sleeping is armed with metalcore and pop-punk tendencies, and issued their full-length debut in 2010 after inking a deal with Fearless Records. San Diego's In Fear and In Faith comes from a heavier metal and electronic place, and has issued three records since signing to Rise in 2008; the last was their 2011 Symphonies EP, which features symphonic renditions of seven of the quintet's best known songs with guest vocalists on nearly every track. (Orpheum Ybor City)—LP
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 2, 2012.