Four members of the American band Boá posing in a white studio; featuring a woman in a white top and long skirt, a keyboardist in a blue jersey, and two guitarists.
Boá Credit: yearofboa / Instagram

Tampa Bay’s Black Heritage Festival’s month-long celebration comes to a head this weekend with a big music festival weekend at downtown Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

A band playing Rick James’ biggest songs is on the lineup along with homegrown blues hero Sarasota Slim, but keep an eye out for Boá (stylized all-caps), too.

Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that the pop-jazz band playing on Sunday includes an alum of Blake High School who plays guitar in the band, which has posted originals like “Take Control” on its YouTube page alongside smoldering covers of Daniel Caesar and Stevie Wonder.

Tickets to the Tampa Black Heritage Festival 2026 Music Fest happening at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa on Saturday-Sunday, April 25-26 are still available and start at $40.

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This article appears in Apr. 23 – 29, 2026.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...