Don’t Stop St. Pete w/Priest/Autarx/Blestian/Drug/Fayroy/Fr33dback/Goodnight Neverland/FayRoy/The Haunted Spacesuits/Jensen Serf Company/Heights NS/Luxury Mane/Priest/more Nearly 30 bands homegrown right here in the Sunshine State will converge on four stages (two indoor, two outdoor) while local food, beer and art vendors share their passion at what should be a very active Morean Center for Clay. You’ll likely never see the historic train station activated quite like this, and you’ll be kicking yourself if you miss sets from electro pop outfit Priest, emcee Heights NS and producer Matt Reisinger (aka Fr33dback). You actually can’t go wrong with any of the bands on the bill, so don’t be afraid to get lost in the activity when you make it out for this one. It all kicks off around 3 p.m., and more information is available at dontstopstpete.com. Read our interview and song premiere with St. Pete rock and roll trio Sonic Graffiti here. (Morean Center For Clay, St. Petersburg) INFO
Lauris Vidal If anybody can handle being the only guy on an “evening with” bill, then it’s Lauris Vidal. The cigar box guitar makin’ Florida folk hero is infamous for his one man band setup where every appendage on his person gets utilized in a collection of crashing kick drum and cymbals deployed to back his signature full grin folk tunes. (Green Bench Brewing Co., St. Petersburg) INFO
Generationals w/Raindeer/Pajamas Has it really been nearly three years since Generationals dropped their sophomore LP Alix? Apparently so, and while the feel good vibes from that 2014 effort still haven’t faded, we are moving around to a new song from the New Orleans-based indie pop duo. “Keep It Low” picks up where Alix and Heza (2013) left off, and as summer approaches at breakneck speed, Generational’s 80s kissed fuzzy synth and melodies have never felt more apropos. Baltimore psych-pop trio Raindeer will open in support of a new batch of Charm City alt rock, Neon Death, which saw release in January. Get there early to watch St. Pete producer Shane Schuch work on his own electro pop project, Pajamas. (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
Coppola Conducts: 100 Years Young w/Jessica Best/Adam Diegel/Lisa Houben/Stefanos Koroneos/Diana McVey/Cleyton Pulzi/Mark Walters Five years ago, Maestro Anton Coppola bowed out by conducting the most magnificent grand opera, Aida, at the Straz Center’s Ferguson Hall. He was 95 years old then and left behind 17 years of service to Opera Tampa. Half a decade into his retirement, Coppola, who turned 100 on March 21, is back to celebrate a century on this rock we humans call home. He’ll be joined by a full orchestra and chorus complete with soloists who’ll help bring even more life to some of Coppola’s favorite works. Read Cathy Salustri's interview with the conductor here. (Ferguson Hall at the David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa) INFO
Steve Grand It’s been almost half a decade since Steve Grand came out as America’s first gay country singer, and the 27-year-old’s message to fans and onlookers still rings relevant as he arrives to headline the Tampa Pride Festival this Sunday. “Time to be brave. The world does not see change until it sees honesty,” he wrote in 2013. “I am taking a risk here in many ways, but really there is no choice but to be brave. To not tell this story is to let my soul die. It is all I believe in. It is all I hold dear.” The Gaga, Springsteen and Fall Out Boy-influenced All American Boy has been busy supporting a 2015 LP, but he’s managed to work in duets with Iowa pop songwriter Eli Lieb, covers of Bieber and acoustic versions of his own songs (listen to “Soakin’ Wet”) along the way. Listen to some of it via here. Tickets available via tampapride.org. (Ybor City Historic District) INFO
Golden Pelicans w/Science/Shot You’d have to go back to 2015 to find a physical release from Orlando punks Golden Pelicans that isn’t sold out. Their recent Live at Third Man Records (yes, that Third Man) is gone, and so is their 2016 7-inch Complete Destruction. It’s not for naught either, as their output is the kind of dingy rock & roll that’s become the norm at this swanky St. Pete dive. Tampa’s own Science — made up of some of the city’s longest running scene builders — play support along with SHOT (who also play Bike Night at Ybor City’s Crowbar on Wednesday). (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
DJ/EDM/Tribute
Emo Night Brooklyn (Orpheum, Ybor City) INFO
Shadowrun Bros. at Church of Nintendo (Fubar, St. Petersburg) INFO
God Save The Queen (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) CANCELLED
Yookie (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
St. Petersburg Music Factory Student Showcase (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
Classical/Jazz/Gospel
TFO: A Night at the Opera w/Michael Francis (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Gospel Jubilee w/Harbortones/PHUMC Quartet/PHUMC choir /Mt. Zion UMC Choir (Palm Harbor United Methodist Church, Palm Harbor) INFO
USF Chamber Music Recital w/Patricia Green/Carolyn Stuart/Scott Kluksdahl/Svetozar Ivanov (Barness Recital Hall at University of South Florida, Tampa) INFO
Rock/Blues/Country/Hip-Hop
The Parasite’s Ball w/The Holloway Tape/Heretical Lacerations/Thrash Attack/Spite Sanction (Brass Mug, Tampa) INFO
CBGB Forever w/Kevin K./Jacqui & le Dropouts/Kate Bradshaw (Iberian Rooster, St. Petersburg) INFO
March 25-26, St. Petersburg Seafood & Music Festival w/Jah Movement/Tozier/Kettle of Fish/Twinkle/Orchestra Fuego/Sarasota Steel Pan Band/Greg Billings Band (North Straub Park, St. Petersburg) INFO
Wilson Phillips w/Sister Hazel/Jessie James (Youkey Theatre at the Lakeland Center, Lakeland) INFO
Charlie Morris Band (Firehouse Cultural Center, Ruskin) INFO
Southern Avenue w/Ari & the Alibis (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) INFO
Aries: An Expression of Love and Community w/For Enemies In Divisions/Land of NOD/Penny Grune Fae/Shifted/Grimm/YZM/Hell Garbage/Colorado Ratt (The Venture Compound, St. Petersburg) INFO
Craig Wayne Boyd and Adam Wakefield (Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival, Tampa) INFO
Spring Music Festival w/Jeremy Lomack/Britney Moné/more (Water Works Park, Tampa) INFO
Extra Celestial (Red Star Rock Bar, Tampa) INFO
This article appears in Mar 23-30, 2017.