Tonight in Live Music: Col. Bruce Hampton & the Madrid Express, Maggie Koerner, Mike Zito & more

Here's a rundown of the concerts happening this Friday, March 20.

Col. Bruce Hampton & the Madrid Express The idiosyncratic Godfather of Southern alternative music has served as muse, mentor and avant rocker for the better part of four decades, and for the last dozen years or so, has been taking choppy, up-and-coming artists under his wing get them some exposure while rubbing off some of his wisdom and Zambi magic. Then, he sets them free to fly like birds on their own and starts the process all over again. Hampton’s current project takes has the usual bluesy, jazzy slant and encompasses guitarist/singer Rick Lollar and bassist Evan Sarver. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) –Leilani Polk

SPoT Tampa Pro After Party with Agnostic Front, Coldside, and Science The 21st annual Tampa Pro concludes with its traditional musical throwdown in Ybor, a stacked bill of raucous sounds led by balls-out hardcore crossover group Agnostic Front. (Orpheum, Ybor City)–LP

Delbert McClinton A man of multi-instrumental talents (on guitar, piano and harmonica), Texas-stoked electric blues, honky tonk and blues rock singer-songwriter Delbert McClinton has a soulfully smoky vocal quality that has howled its way through upwards of 25 albums in more than four decades, the last 2013’s Blind, Crippled and Crazy. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)–LP

Tampa Bay Roller Derby Fundraiser The roller skating ladies of the Tampa Bay Bruise Crew throw a rock n’ roll show to drum up $3k to get 15 skaters to Texas in April for bouts against the Texas Rollergirls Firing Squad, Houston Roller Derby Knockouts and Texas Rollergirls Rec-N-Rollerderby. Locals donating live music to the cause include female-fronted alt-rocker Glen Arven, dark and heavy metalmakers Harmonicide, and surf-tinged ska-punk outfit Saganaki Bomb Squad. Unchecked Aggression and Battlestar also perform. Admission is $5, and you can dish out another $5 to leg wrestle your favorite rollergirl. (Brass Mug, Tampa)–LP

Mike Zito with Jarekus Singleton Mike Zito has endured hardships like a true bluesman. He’s been homeless, battled addiction, acted like a criminal. Sober now thanks to some spiritual healing in Texas, the St. Louis native continues to craft gripping songs, delivers silky soulful vocals, and wields his axe as if it were just another part of his anatomy. Expect Zito and back-up band, The Wheel, to perform material off his latest album Songs from the Road, as well as select cuts from other LPs like Greyhound and Today. Jarekus Singleton, hailing from the same part of Mississippi as the great BB King, warms the stage with his own unique blend of blues, rock, and hip hop. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) –Seth Peterson

Jimmie Fadden A solo performance by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s drummer, harmonica player and vocalist, likely country-folk rock-tinged odes with Fadden’s chops on full display. (Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg)–LP

Maggie Koerner with Serotonic and Ella Jet Shreveport, La. songstress Koerner was the vocalist-in-residence of NOLA jazz-funk stalwarts Galactic for a period last year, which exposed her sweetly haunting yet sultry and powerful vocal stylings to a wider audience and boosted her name recognition enough to bring some attention to her two-album solo catalog of soulful rambling roots n’ twang. (Crowbar, Ybor City)–LP

ALSO TONIGHT:
St. Petersburg College Heissler Organ Concert Series: Simon Morley  SPC Music Center, St. Petersburg
Sunshine & Bullets, Sun And Flesh, Slowshore, The Hanging Chads, and Trankquill  Local 662, St. Petersburg
Slade & The Wasters, Bad Parker, and Mosquito Teeth  Fubar, St. Petersburg
Ari and the Alibis  Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg
Sykes Chapel Concert Artist Series: Lutz Felbick & Heribert Leuchter Sykes Chapel at UT, Tampa
The Big Free Grunge Show Weekend with Pearl Jamz, Cult Revolution, and Heart Shaped Box  Jannus Live, St. Petersburg

This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2015.