Nothing super duper exciting this Friday but plenty to choose from. Breakdown below.
Cory Branan with Jon Snodgrass, Big Shoals, Sunshine State Branan’s clever, creative alt-country songwriting predates the current trend and one-ups it with unique personal style. Snodgrass, a principal in punks-turned-twangers unit Drag The River, has a simpler sonic signature, and an earnest, heartfelt voice that makes the material all his own. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —Scott Harrell
Throwdown by the Bay with Brantley Gilbert, Tyler Farr, Parmalee, Colt Ford, Chase Bryant US 103.5-FM presents this five-act country extravaganza. The headlining slot is held by twang-rocker Brantley Gilbert, who has that bad-boy mystique and a third full-length, this year’s Just As I Am, that debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums charts; its hit single, “Bottoms Up,” is about drinking hard, feeling good and appreciating a pretty little mama with daisy dukes and all the right moves. (Amalie Arena, Tampa) —Leilani Polk
Kenny G Holiday Show A mega player in the smooth jazz and Adult Contemporary realms, springy-haired sax man Kenny G has carved out a rather lucrative career for himself with his sexy single-reed chops and soothing, mostly instrumental compositions. He has a vast catalog that includes several holiday albums, two of them platinum-sellers, and the program on this evening likely touches on them all. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —LP
Don Diablo The Dutch DJ/producer/dancefloor bomber has a unique way of incorporating sliced and diced vocals into his big, synth-whirring and bass-pounding progressive house jams, which are infused with elements of hip-hop, disco and electro. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)—LP
Fozzy with Texas Hippie Coalition, Shaman’s Harvest, The Defiant, Bullets First It might be hard to accept professional wrestler Chris Jericho as the frontman of a heavy metal(ish) group, but he’s been moonlighting as the lead vocalist of Fozzy since 1999, when it was still an Ozzy Osbourne cover band, and the five-piece has recorded six albums over the years; the last was Do You Wanna Start a War, which dropped earlier this year. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —LP
Sarah Mac Band 6th Annual Christmas Show It’s a soul-soaked, blues-licked, jazz-swinging rock ‘n’ roll presentation with a seasonal twist by Tallahassee’s throaty-voiced songstress Sarah Mac and her band, guitarist Charlie Vanture and bassist Claire Swindell; the first set features standard SMB fare, while the second dips into a mix of familiar and lesser-known holiday odes. (Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg)—LP
Low Tide with Brian Busto, Jesse Scotto, Doug Kenderdine LA-based DJ/production duo Low Tide are Michael Sandler and Joshua Finley (aka SAND and Finley), who craft pulsing techno and house music marked by deep grooves, pulsing synthesizers and beat-mixing coated in exotic percussive texture. (Hyde Park Café, Tampa) —LP
Click HERE to check out more events for today and the next week.
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2014.