In addition to the kick-off of Tampa Bay Blues Festival, we have plenty of other concerts slated for this Thurs., April 9. Breakdown below…

Diana Krall The Canadian keys-playing jazz chanteuse with the distinctively deep and smoky vocal intones offers re-interpretations of pop songs from the late 1960s to the present in Wallflower, her 12th and latest LP. Among the cuts are a slinky, lounge-and-Latin-hued reading of The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreaming” and “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House, a gentle, finely-arranged re-working fleshed out with Bacharachian swells of strings. After catching a severe case of pneumonia last fall, Krall put off the release of Wallflower and canceled its support tour, including her original December date in Clearwater. Fully recuperated, she’s back on the road, the album is out, and not only did she re-schedule her Clearwater performance but added a second one; this is the first of a two-night (Thursday-Friday) stand. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)

Dada Life Swedish DJs Olle Cornéer and Stefan Engblom are the electro/progressive house duo otherwise known as Dada Life. While there’s not much avant garde or even mildly diverse about the sounds they produce – driven by pop/emo vocals and untz pounding beats – they make up for it with goofy humor and song titles like ““Kick Out the Epic Motherfucker” and “This Machine Kills Ravers.” (Jannus Life, St. Petersburg)

An Evening with John McEuen Jimmie Fadden hit the Hideaway Café in March. Now another member of country rock mainstay Nitty Gritty Dirty Band lands in town, this one multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter John McEuen (banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, lap steel, piano), who delivers his own intimate showing at the newly re-vamped Murray Studio Theater. (MST at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)

Rachel Kate Credit: Landon Neil Phillips Photography

Rachel Kate with Jeff Shepherd Rachel Kate is like Nashville’s youthful, bohemian Courtney Love, possessing the raw candid sentiment and snarly grit of the grunge songstress, not to mention bleached-blonde tresses. But Kate has a note of brassy twang to her vocal intones and a bluesy, soulful roots rock sound that she’s self-styled both “power folk” and “feisty country”; 2013 debut Rachel Kate, With Love and Hate was entirely funded by a Kickstarter campaign. Joining her on the road is Chicago-based Jeff Shepherd and his punk-kicking alt country band, the Jailhouse Poets. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)

Affiance with Along Came A Spider “Affiance” is defined as a pledge of faith, and while it’s usually referencing marriage contracts, the word also signifies trust, confidence and reliance. Cleveland metal sextet Affiance thoroughly embodies its adopted moniker with dedication to a sound that’s as much about musicality as it is about moshing. Dennis Tvidrik’s clear melodic vocals soar over the dueling guitars of Brett Wondrak and Dominic Dickinson in songs like “Fire” and “Darkest” (off latest album Blackout). And when Tvidrik’s pipes need a rest, Wondrak and Dickinson trade intricate solos that’d make Kirk Hammett proud (and maybe a little jealous), while bassist Eric Thomas and drummer Patrick Calante bolster with heavy lowend and maniacal rhythms. (Epic Problem, Tampa) —Seth Peterson

ALSO TONIGHT
Caravan of Thieves Sideshow at SHAMc, Safety Harbor
Hollerin' & Wallerin' Night at The Bunker: wWAYLOn/Dan & Becca of The Dram/Lance Howell of BIG SHOALS Tre Amici @ The Bunker, Ybor City
2nd Thursday on the Plaza: Brian Sutherland Band Mahaffey Theater Plaza, St. Petersburg
Stringbreak Music Fest w/The Steep Canyon Rangers/Balsam Range/Willie Sugarcapps/The Ragbirds/Barefoot Movement/The Rocket 88’s/Caravan of Thieves/many more Thurs.-Sun., April 9-12, Sertoma Youth Ranch, Brooksville

This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2015.