Almost every member of Crescent City outfit New Orleans Suspects – originally formed in 2009 as the pick-up band at the NOLA’s storied Maple Leaf bar – has ties with other staple performers of the musical city. Classically-trained pianist/organist C.R. Gruver played with Leo Nocentelli, bassist Reggie Scanlan did time with The Radiators, guitarist Jake Eckert moonlights with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and drummer “Mean” Willie Green earned his nickname beat-keeping with The Neville Brothers. Sax player Jeff Watkins has proven pedigree, too; he played in the James Brown Band for a dozen years and the Joss Stone Band for another six. Their sound is of the hard grooving swamp-brewed funk variety with jaunty jazz, sultry Latin and rambling blues rock spicing up the Suspects gumbo. The Rev. Billy C Wirtz warms the stage on this Friday night stand. 8 p.m., Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa, $13.
Check out a few New Orleans Suspects videos and peep some more concerts happening this Fri., June 5, below.
ALSO TONIGHT
Tribal Style w/DJ Shafiq Jannus Live, St. Petersburg
ShinraCo. w/Slade and the Wasters Orbit 19 Lounge, Holiday
JP Soars and the Redhots Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg
Relief In Sleep/And One For All/Everist/Richard Cory/Spiritfyre Brass Mug, Tampa
Grandpa's Cough Medicine Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin
Dashboard Confessional/Third Eye Blind House of Blues, Orlando
Dan Orlando Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg
Allen Stone Ringside Café, St. Petersburg
Sara Rose Band The Dunedin Smokehouse, Dunedin
Poetry n' Lotion Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe, Tampa
Full weekly concert breakdown here.
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2015.