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John Legend w/Gallant Less than three months after playing a very private mini-concert for young students attending the Black, Brown and College Bound summit at the Tampa Convention Center, the crooner of our century — 10-time Grammy winner John Legend — is taking the show on the road and into Clearwater’s Coachman Park. The appearance comes in support of the 38-year-old songwriter’s latest LP, last year’s Darkness and Light, where Legend (who has also won an Oscar and Golden Globe) tasked Alabama Shakes producer Blake Mills to help him bring an air of analog authenticity to a powerful collection of folk, R&B, gospel and pop influenced tunes. (Coachman Park, Clearwater) INFO
Have Gun Will Quinlan & Geri X w/King Complex Believe it or not, that is not a typo. Storied Bay area songwriter Will Quinlan is being joined by members of Bradenton Americana outfit Have Gun, Will Travel at this one where he and another beloved Bay area songsmith — Geri X — will play solo sets before being joined onstage by their respective bands. (Paper Crane, St. Petersburg) INFO
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The Damned w/Sonic Graffiti All eyes are on The Damned’s Captain Sensible after the guitarist broke a few ribs after following an on-to-offstage tumble in Toronto on April 30. Two May dates (the 23rd in Montreal and the 24th in Boston) have been postponed, but the UK punks’ stop in St. Pete is still on. Keep your fingers crossed and read our interview with frontman Dave Vanian here. Click here to listen to a new LP from St. Pete's own Sonic Graffiti, who open the show. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) INFO
The Shins w/Surfer Blood These days, Shins frontman James Mercer is in the news for his tech contributions (a new photo app, Pasted) as much has he’s in headlines for new music. You, however, will not be anywhere close to him on Saturday if you don’t have a ticket. This show in support of that new album Mercer, 46, produced and wrote on his on, sold out eons ago, which means that you might be scraping the secondary ticket market if you want a chance at attending what we believe i the band’s Tampa Bay debut. (Heartworms, released in March). Did DieAlps! ever win that van? (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) INFO
The Florida Orchestra: Family Concerts w/Anna Kate Mackle/John Shaw Anna Kate Mackle will play harp for two concerts where little tykes (this one is aimed at kids in preschool through second grade) will explore the concepts of rhythm and melody. The second show (11:30 a.m.) is a sensory-friendly affair thanks to the orchestra’s partnership with USF’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, and more information is available via floridaorchestra.org. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Fiesta Maxima w/Daddy Yankee/Gente de Zona/more Reggaeton takes center stage at WYUU 92.5 FM Fiesta Maxima where Puerto Rican megastar Daddy Yankee (“Gasolina”) will be joined by Cuban exports Gente de Zona who didn’t make it big until Enrique Iglesias tapped them to collaborate on Latin Grammy Award-winning hit single “Bailando.” (Sun Dome Arena at University of South Florida, Tampa) INFO
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The Casket Girls w/The Venus/Girlfriend Experience Nothing against Ybor City (where the Casket Girls last played), but Phaedra & Elsa Greene always belonged in the seedy corners of a haughty-dive like The Bends. It’ll be interesting to see how many of the band’s cult followers can cram into the place when they arrive in support of a 2016 record The Night Machines, where the girls — along with Ryan Graveface and drummer T.W. Walsh — have all but perfected their very special, and always haunting, brand of industrial goth-pop. Alexander and Philip Charos’ new trippy beach-punk outfit, The Venus, opens the show. (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
Blues/Funk/World/Jam
Lorelei On The Rocks (Ruby’s Elixir, St. Petersburg) INFO
Jah Movement w/DJ Steel (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) INFO
Kafkasso (Palladium, St. Petersburg) INFO
Music In The Garden w/Savi Fernandez (Green Bench Brewing Co., St. Petersburg) INFO
Hip-hop
Achilles featuring Dynasty Music Video Shoot (Cigar City Cider & Mead, Ybor City) INFO
2nd Saturday Hip-Hop Monthly w/Hagan Lee (Fubar, St. Petersburg) INFO
Tribute
Surf’s Up: A Tribute to the Beach Boys w/Phil Dirt and The Dozers (Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center, Pinellas Park) INFO
Classical/Chorale
Pinellas Youth Orchestra (Palladium, St. Petersburg) INFO
Rock/Folk/Americana
Howie Day w/Jen Lowe (The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City) INFO
Rebekah Pulley (St. Pete ArtWorks, St. Petersburg) INFO
Landon Korabek OneLove JamFest w/The Horny Toads/Shenanigans/Hope Darling/Six Volt Rodeo (Thirsty Marlin, Palm Harbor) INFO
Hymn for Her (The Ale & the Witch, St. Petersburg) INFO
EDM
Luca Lush (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
This article appears in May 11-18, 2017.