Thursday, May 3
STEEL PULSE Britain's biggest reggae band started its career in the 1970s playing a Marley-esque roots style; they synthed it up in the 1980s but always kept their lyrics on the side of the oppressed, winning a Best Reggae Album Grammy in 1986 for Babylon the Bandit. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
PATRIZIO BUANNE w/MATT DUSK Capable Italian crooner Patrizio Buanne updates the Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin template with artificial dance beats that often sound out of place, at least to these ears. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
P.M. DAWN The sibling duo of Prince Be (Attrell Cordes) and DJ Minute Mix (Jarrett Cordes) notched several big hits in the 1990s with a forward-thinking blend of hip-hop and silky, old-school soul. I recall their best-known tune, "I'd Die Without You," was a slow-dance favorite at area junior high proms in '92. The Cordes brothers return to the intimate, French Quarter-themed Bishop Tavern in downtown St. Pete for another free show following a near disaster that occurred when a single-engine airplane crashed last month in the backyard of Prince Be's neighbor's house in New Jersey.(Bishop Tavern, St. Petersburg)
DON MIGGS Frontman for power pop/synth-rock quartet the Miggs will offer "stripped" renditions of his earnest, well-crafted tales of love won and lost. (Pegasus Lounge, Tampa)
Friday, May 4
TAMPA BAY BLUES FESTIVAL w/JERRY LEE LEWIS/GEORGE THOROGOOD/PERCY SLEDGE/DICKEY BETTS/KOKO TAYLOR/DAVE MASON/OTHERS The Killer and "When a Man Loves a Woman" originator Percy Sledge are among the stars of the latest edition of the blues fest, which runs through Sunday (see music feature). (Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg)
DELBERT MCCLINTON The blues rocker who scored a Top 10 hit in 1981 with "Giving it Up For Your Love" and penned the Emmylou Harris favorite "Two More Bottles of Wine" keeps going strong, especially since resurfacing on the Americana indie label New West Records in 2001 with Nothing Personal. When I saw McClinton headline the Sarasota Blues Festival a couple years ago, he was in fine voice and surrounded by a crackshot band that gave him plenty of room for those famous harmonica solos. (Tampa Theatre, Tampa)
PAT TRAVERS BAND w/MOJO GURUS/FEEDBACK A heavy blooze/hard-rock guitar hero of the 1970s, Travers never had the hit that grants immortality on classic rock radio, but he did release a couple of exciting albums during his heyday, including 1978's Go For What You Know, Live! He returns to the area with a show that will likely include his cover of the Little Walter classic "Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights," a dark blues about a man taking revenge on a trifling woman, and rowdy originals such as "Snortin' Whiskey," which celebrates them old rock 'n' roll vices. Tampa's Mojo Gurus, fresh off a mini-tour through the Southwest, will get thing started with a shot of their greasy truck-stop rock. (Club Bourbon Street, New Port Richey)
SOULS OF MISCHIEF Contemplative lyrics and jazzy beats earned this East Oakland backpacker crew comparisons to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest when they hit the scene in 1993 with their major label debut '93 'Til Infinity, which included the popular title track. But Souls of Mischief failed to nail a follow-up smash and hasn't released a new album in about seven years. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
CRASH MITCHELL QUARTET w/REBEKAH PULLEY & THE RELUCATANT PROPHETS/THE SKULL AND BONES BAND A beloved member of the local music scene, Crash Mitchell is a rabble-rousing cow punker who can tug on the heartstrings one minute ("Non Repro Blues") and then unleash an obscenity-laced anti-Clear Channel rant the next ("Radio Station Abomination"). It looks like Pulley is going to have the boys in the band behind her for this one, which should give the fireball-haired songstress a chance to indulge her rock jones. Finally, there's The Skull and Bones Band, a roots-rock outfit inclined to jam with a singer who has accurately been compared to Glenn Danzig — yeah, it sounds weird, but when I saw them play one night at The Emerald, it worked. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
LAURIE MCCLAIN We're still not sure what the future holds for Bradenton's Fogartyville Café, but one way to show that the Suncoast actually, y'know, maybe likes original live music would be to show up for this Friday's Laurie McClain gig. Like all the café's artists, McClain specializes in music of the unplugged variety, but McClain has an unusual gift for crafting melodies. (Fogartyville Café, Bradenton) —Cooper Levey-Baker
THE JAMES CROUCH BAND Hailing from central Florida, Crouch pounds out some nasty power chords on his sludgy hard-rock tributes to stoner years gone by. If endless fret wailin' is your thing, this shouldn't be missed. (Aces Lounge, Bradenton) —CLB
TONY FURTADO Acclaimed slide guitarist/banjo picker writes originals but truly excels at recasting familiar songs like The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" and Tom Petty's "Running Down a Dream" into something that might be enjoyed over moonshine in the Appalachian Mountains. Furtado released several well-received albums on Rounder in the 1990s. (Bishop Tavern, St. Petersburg)
Saturday, May 5
THE HOLY SLOW TRAIN w/JAMES MACFARLAND/HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL/MATT BUTCHER An evening featuring many of the area's leading alt-country purveyors is headlined by the debut of The Holy Slow Train, the latest project by Will Quinlan, the former Pagan Saint who, for the time being at least, also still performs with The Diviners. The new songs posted online are rather pensive, with lonesome harmonica and sad lap steel to augment Quinlan's acoustic guitar and low, impassioned vocals. In other words, fans of his past endeavors should be enthusiastic about this one. (Globe Coffee Lounge, St. Petersburg)
ROBIN THICKE I refuse to slag a dude solely because his dad played the goofball patriarch on Growing Pains. But I will slam the kid for poisoning the airwaves with icky slow jams like "Lost Without U," which made me never want to listen to music again. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
JONATHAN BYRD If you failed to show Fogartyville your love Friday night, repent with a night of fast-talkin', lefty-oriented roots-rock from Jonathan Byrd. (Fogartyville Café, Bradenton) —CLB
Sunday, May 6
RICK SPRINGFIELD It's been 26 years since he first declared his love for her, but apparently he's still hung up on Jessie's girl. (Busch Gardens, Tampa)
BURNS SISTERS w/BIG WIGGLER A harmonizing trio that brings a bluesy soul edge to their acoustic folk approach, the sibling act flirted with mainstream success in the mid 1980s, scoring an Adult Contemporary hit in '87 with the single "Listen to the Beat of a Heart." Thanks to airplay on WMNF and celebrated performances at the Skipperdome, they have maintained a strong area following over the years. On their latest disc, Wild Bouquet, the sisters put their sweet-sounding stamp on originals and judicially chosen covers like Leonard Cohen's "Democracy," which opens the disc. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
GREGORY ISAACS The man known as the "Cool Ruler" has a suave way with reggae, with soulful, laidback vocals and lazy, undulating beats. He blends his roots consciousness with a pop sensibility. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg) —Eric Snider
Monday, May 7
THE GREYBOY ALLSTARS After a six-year hiatus, San Diego's Greyboy Allstars are back with a new album — fusing funkadelic beats and old-school soul with the band's easygoing West Coast jazz — and a new tour to support it. It's definitely a good thing that the quintet is bringing its dynamic stage show to St. Petersburg. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —Leilani Polk
PATTY LARKIN The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center wraps its 2006-07 Club Jaeb Series — which features acclaimed singer/songwriters in an intimate setting — with a performance by Patty Larkin. The Boston-based artist brings a refreshing pop element to her folk musings and has even had a song recorded by Cher. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center)
Tuesday, May 8
KRS-ONE w/LAWS/AYCH/THE VILLANZ One of hip-hop's all-time greats, KRS-One shook things up in the 1980s with Boogie Down Productions ("Why is That?," "You Must Learn") and then through the 1990s as a successful solo artist, rapping heatedly over spare beats about social injustices on hits such as "Sound of da Police." (Club Empire, Ybor City)
THE DUHKS The Canadian "new grass" band returns (again) to the Skipperdome to delight fans with a lil' fast-pickin' fun. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9
JELLO BIAFRA Dead Kennedys diehards will want to make the trek to Orlando to witness punk icon Jello Biafra belittle those of us who would dare eat at a fast-food chain or purchase a radio at Wal-Mart or not embrace the idea of anarchy. (The Social, Orlando)
This article appears in May 2-8, 2007.