THURS 16
Black Uhuru w/Tribal Style/Badda Skat In April, Rolling Stone named Black Uhuru's 1981 LP as one of the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties," commenting that, "At a moment when the music was in critical need of a strong new voice, Black Uhuru's finest album, Red, shone with all the musical intensity and political fervor of the Rastafarian movement." The Jamaican roots-dub reggae outfit has been through various personnel changes since its inception in 1974. The "definitive" lineup (from the late 1970s through 1985) featured singers Michael Rose, Derrick "Duckie" Simpson, and Sandra "Puma" Jones backed by the lowend assault of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, aka Sly & Robbie, who eventually left the band and went on to become reggae's most beloved production team. Today, Simpson remains from that era, and his harmonizing partners are Andrew Bees (who joined in 1997) and vocalist Queen Kay. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Expire Midwestern-brewed post-hardcore with post-rock and prog-heavy tendencies and lots of thick and hard-driving guitars making a range of sounds — distorted riffs, dramatic arpeggios, clean shredding solos — Expire is currently promoting their new Suffer the Cycle 7" on Six Feet Under Records. Minus, Soul Search, Twitching Tongues, Suitcase City, Vices and Weight of the World support. (Transitions Gallery @ Skatepark of Tampa)
Owl City The electro-pop rock project of singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, Owl City hits Orlando immediately following the release of their third studio full-length, All Things Bright and Beautiful. Orlando is the touring ensemble's single stop in Florida. Mat Kearney and Unwed Sailor support. (House of Blues, Orlando)
Run Forever It's a bittersweet true story of loss and triumph, about a burgeoning indie band from Pittsburgh called Run, Forever and how the unexpected death of a member in the midst of writing their first album impacted the musicians who were left behind. The drummer dropped out, remaining bassist Cassie Staub and guitarist-singer Anthony Heubel took a hiatus to lick their emotional wounds, and eight months later the two re-grouped and recorded The Devil, And Death, And Me, with various friends taking up drum duty until the position was permanently filled by Brandon Knepp. Lyrically, Run, Forever's 2010 debut is colored by their loss, but The Devil carries a bright fist-pumping eruption of rousing joy and passionate release, the vocals of Heubel raw and passionately persistent against fast, upbeat roots-folk rock with a punk insistent punch. Also on the bil: Casey Lee (Fake Problems), Meadow and Y Los Dos Pistoles. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Jermaine Jannus presents a Summer Jam Live Series showcase that spotlights up-and-coming St. Petersburg R&B/hip-hop singer and dancer Jermaine, who'll be backed by a full band and perform a full-blown choreographed show; also featuring Magic, Cloud 9, and Da Unknown Poet. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Nato Coles & The Blue Diamond Band Coles is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica jammer who's been a staple of the Midwestern DIY rock scene for several years, most notably with Milwaukee's Modern Machines. He spent some time in Brooklyn, but returned to middle America and settled in Minneapolis, where he now fronts his rockin' and rollin' punk-blues-roots outfit, Blue Diamond Band. Also on the bill: The New McCarthy and 100 Car Pile Up. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
FRI 17
Def Leppard w/Heart British metal heavyweights Def Leppard rolled through town in 2009 with Poison and Cheap Trick, and impressed CL Writer Gabe Echazabal with a rousing 90-minute closing set that "played like a greatest hits jukebox: 'Rocket,' 'Animal,' 'Rock of Ages' and 'Love Bites' served as reminders of Leppard's sturdy grasp of singles and albums charts in the 1980s ..." This tour comes on the heels of their first-ever live release, 2011's WalMart exclusive Mirror Ball (Live & More), a two-disc set that features live versions of hits from their catalog along with three new studio tracks and a bonus DVD of live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. Hard classic rockers Heart, led by Wilson sisters Ann and Nancy, join Leppard on their 2011 U.S. tour. (1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa)
d'Visitors Mixing up a percussion-fused dance-inducing brew of Latin, soul, funk, reggae, calypso, ska, jazz and various other genres is d'Visitors, a Tampa sextet that features commanding vocalist/frontwoman Nikki Ferraro, songwriter-guitarist-vibes man Brian Deeds, the two-horn assault of trumpeter Kenny Pullin and sax player Tom Herbort, Jamaica-born bassist Mugabe Tenn (also a member of Tribal Style, among many other local outfits), and rhythm-maker Kenan Hercules. (Ella's Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
Tara Tinsley / Jeremy Gloff California's Tara Tinsley — a sweetly drawling throaty-voiced acoustic guitar-wielding artist with flaxen hair and soulful blues eyes — co-heads an eclectic bill of music with Tampa electro-pop singer-songwriter Jeremy Gloff, who released his 17th album, THIS, via Crunks Not Dead Records in May. Also on the bill: The Guilford Blackout, Hell-Bent, Murder Suicide Pact and The Mark Allen Raft Band (Pegasus Lounge, Tampa)
