Swingin' the New Year! w/Swingin' the New Year Orchestra Slip into your vintage best for a grand old soiree of jazzy jiving entertainment presented amid the refined (underused) confines of St. Pete’s Coliseum. The all-star 20-piece Swingin’ the New Year Orchestra builds the lush sonic backdrop with vocals by locals Lorri Hafer, Emily Gail, and Ron Pond. Swing lessons from 8 to 9 p.m., dancing and merriment from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., and various other divertissements leading into the countdown and balloon drop at midnight. More info at tampabayswing.com. (Coliseum, St. Petersburg)
New Year's Eve Concert w/Cope/Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio/Rob Irie For those seeking an evening full of saturated lights and danceable improvisations delving into rock, jazz, Americana, blues, funk, reggae and electro-psychedelic sonicspheres, the Local 662 welcomes Tampa jam stalwarts Cope and searing Southeast axeman Bobby Lee Rodgers; acoustic guitar-wielding singer-songwriter Rob Irie kicks things off. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
New Year's Eve Bustin' Out Silent Disco With this late night shindiggy, organizers promise to keep the party rolling until 3 a.m., sound ordinance be damned! Red Bull party-rocking DJs Rincon, M-Squared, KU and StoneRokk get the bodies moving until the ball drops, at which point the party splits in two. Stonerokk spins in the Crystal Head Lounge for those seeking the usual, while courtyard revelers are treated to a different sort of after-midnight treat — a silent disco. Each person is assigned a pair of state-of-the-art headphones that feature two channels for switching between dueling DJs, with appreciation for the jamz liked best expressed via super vigorous dance movements and plenty of fist pumping. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
New Year's Eve with The Bright Light Social Hour w/Le Blorr Like a proud mom, I’ve watched Austin foursome The Bright Light Social Hour grow progressively tighter, more confident and comfortable in their sexy rising rockstar skins since their debut at New World only a few years ago as talented young musicians still green to the road. They managed to soldier through the mild awkwardness of a light crowd (15 or so people) with a solid set of Southern fried rock, soul, electro-psychedelia, and dirty funky blues off their surprisingly strong self-released self-titled Kickstarter-funded first album. I was intrigued enough write a feature-length story heralding their return only a few months later, and that became a sweaty, jam-packed Hub rager. The buzz started in earnest and Bright Light's wildly devoted local fanbase swelled after another crammed Hub show and unforgettable performances at Antiwarpt and two consecutive Tropical Heatwaves. Tampa has become Bright Light's official home-away-from-home, so it makes sense they'd stage a New Year's Eve gig here. Explosive ass-shakin' indie rock two-piece Le Blorr, from Florida's West Coast, kicks off the festivities. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
NYE Party at The Amphitheatre w/Gabriel & Dresden Building waves of bright-hued melodies into whirling eddies of progressive trance-dance odysseys, and remixing artists ranging from Britney Spears to Annie Lennox to The Killers is San Francisco DJ/producer duo Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden, aka Gabriel & Dresden, on-again, off-again Billboard dance charters who parted ways for three years and re-convened in 2011 full steam ahead. They take top billing for Amphitheatre's NYE bash, with special guest DJs Doco and Suzy Solar warming up the floor. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
NYE w/Have Gun, Will Travel and Nervous Turkey Grimy funk and blues rock outfit Nervous Turkey was supposed to perform at Guavaween, but dropped from the lineup unexpectedly when frontman Ernie Locke had to have emergency pacemaker surgery. He's recovered, ready and rearin' to go, and New Year's Eve on his Ella's home turf (which Locke co-owns with partner Melissa Deming) seems like the perfect place to ring-lead a rare reunion performance, his gritty howling vocals, wailing harp and raging guitar work solidly rounded out by drummer Aaron Fowler and keysman Mark Cunningham. Have Gun, Will Travel heads up the festivities and reel in the New Year with their stomp and kick-banging brand of roots, folk rock and Americana. The $35 ticket includes an all-you-can-eat buffet and a champagne toast at midnight. (Ella's Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
Flip Flop New Years w/Daniel B. Marshall Band Tampa native country pop rocker Daniel B. Marshall waxes poetic on his home state in the title track of his new 2012 Sunshine EP, produced in Nashville by renowned multi-instrumentalist Danny Rader (Keith Urban, Jason Aldean) and featuring back-up by some of that city's fine players. He'll likely deliver cuts off Sunshine along with other originals and select festive covers during his free concert on the beach at Postcard Inn's NYE party. Bonfire included; beach ball drop at midnight. For room packages and more info, visit postcardinn.com. (Postcard Inn on the Beach, St. Pete Beach)
