[image-1] [pictured right] The 61-year-old R&B pop crooner and daughter of jazz luminary Nat King Cole has experienced her fair share of career highs and lows in the more than 35 years she’s been active, from rising artist to multi-visit rehab patient to revitalized singer to Grammy-winning diva. Her last album was 2008’s Still Unforgettable, a follow-up to her outrageously successful (7x platinum) 1991 LP of covers by her late father, Unforgettable... with Love. 8 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, $42-$83.
Rebelution w/Junior Reid/Giant Panda Guerilla Squad Catch some sun-drenched vibes with Santa Barbara, Calif.’s Rebelution, a four-piece reggae rock outfit that delivers uplifting messages against swaying grooves with fat-funky basslines and buoyant rhythms. Also on the bill is Jamaican dancehall and reggae artist Junior “One Blood” Reid, whose vocals have become a sampled staple in hip hop. 7 p.m. doors, Jannus Live, St. Petersburg, $23.50.
Four Celtic Voices An ensemble of performers play solo and in groups, setting their vocal harmonies against Celtic arrangements delivered with traditional instruments (bowed psaltery, harmonium, flute, Celtic harp and the like). 3 and 7 p.m., Largo Cultural Center, Largo, $28.
The Fightin' Malones The local purveyors of Celtic roots rock plays a St. Paddy’s Day celebration with some fresh and polished new numbers and old Irish standards that’ll get the feet stomping and whiskey flowing. 5-9 p.m., The Dubliner North, Tampa, free admission.
[image-2]Friday, March 18
Sophie B. Hawkins [pictured left] w/Elysian Sex Drive/Someday Souvenir She’s released four albums (none new since 2004), but you’ve probably only heard the song made for playing on repeat when you’re crushing so hard on someone it’s painful – 1992’s sexy driving scorcher, “Damn, Wish I Was Your Lover.” 8 p.m., The Local 662, St. Petersburg, $25.50.
Marksmen w/Andy Matchett & The Minks/Ironwood/Mountain Lion “Their more-polished sound covers a broad swath of musical territory: rockin’ alt-country raw enough for a bar, pensive folk suitable for a coffeehouse, and ample hooks and riffs made for a much larger stage,” CL Music Team Contributor Joel Weiss wrote in his four-star review of Marksmen’s new LP, Sister of Mine. Click here to read Joel’s complete review at cltampa.com/music; the foursome also opens the 97X Freebie Weebie at Jannus Live on Sunday. 8 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $7.
Saturday, March 19
Days Of The New w/Through the Side/Full Flight/Undertone/The Once and Future Kings You remember post-grunge alt rock outfit Days of the New from their platinum-selling 1997 eponymous debut and its acoustic-guitar driven singles "Touch, Peel and Stand" and "The Down Town." The band dropped off the map after the release of their third album in 2001 while visionary frontman Travis Meeks struggled with a very public (A&E Intervention-worthy) methamphetamine addiction. He came out sober, revived DOTN in 2006 and has been touring with a rotating lineup of musicians ever since and working on material for a fourth album. 7 p.m. doors, State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $15.
[image-3] [pictured right] w/Peter Baldwin Among the leaders of the Stax-style retro funk-soul revival is petite howler Sharon Jones and the brassy, tight-grooving, rhythm-driven band that supports her, the Dap-Kings. Jones sings about heartache, hard times, family woes and other matters on their fourth Daptone Records full-length, 2010’s I Learned The Hard Way, which has sold more than 125,000 copies and spent some quality time on the Billboard 200. She’s been nicknamed the “female James Brown” for her explosive show-womanship and having seen her a few times, I’ll vouch that she’s worthy of it. 8 p.m., The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City, $28.50.
Kenny Chesney w/Zac Brown Band The multi-award-winning multi-platinum country music superstar has grown out of his arena-sized boots into roomy stadium comfort on several dates of his current “Going Coastal” American tour. He’s sold more than 500,000 tickets so far and is sure to fill up the seats in Tampa, a Mecca of sorts for country artists. 4:30 p.m., Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, $25-$250.
[image-4] [pictured left] w/De Lei’ed Parrots Dailey has been entertaining folks since he opened for Don Ho while stationed in Hawaii more than 40 years ago. The military man-turned-tropical folk rock troubadour (who was born in Omaha and now lives in Key West) most famously collaborated with poet/songwriter Shel Silverstein on songs like "Blue Catawaba Moon," "On the Water" and "The Great Lakes Song." 8 p.m., Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa, $12 in advance/$15 dos.
Humdinger Music & Arts Festival w/Funky Seeds/Free Range Roosters/Ramblegrass/Shoeless Soul/Skull n' Bone Band/Zen Fishcamp/Reina Collins Band/All Capital Kyle/Chris Sgammato Get your hippie strut on at this music and arts festival hosted by Humdinger – an independent network of musicians and artists devoted to the preservation and support of The Blueberry Patch – and featuring funkified jam rock, jaunty newgrass, Southern-fried blues rock, singer-songwriter fare and plenty else. Noon-midnight, Blueberry Patch, St. Petersburg, $10.
Sunday, March 20
97X Freebie Weebie: Paper Tongues w/AWOLnation/Marksmen The band that caught the ear of music biz master Randy Jackson and was eventually taken under his wing released their self-titled full-length debut last year, and headline the first show in 97X’s re-launched Freebie Weebie concert series. Click here to read my story on Paper Tongues. 6 p.m., Jannus Live, St. Petersburg, free admission.
[image-5] [pictured right] Home is where the trailer’s parked. Or so the story goes for Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing, the DIY husband-and-wife duo who perform a blend of upbeat roots-Americana and garage rockabilly as Hymn for Her and manage every part of their lives – baby-making and raising, songwriting and recording, cross-country touring – in their silver Bambi Airstream. Lucy plays a three-stringed broom handle/cigar box guitar with lots of pedals, Wayne jumps between acoustic guitar, banjo, dobro and harmonica all while keeping the beat on bass drum and hi-hat, and both share vocal duties, his deeper twang a pleasant harmonic foil to her piping drawl. Their self-released 2010 second album, Lucy & Wayne and the Amairican Stream, was mixed by Jim Diamond (White Stripes). 4 p.m., Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe, Tampa, free admission.
Rhapsody In Boop: Kathy Kosins with the Helios Jazz Orchestra A program of select musical moments from Betty Boop films paired with American standards by jazz legends like Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway as delivered by vocalist/composer Kosins with backup support from the Helios Jazz Orchestra. 4 pm.., Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg, $25 in advance/$30 dos.
Metalliance Tour 2011 w/Helmet/Saint Vitus/Crowbar/Intronaut/Howl/Atlas Moth A group of heavy metal manufacturers unite to spread their sounds across the country as part of the traveling “Metalliance Tour.” Among the performers are grungy alt metal rockers Helmet, responsible for 1991 alt metal anthem “Unsung”; LA’s high-ranking doom metal outfit, Saint Vitus; and Savannah, Ga.’s psyche-sludge quintet, Kylesa. 6 p.m. doors, State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $25.
[image-6] CD Release Party A staple of the Bay area blues scene for more than two decades, guitar slinger and songwriter Sarasota Slim (aka Gene Hardage) has been playing since age 13 and he knows how to rock both hard and subtle. The musician celebrates the release of his eighth album, Get Up - Get Down, at this evening release party. 5 p.m., Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa, $6.
Chris Botti The jazzy pop-inflected trumpeter has become a best-selling American jazz artist since 2004's When I Fall In Love. The versatile musician has worked with Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin, among other music legends, and performs an eclectic range of rich, powerfully dynamic instrumental melodies. Live, he’s accompanied by a full backing band. 8 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, $39, $70. –Valerie Quintana
ALSO THIS WEEK
Thursday, March 17 Sunset Bridge (JolliMon's, Dunedin)
Thursday, March 17 3 Pint Harmony (3 Birds Tavern, St. Petersburg)
Thursday, March 17 St. Patrick’s Day Street Festival w/Fightin’ Malones/Noel Cooney & Jeff Glover/The Irish Buskers/The Dunedin Pipe Band (Main Street, Downtown Dunedin)
Friday, March 18 Safety Harbor Concert Series: Lucid Druid (Downtown Safety Harbor)
Friday, March 18 Funky Seeds (Ringside Cafe, St. Petersburg)
Friday, March 18 Infinite Groove Orchestra (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Friday, March 18 Neon Trees (Universal Studios, Orlando)
Friday, March 18 The Irish Stew w/Empty Hats/Celticopia/Jim Hancock: Irish Crooner/The New Minstrel Revue: A Celtic Duo (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
Friday, March 18 Music & A Meal Series: Nuestra Tierra Trio w/Papos (Sacred Lands, St. Petersburg)
Friday, March 18 Badfish Tribute to Sublime (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Friday, March 18 Izzy & the Kesstronics (Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe, Tampa)
Friday, March 18 Ensemble Mir (St. Mary, Our Lady of Grace Church, St. Petersburg)
Friday, March 18 Jayne Kelli (The Ale & the Witch, St. Petersburg)
Saturday, March 19 Martin Preston: Liberace (PHCC Performing Arts Center, New Port Richey)
Saturday, March 19 Lucid Druid (Dunedin House of Beer, Dunedin)
Saturday, March 19 ABK Medicine Bag Tour w/AMB/Kung Fu Vampire/Jesta Red (The Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Saturday, March 19 Lucid Druid (Dundedin Houes of Beer, Dunedin)
Saturday, March 19 Albert Castiglia (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
Saturday, March 19 Emilys Ashes (Ringside Cafe, St. Petersburg)
Sunday, March 20 Jay D. Clark / Burning Tree (PLAY, Ybor City)
Sunday, March 20 Jay Kiernan and Joe Milligan / Pasco Paul and Friends (Sweetwater Organic Community Farm, Tampa)
Sunday, March 20 Merchandise (The Hub, downtown Tampa)
Sunday, March 20 Chris Botti (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
