THURS 17

Lucid Druid CD Release Show Instrumental Bay area five-piece Lucid Druid fuses the authentic sounds of Celtic music with world and prog-rock influences. Informally led by composer and two-time World Champion piper Adam Quinn (bagpipes, shuttlepipes, clarinet, didgeridoo), the band also features Joe Porter (electric and double basses), Sebastian Deledda (guitars), Steve Turner (djembe, ashiko, talking drum, didgeridoo, percs) and Doug White (drums, Scottish snare, roto-tams, percs). This show is one of several that mark the release of their latest recording, Cernunnos, an EP of atypical arrangements with wah wah guitar solos and psychedelic riffage, crying bagpipe melodies, deep digeridoo moans, and rhythms infused with African and Scottish percussive textures and conversely ambling or bouncing around airily or driving toward an epic pipe-fueled climax. The band also plays the Safety Harbor Concert Series on Friday and Dunedin House of Beer on Saturday. (O’Keefe’s Tavern , Clearwater)

Natalie Cole 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. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)

St. Patricks Day w/Cadillac Bombers Tarpon Springs-based Kalamity Kat-fronted rockabilly outfit Cadillac Bombers have been bringing their swinging, country-fused tunes to Bay area audiences for the past three years. Kat’s strong and retro-sleek vocals are set against Teddy Boy’s twangy guitar, the bouncy rhythms of drummer Lee “The Machine” Shivley and bluegrass-influenced low-end thump of double bass player Cory Karish. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —Valerie Quintana

St. Patrick’s Day Block Party w/Eye Empire/Not Tonight Josephine/Anchor Atlantic/Unmotivated/3 Pint Harmony/Burning Tree/Mighty Mongo/ many more A genre-spanning group of local acts converge in downtown St. Pete for this free St. Paddy’s Day block party thrown by Durty Nelly’s. More than 15 bands are spread out over several indoor and outdoor stages; among the highlights are rising alt-rock stars Not Tonight Josephine, Irish-infused folk and roots rock outfit 3 Pint Harmony, and ska-reggae-rock sextet Unmotivated. (Durty Nelly’s, St. Petersburg)

Lords of Acid w/Angelspit/Radical G Belgium’s influential new beat electronica artist Praga Khan formed Lords of Acid nearly two decades ago. After taking an eight-year break, Praga revived the raunchy post-industrial outfit in 2010 and took it on the road. That time around, the band featured singer Lacy Conner (infamously known for her crazy conniving on Rock of Love); this time, the lineup includes guitarist Virus (Dope), bass player Murv3 (Powerman 5000) and drummer Kirk Salvador (Society 1), with DJ Mea (Me and My Machine) taking Lacy’s place on lady-lead vocals. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —VQ

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. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)

Pat Travers While Travers never really broke through to American audiences (his most popular U.S. singles were “Snortin’ Whiskey” and “Boom Boom Out Go the Lights”), the Canadian hard rock growler and guitarist has earned wide-ranging critical praise over the years and enough popularity everywhere else to sustain his career as a performer and prolific recording artist. (The Local 662, St. Petersburg)

The Fightin’ Malones The local purveyors of Celtic roots rock play 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. (The Dubliner North, Tampa)

FRI 18

Marksmen / 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. “Yearning and heartbreak, spirituality and disillusionment, inner strength and substance abuse — we’ve heard about it all before. But frontman Matt Segallos possesses the rare ability to craft stories with heart-wrenching emotion and imagery that stand on their own merit in that cliched, lyrics-as-poetry manner.” Read Joel’s complete review at cltampa.com/music, snag a copy of the album at noisetrade.com/marksmen and see them live at Crowbar this Friday night; the foursome also opens the 97X Freebie Weebie at Jannus Live on Sunday. (Crowbar, Ybor City)

Sophie B. Hawkins 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.” (The Local 662, St. Petersburg)

SAT 19

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings w/Charles Bradley 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. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)

Pat Dailey 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.” (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)

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. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)

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. (Raymond James Stadium, Tampa)

Humdinger Music & Arts Festival w/Funky Seeds/Free Range Roosters/Ramblegrass/Shoeless Soul/Skull n’ Bone Band/Reina Collins Band/many more 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. (Blueberry Patch, St. Petersburg)

SUN 20

Sarasota Slim 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. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)

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. For more on Paper Tongues, see the story on p. 35. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)

Rhapsody In Boop 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 Kathy Kosins Fresh with backup support from the Helios Jazz Orchestra. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)

Hymn for Her 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). (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Cafe, Tampa)

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. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —VQ

Helmet w/Saint Vitus/Crowbar/Kylesa/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. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)

TUES 22

Weedeater w/Zoroaster With a name fit for the cover of High Times and a sludge-stoner metal sound to match, Weedeater combines crazed bass and guitar riffs with dangerously satisfying instrumental breakdowns that aren’t for the faint of heart. Zoroaster rounds out the show with their self-described “devastating doom” and “heavy grooves driving on into the transcendental darkness.” (Orpheum, Ybor City) —VQ

Sonic Spank w/This Is Art Join the spring break masses for a free Tuesday night Clearwater Beach-side dance party led by Sonic Spank, a Philly instrumental jamtronica trio with a sound marked by heavy zipper-fuzzy synths, tripped-out sample-ridden soundwaves, make-your-ass-shake drum grooves and guitars run through an array of effects pedals. Also on the bill is Nashville-based This Is Art, the solo electro project of musician/producer Art Webb, whose deep basslines and live electronics are delivered over self-recorded samples and stereophonic soundscapes. (The Beach Bar, Clearwater)

Murs w/Whole Wheat Bread/Tabi Bonney The nappy-dreaded LA rap artist otherwise known as Murs forever changed his underground hip hop rep when he signed to Warner Bros. in 2006 and hit the upper Billboard charts with his third solo album and major label debut, 2008’s Murs for President. The album touches on relationships, racism, life on the road, politics and various other topics as delivered in Murs’ leisurely rhyme-tossing style, and with guest appearances by major league stars like Will.i.am and Snoop Dogg. He put out two collaborative releases in 2010 — Fornever, his fourth album with 9th Wonder, and Melrose with Terrace Martin — and is prepping a new solo EP, Varsity Blues 2. (Crowbar, Ybor City)

WED 23

Rod Stewart / Stevie Nicks Two husky-toned fair-haired Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famers — the British blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter and the ex-Fleetwood Mac soft roots rock songstress — team up for this co-headlining “Heart & Soul” arena tour. Stewart supports 2010’s Fly Me to the Moon … The Great American Songbook Volume V, a LP of pop standard covers while Nicks tries out select cuts from In Your Dreams, her first release of original material in a decade, which drops May 3 via Reprise. (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)

Lauryn Hill “See I was born into this world, in another space and time / Time has moved on and death has grown closer, surely has blown my mind,” R&B songstress Lauryn Hill sings in “Repercussions,” her first new track in a dozen or so years and an unofficial leak that may or may not be a previously unreleased outtake from her lone solo release, 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Regardless of when it was produced, the track along with Hill’s return to the stage after an extended hiatus — several well-received 2010 festival appearances prompted the artist to embark on her first headlining tour in many years — has got fans buzzing excitedly. According to reports, setlists have included songs from Hill’s solo LP, select cuts from her Fugees tenure and various Bob Marley covers. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)

Sugar and Gold w/Yip Deceiver/Mine Canary Get your sweaty indie dance groove on at this hump-day show with Sugar and Gold, a San Francisco disco pop outfit led by songwriters/producers Philipp Minnig and Nicolas Dobbratz, who marry elements of New Wave, ’80s R&B and minimalist electronica into their shiny sound. Also featured is Yip Reciever, the electro music project of Dobbratz and frequent S&G collaborator Davey Pierce (of Montreal). (Orpheum, Ybor City)

Four Celtic Voices Thurs., March 17, Largo Cultural Center, Largo

Sunset Bridge Thurs., March 17, JolliMon’s, Dunedin

Irish I Was Drunk St. Paddy’s Day Throwdown w/DJs Colonic/Scott Imrich Thurs., March 17, Crowbar, Ybor City

Funky Seeds Fri., March 18, Ringside Cafe, St. Petersburg

Infinite Groove Orchestra Fri., March 18, New World Brewery, Ybor City

Pedro the Poet CD Release Show Fri., March 18, The Studio@620, St. Petersburg

The Irish Stew w/Empty Hats/Celticopia/Jim Hancock: Irish Crooner/The New Minstrel Revue: A Celtic Duo Fri., March 18, Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa

Neon Trees Fri., March 18, Universal Studios, Orlando

Music & A Meal Series: Nuestra Tierra Trio w/Papos Fri., March 18, Sacred Lands, St. Petersburg

Badfish Tribute to Sublime w/Scotty Don’t Fri., March 18, State Theatre, St. Petersburg

The Groves CD Release Show Sat., March 19, Crowbar, Ybor City

Ensemble Mir Fri., March 18, St. Mary, Our Lady of Grace Church, St. Petersburg

Cassy / Three / Brian Busto Fri., March 18, Hyde Park Café, Tampa

Jayne Kelli Fri., March 18, The Ale & the Witch, St. Petersburg

727 Experimental: French Family Fun / Chris Costabile / Young Egypt Fri., March 18, Café Bohemia, St. Petersburg

ABK Medicine Bag Tour w/AMB/Kung Fu Vampire/Jesta Red Sat., March 19, The Local 662, St. Petersburg

Emily’s Ashes Sat., March 19, Ringside Cafe, St. Petersburg

Albert Castiglia Sat., March 19, Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg

Tribal Style Sat., March 19, Yeoman’s Road Pub, Tampa

Jay D. Clark / Burning Tree Sun., March 20, PLAY, Ybor City

Jay Kiernan and Joe Milligan / Pasco Paul and Friends Sun., March 20, Sweetwater Organic Community Farm, Tampa

Merchandise Sun., March 20, The Hub, downtown Tampa

Koffin Kats Mon., March 21, Orpheum, Ybor City

Travis Mann Band w/Johnny and the Wranglers Tue., March 22, Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa

This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2011.