From the fiery fiddle of Amanda Shaw to the New Orleans funk of the Soul Rebels Brass Band to the welcome return of A New Personality, the 27th annual Tropical Heatwave promises to be a wild and eclectic ride.
CUBAN CLUB BALLROOM
6:15-7:20 p.m. Soulphonics The young, gifted Miss Ruby Velle and her ace male backing crew (the band recently relocated from Gainesville to Atlanta) return listeners to the golden era of R&B with sultry vocals, punchy horns and syncopated rhythms that hit right below the belt — in the best way possible.
7:20-8:50 p.m. Atlas Soul This multi-ethnic eight-piece band, based in Boston, cobbles together a heady world-fusion that revolves around Middle Eastern and Mediterranean sounds. The band sings in English, Spanish, French, Italian Arabic and Hebrew, with male and female vocals.
9:10-10:20 p.m. The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn The Blue Vipers — guitar/vocals, acoustic bass, washboard, trumpet and saxophone — play old-timey jazz, swing and blues. Their songs are witty, bouncy and full of fun — visions of flappers and men in straw-boater hats. The Blue Vipers are one of the most popular bands that busk in the New York subways.
10:40-11:40 p.m. Rocket 88 The rowdy Orlando rockabilly quintet formed in '92 and, following a lengthy hiatus, has returned to Sunshine State stages with its original lineup, punk-informed attitude and songs often set far above the clouds ("Supersonic Satellite)."
11:55 p.m.-1:10 a.m. Baye Kouyaté An authentic Malian griot and master of the talking drum performs with an eight-piece band. Read Eric Snider's profile.
CUBAN CLUB BANDSHELL
5:30-6:30 p.m. The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band This loopy trio features the Rev. Peyton on vocals, National steel guitar and harmonica, his wife Washboard Breezy on percussion and younger brother Jayne Peyton on kick drum and snare. The music is wild, bluesy and rockin'.
6:50-8 p.m. Mighty Lester Kudos to 'MNF for not burdening us with another Chicago-blues Strat-strangler. Mighty Lester and his eight-piece band play a hotwired, horn-heavy blend of jump-blues, Kansas City stomp, Stax soul and raucous swing.
8:20-9:40 p.m. Brave Combo The ace party band, a WMNF fave, returns for its third Heatwave. Over nearly three decades, Brave Combo has boldly mixed polka with barroom rock 'n' roll, klezmer, surf-rock, Tex-Mex conjunto, jazz, salsa and on and on.
10-11:20 p.m. Del Castillo Since forming in 2000, this sextet has become one of Austin's most acclaimed bands. Singing in mostly Spanish and a bit of English, the band effortlessly blends flamenco, rock, Latin, blues and world music with the main focus on the dueling acoustic, nylon-string guitar beauty of virtuosos Rick and Mark del Castillo.
11:40 p.m.-1:10 a.m. Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams The band isn't as wacky as the name suggests. The suburban New York outfit brings plenty of melodic hooks to its folk-rock undercarriage but outfits it with psychedelic touches and bits of exotica. The songs have engrossing narratives and are sung with a rugged directness.
CUBAN CLUB CANTINA
6-7 p.m. The Oaks The Orlando band's blend of art-, folk- and post-rock — with its ringing guitars, chiming vibraphone and gentle vocals — gauzily soothes the ears. The band's lyrics are socially conscious, with an emphasis on humanitarian aid.
7:20-8:20 p.m. Hoots & Hellmouth Now there's a band name for ya. This Philadelphia neo-folk quartet — two acoustic guitars, upright bass and mandolin and vocals — brings plenty of indie-rock feistiness to its sets. And instrumental chops, too.
8:40-9:45 p.m. The Shackeltons The band has fans in high places. Rolling Stone: "Check out this wild-eyed fusion of Pixies and early White Stripes." Spin: "Shake up a pinch of the Pixies and a dose of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club." Some WMNFers were blown away by the The Shackeltons at SXSW and pushed for them to be booked at Heatwave.
10:05-11:40, p.m. Graham Parker The 57-year-old semi-legend has enjoyed a long and solid career as a kind of Elvis Costello understudy. Spawned from the British new wave, Parker has always had a penchant for American R&B, which has emerged in his music more and more as the years have gone by.
11:55 p.m.-1 a.m. Mojo Gurus Frontman Kevin Steele has landed both the Mojo Gurus and his former band, Roxx Gang, major label record deals over the years. The St. Pete blooze and countrified rock quartet's freshly minted disc, Let's Get Lit With … The Mojo Gurus, came out last month and rocks with a moxie that would make Mick and Keef smile in approval.
EL PASAJE/LOUISIANA STAGE
5:50-6:55 p.m. The Zydepunks A compound word, Zydepunks, and it pretty much tells the story. Formed in New Orleans in 2004, the group — which features two accordion players — sprinkles in bits of klezmer, Celtic folk and other stuff for good measure.
7:15-8:20 p.m. Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys The age of most high-school seniors, New Orleans singer/songwriter/fiddler/bandleader and actor Amanda Shaw has the looks and chops to take traditional Louisiana music to the masses. A violin prodigy who performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony, Shaw changed musical direction several years ago and began crafting an engaging brand of Cajun dance music buoyed by her strong-beyond-her-years voice, expert fiddling, poppy hooks and exuberant stage presence, which has made the young woman a favorite at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. After releasing a pair of independent discs, including 2004's I'm Not a Bubble Gum Pop Princess, Shaw inked a deal with venerable Rounder Records, which issued her new album, Pretty Runs Out.
8:40-10 p.m. Sonny Landreth This native of Lafayette, La., is simply one of the top slide guitar players on the planet. He applies his brilliance to a rootsy sound that involves blues, country, folk, boogie, Cajun and more. Sonny's also an appealing singer with a reedy tenor.
10:20-11:30 p.m. Groovesect Stumble into any number of bars in New Orleans, and you're bound to encounter a band like Groovsect: instrumental funk with a Crescent City slant and the occasional chant-like vocal dropped in for good measure. The umpeenth iteration of The Meters.
11:50 p.m.-1:20 a.m. Soul Rebels Brass Band The musically superior New Orleans hip-hop and horn group guarantees the party vibe. Read Wade Tatangelo's profile of the band.
NEW WORLD BREWERY
6:30-7:15 p.m. Tribal Style Tampa's top roots reggae act pens one-drop originals — occasionally goosed with subtle hip-hop touches — worthy of the soundtrack to The Harder They Come. In concert, the group, made up mostly of Jamaican-born siblings, also typically throws in a few classic reggae covers for good measure.
7:30-8:15 p.m. Acho Brother Tampa singer/songwriter/acoustic guitar ace Hector Mayoral and Orlando drummer Zak Byrd form a duo that skillfully blend low-key Latin melodies (sung in Spanish and English) and percussion with minimal electronica flourishes, creating a wholly satisfying and distinctive sound unlike anything in the region. These guys are true originals.
8:30-9:15 p.m. Have Gun, Will Travel Estimable singer/songwriter Matt Burke leads this Bradenton ensemble — Tampa Bay's best new alt-country act — through mellow, gorgeous ballads and propulsive, equally memorable folk-rock numbers. The songs are driven by a taut rhythm section, laced with banjo, viola and steel guitar. HGWT recently issued its brilliant debut album, Casting Shadows Tall As Giants, which has already become a favorite among WMNF DJs and listeners — and CL staffers and readers.
9:30-10:15 p.m. Nervous Turkey Crowd-pleasing Tampa roadhouse blues band led by wild man singer/harmonica player Ernie Locke, whose gravelly vocal style and outsized personality recall that of blues great Howlin' Wolf. Locke's accomplished backing players are drummer Aaron Fowler and organist Mark Cunningham.
10:30 -11:15 p.m. Win Win Winter This Clearwater indie-rock band excels at synthy, slowly-building ruminations ("Exit Rows)" and visceral numbers that skew garage-rock ("Baker Ave."), making for a diverse blend of highly melodic songs marked by expressive vocals and intelligent lyrics.
11:30 p.m.-12:15 a.m. King of Spain Tampa one-man-band Matt Slate melds ambient washes, angular guitar drones and jittery percussion (among other sonic excursions of the experimental bent) with morose lyrics and faint vocals. King of Spain's new disc, Entropy, came out on the local indie label New Granada.
12:30-1:15 a.m. Jarvik 7 Tampa quintet named after an artificial heart offers the ethereal ebb and flow, tidal-wave instrumentals that fans of post-rock have come to expect.
ORPHEUM
5:50-6:45 p.m. The Actomatics Straight outa Longwood comes this band that makes moody, melodic rock with splashes of blues and cowboy music. The female lead singer sounds like a girlish Janis Joplin.
7-8:05 p.m. Peter Mulvey Can't have a Heatwave without a man-and-his-acoustic-guitar act. Mulvey hails from Milwaukee, Wis., and writes and performs a familiar brand of neo-folk that ranges from introspective balladry to aggro acousti-rock.
8:20-9:10 p.m. Julie Black She's traipsing down from the swamps of New Port Richey to play her grimy band of blues-rock sprinkled with the occasional slinky swing number.
9:20-10:15 p.m. Poetry Showcase Spoken word takes over for 50 minutes. Poet and WMNF DJ Lizz Straight has gathered the talent for this set, headlined, if you will, by Miami world-slinger Asia, who has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam.
10:30-11:15 p.m. Still Alive (Aun Viven) This young act out of Colombia stirs funky hip-hop with indigenous cumbia and rumba genres, sung/rapped in Spanish.
11:30 p.m.-12:15 a.m. Before Dawn A most unusual Austin band, Before Dawn is a duo that squashes together goth-flavored rock with cheesy electro-dance.
12:30-1:30 a.m. A New Personality 'MNF likes to bring back Heatwave performers of yesteryear, and this time the station may have outdone itself (unless they bring back Sun Ra from the dead). ANP was one of the top bands on the fledgling Tampa Bay new wave scene in the early '80s. They played the first two Heatwaves, when the lineup was all local bands, and have reunited for the '08 edition. Will original members Brent and Darren Rademaker and Steve Fisher try to to duplicate their Devo/Echo & the Bunnymen-esque sounds of the early days? Maybe, maybe not. But you can bet the ranch that their hair will be different.
This article appears in May 14-20, 2008.