THURSDAY, JUNE 6
LL Cool J feat. DJ Z-Trip w/Ice Cube/Public Enemy/De La Soul A four-pack of hip hop groundbreakers from back in the day flow, rip, rhyme, and flash some old school bravado on the “Kings of the Mic Tour” as led by the grandmaster of sexy himself, LL Cool J. The multi-platinum ladies-loving vet and sometime actor issued his 14th studio album, Authentic, in April, which also marked his third decade as a hip hop artist. Another successful rapper-actor, Ice Cube, enjoyed a fruitful solo career in his post-N.W.A. days with ‘90s charters like “It Was a Good Day” and “Check Yo Self,” though he still hits the studio regularly in the midst of a busy film schedule and a new album, Everythang's Corrupt, is slated for the fall. Public Enemy celebrated a 25th anniversary last year, emcees Chuck D and Flavor Flav joined by DJ Lord since 1999 to deliver “Fight the Power,” “Bring the Noise” and other PE odes. And alternative trio De La Soul has been bringing soulful jazzy flavor to their production since forming in 1987; you likely remember “Me Myself and I” off 1989 debut, 3 Feet High and Rising. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
Flux Pavilion Another young dubstep producer/DJ with a rad alias, Flux Pavilion is Joshua Steele, who delves into brostep and more house-influenced moombahcore aesthetics. He’s also the perpetrator behind fizzy, much-sampled and remixed club-banger, “I Can’t Stop,” most famously used in the Jay-Z/Kanye album, Watch the Throne. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
Centuries/Olde Shame/Blast and the Detergents Three discordant acts rage the Epic Problem stage as led by West Palm Beach’s hardcore punk outfit Centuries, roaring through muddy down-beat distortion just as easily as galloping barrages of sound. Olde Shame delivers “self-destructive hell punk” from Richmond, Va., with the spoken grunt poetry and blustering bellows of vocalist M. Raftery bowling over top. Finally, the Nadeau brothers plus drummer Ben Mast bring on dark jarring punk as Blast and the Detergents. (Epic Problem, Tampa)
FRIDAY, JUNE 7
High Road Ale Party with Have Gun Will Travel If your music triggers the creation of an original alcoholic beverage, you know you’re doing something right. Bradenton folk-rockers Have Gun Will Travel get credit for the first installment of Rock Brothers and Cigar City’s music-inspired craft beer series: High Road Ale, a citrusy pale ale named for HGWT’s newest single, “High Road,” and out just in time to commemorate the band’s seventh anniversary. Have Gun reminisces on Florida’s good ole days with nostalgic tunes like “Salad Days” and “When We Were Kings,” their style ranging from classic country to gritty blues to fiery roots rock and Americana. (Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg) —Tyler Killette
David Koz & Friends Summer Horns Tour The smooth Cali sax man kicks off his summer tour in Clearwater as he gears up to drop a new album, Summer Horns (out June 11) he produced with three other contemporary jazz saxophone players — Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright and Richard Elliot. The foursome offers up sax-imagined interpretations of brass section-driven songs by the Chicago, James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone and others, and all three join him on this tour. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
Rascal Flatts w/Cassadee Pope The next mega country music tour to land at the newly re-named MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre (and you thought 1-800-Ask Gary was bad?) is Rascal Flatts, perpetrators of such No. 1 singles as “Bless the Broken Road” and “Stand.” Rising country songbird Cassadee Pope, a native of West Palm Beach, found her twangy niche on The Voice, which she won as coached by none other than Blake Shelton. (MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa)
Cheap Girls w/Make Do And Mend/Diamond Youth Anyone who follows Cheap Girls likely wonders how they ever find time to record amid such a relentless touring schedule. The Michigan natives have a loud, nostalgic, bare bones alt-rock style that simultaneously echoes The Replacements and Smoking Popes while remaining undeniably charming and unique. Labelmates Make Do And Mend combines melodic punk stylings with post hardcore punch, and relative new comers Diamond Youth tap into the sludgier end of alt rock ala Queens of the Stone Age. (Epic Problem, Tampa) —Daniel Figueroa
Fleetwood Mac Rumblings about the latest Fleetwood Mac tour began in earnest when the solo schedules of both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham died down. After they recorded some new material with bandmates Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, and released it on this year’s Extended Play (which Buckingham calls "the most Fleetwood Mac-y stuff ... in a long time”), the soft roots rock foursome hit the road again. The setlist on their 75-date world tour includes ‘70s-era staples (“The Chain,” “Rhiannon,” “Go Your Own Way”), ’80s highlights (“Gypsy,” “Big Love”) and a few EP cuts (“Sad Angel,” “Without You”). (Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa)
