Great music is happening all over town this weekend, and you’re wondering, “What should I choose?” Look no further. Everything you need to know is right here. Wanna take a look beyond this weekend? Check out our Upcoming Concerts page.
Friday, September 24
[pictured right] Canadian rap artist Drake (nee Aubrey Drake Graham) spent his teenage years acting in Degrassi: The Next Generation before shifting to music and finding a mentor in hip hop superstar Lil Wayne, who signed Drake to his own Young Money Entertainment label last summer. Drake's first full-length studio effort, Thank Me Later, dropped in mid-June, features contributions by Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Jay-Z, among many others, and debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200. Drake is also a talented entertainer, his classy Rat Pack-inspired performance at the MTV VMAs one of that awful award show’s few highlights. Featured guest rapper Swizz Beatz and R&B songstress Mary J. Blige were on hand, he trading rhymes with Drake, she adding her soulful howl and sexy harmonies to Drake's hit, “Fancy,” a song that's both a tirade against fancy fake-ass women (“superficial gold digging bitches in here / They get a baller think that they ain’t got to pick a career / Guess they plan on sucking somes dicks until some millions appear”) and a shout-out to the real ones who can stand on their own two feet (“The girls that got diplomas / And enough money to loan us / a little something extra / Should we ever need it”). 8 p.m., USF Sun Dome, Tampa, $63.50-103.95 (incl. fees).
St. Pete Blues All-Stars An evening of jump, Chicago, boogie woogie, and other styles of hot-burning blues as performed by a septet that includes some of St. Pete’s finest musicians working within the genre led by singer/keywoman Liz Pennock and singer/guitarist Dr. Blues. 8 p.m., Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg, $15.
