Every year in the weeks leading up to the official start of summer, WMNF throws a multi-stage music fest in Ybor City and brings a diverse range of acts to fill up the bill. The 29th annual Tropical Heatwave has expanded, and now encompasses two additional venues and more than 40 performers. Here are the ones you don’t want to miss.
Ruthie Foster Whether she’s delivering her frank poetry in a raw gospel-soul wail or sonorous croon, singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster is laying it down to the blues, her 2009 album, The Truth According to Ruthie Foster, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. 6:50-8:10 p.m., El Pasaje Plaza.
Luminescent Orchestrii [pictured right] For fans of the gypsy punk movement (which most famously birthed Gogol Bordello), Luminescent Orchestrii (also from Brooklyn) produces a blend of Eastern European folk music, rock and gypsy jazz, high-spirited singers/string-players Sarah Alden (violin) and Rima Fand (violin, viola) adding dark, earthy drama to the Orchestrii’s sound. Rounding out the collective is Sxip Shirey on resophonic guitar, bullhorn harmonicas and melodica, and Benji Fox-Rosen on mini-double bass. 8:10-9:15 p.m., Cuban Club Ballroom.
Black Blondie Drawing on elements of neo-soul, hip-hop and acid jazz, Minneapolis four-piece Black Blondie — which self-released a full-length LP Do You Remember Who You Wanted to Be, in April — is fronted by singer Samahra Linton, whose vocals are R&B slinky or throaty against the band’s atmospheric, downtempo grooves. 8:30-9:30 p.m., Crowbar.
See more videos, listen to audio, and check out the complete schedule of Heatwave performers after the jump.
