Spring Concerts Bringing A Variety of Artists to Tampa Bay
Looks like musicians and artists are ready to get out of the winter freeze and bring their talents to the Suncoast and Tampa Bay areas. Starting with Sarasota at Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, the week of March 10th has the rock & blues of ZZ Top on March 13th and the comedy of Jay Leno & Arsenio Hall on March 14th. Broadway’s traveling tour of “Moulin Rouge” will be in the SRQ the week of March 18th thru March 23rd. If you haven’t seen it, it is a go to show on New York’s Great White Way! www.vanwezel.org for ticket info.
In St. Pete, the 10th anniversary of Reggae Rise Up Florida Festival starts on March 13th for the weekend and opening the festival is Sting (yes, that Sting) and Shaggy! It should be a chill, fun festival at St. Pete’s Vinoy Park. Clearwater always has a lot going with several venues including The Bay Care Sound, Ruth Eckerd Hall, and the Bilheimer Capitol Theatre. The weekend of March 15th brings Foreigner to the Sound, fresh off their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction and on Sunday, March 16th brings the iconic Diana Ross! The Capitol Theatre has Jon Lovitz coming for a night of comedy. Trey Anastasio, Chicago, The Lords of 52nd Street (Billy Joel’s former band) and the Gene Simmons Band are all coming to Clearwater. 2024 biggest movie Wicked’s Cynthia “Elphaba” Erivo will be appearing at Ruth Eckerd with the Florida Orchestra on May 3rd. Be sure and check out www.rutheckerdhall.com/events
The Tampa Bay Blues Festival is coming to Vinoy Park on April 13th-15th. Headliners include Walter Trout, Tab Benoit, Ana Popovic and Tampa’s own blues guitarist Selwyn Birchwood. In between Tampa Bay Lightning games and Disney on Ice, country singing star Alan Jackson will be playing the Amalie Arena on April 26th. The Mahaffey Theatre in St. Pete has some great stuff coming up with musician and producer Todd Rundgren playing the Burt Bacharach Songbook Live In Concert on April 22nd; Our own Safety Harbor rock star Robin Zander and his band Cheap Trick will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Mahaffey on May 3rd and the night before on May 2nd, actress and singer Cynthia Erivo from “Wicked” will be doing a special show with the Florida Orchestra at the Mahaffey! All the info at www.mahaffey.com
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa is hosting a variety of music and comedy shows in their Events Center. Guitarist Gary Clark, Jr., comedian Rickey Smiley, Latin artist Draco Rosa and the hilarious Chris Tucker is coming for two nights! There is live music on the weekends in the Hard Rock Café. https://casino.hardrock.com/tampa/entertainment Mid-Florida Amphitheatre will be kicking off its outdoor summer tour season on May 1st with a sold-out show of the Rufus Du Sol tour and on May 10th with rocker Billy Idol’s “It’s A Nice Day to.. Tour Again” with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. This is just the beginning of spring and summer national shows in the area. There will be more artists added and festivals popping up. Be sure and keep on the lookout for your favs coming to town and don’t forget to support local live music!
Vicky Sullivan Photos for The Suncoast Post