Here's what's happening on this Fri., April 10 — a rather diverse range of happs, plus some additional Friday night live music shennanys at the bottom of the post...wWAYLOn with Mekenzie Jackson Striving to reinvent Southern music with a little “forward thinking” and “propaganda,” Georgia-bred Waylon Elsberry, aka wWAYLOn, is off to a good start with catchy ballads fusing outlaw country, Americana and punk rock. Maybe it’s his subtly raspy vibrato, or perhaps he’s triggered a sleeper cell. I haven’t decided yet, but it gives me the inexplicable urge to go burn a confederate flag. Tourmate Mekenzie Jackson backs wWAYLOn on stage as well as performing some country-folk tunes of her own. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —Adam Hardy
Cormac McCarthy Not to be confused with the Pulitzer Prize-winning author behind No Country for Old Men, this Cormac McCarthy is a New England-area folk-bluesman hailed as “a leading light of the urban songwriter revival...” by the Boston Globe. His last album was 2013’s Collateral. (The Studio@620, St. Petersburg)—Leilani Polk
Operation Coexist: Geri X Unplugged Geri X is a local multi-instrumentalist songstress with a back story as distinctive as her folk-rock sound. Ever since she moved from Bulgaria, Geri X has captivated Bay area audiences and despite leaving the scene a few times to work her magic elsewhere, she always ends up back in the ‘Burg, likely because she has so many diehards here. She’s earned numerous Best of the Bay wins from CL, not to mention a “Best of Indie” award from Rolling Stone’s Bulgarian edition. There’s no other way to put it: Listen. To. Geri X. On this night, she’s playing for a good cause, too – Operation Coexist, a non-profit that provides musical therapy programs to hospitals and musical outreach to at-risk youths in local school districts. (Hideaway Café& Recording Studio, St. Petersburg) —AH
The Orchestra Starring ELOFormers I bet you know – and like – more Electric Light Orchestra than you think. The seminal upbeat epic “Mr. Blue Sky” is a given, but there’s also the easy grooving sashay of “Evil Woman,” the gentler longing of “Strange Magic” and “Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” the fast-rambling drive of “Livin’ Thing,” the swaggering bump-and-grind of “Don’t Bring Me Down”… YouTube ‘em. If the lush progressive rock odes take you to a happy place, former members of ELO and ELO II (sorry, no Jeff Lynne) perform all these hits and others as backed by a full symphony. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —LP
Plain White T’s The Illinois pop-punk band had their come-up with 2007’s sweetly sentimental platinum-selling “Hey There Delilah.” Seventh full-length American Nights was originally slated to come out in 2014, but disputes with Hollywood Records execs about what should be on it not only delayed its release but prompted Plain White T’s to leave the label all together, taking the material they’d finished with them per a clause in their contract and finishing it independently. American Nights dropped last month, and this tour supports. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP
Apallo with Tre Southside, ABSTRACT MACHINE, Clew, Bay Sir, Julioso, Gatsby The Nine 10 stages a big ol’ art and music event, which features paintings by local artists and audio art by area hip hop-rooted artists. Among them are Tampa hip hop producer/emcee Gatsby, St. Pete gangsta rapper Tre Southside and electro-groove producer ABSTRACT MACHINE. Headlining the show is Pinellas Park’s own Apallo aka Joshua Cruz, whose silky smooth vocal quality is sure to get the crowd going. Despite a small library of posted songs (two to be exact), Apallo’s FB promises he’s “got a dope set planned.” (The Nine 10, St. Petersburg) –Seth Peterson
Private Series 02: Tony Humphries The legendary NYC-based purveyor of soulful, uptempo, self-styled “Hump-in-the-Homefries” house music is brought to town for the second installment of Serious Soul’s private party series; admission is limited to 150 guests, so reserve your spot stat. (Hyde Park Café, Tampa)—LP
Eliza Gilkyson The folk songstress has been active since the late ‘60s and is currently on tour behind her latest release on Red House Records, last year’s The Nocturne Diaries. (Craftsmen House Gallery, St. Petersburg)—LP
Rayburn Anthony feat. Mike Mettalia and the Midnight Shift with Jeff Vitolo & the Quarter Mile Rebels He may not have his own Wiki entry, but Rayburn Anthony helped pioneer the rockbilly movement in the 1950s alongside fellow Sun Records artists Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. The Tennessee-bred elder statesman of ‘billy and Grand Ole Opry regular hits the Skipperdome with his signature slide-twangy guitar licks and resonant drawling vocals, backed by swingin’ Pennsylvania act Mike Mettalia and Midnight Shift. (Skipper’s Smokhouse, Tampa)—LP
ALSO TONIGHT
USF New-Music Consortium: ALIVE Fri., April 10, Barness Recital Hall at USF-Tampa School of Music, Tampa
Dirty Bourbon River Show Fri., April 10, Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg
St. Pete Shuffle 10th Anniversary w/Rebekah Pulley & the Reluctant Prophets St. Pete Shuffleboard Club, St. Petersburg
Seabound w/Architect/Ien Oblique Orpheum, Ybor City
Flux Pavilion Amphitheatre, Ybor City
Pirate Flag: Tribute to Kenny Chesney Jannus Live, St. Petersburg
The Harvest w/The Proper Crooks Orbit 19 Lounge, Holiday
Ulcer/Fleshreaper/Dark Disciple/Abortion Twins/Mosquito Teeth Fubar, St. Petersburg
Unlimited Devotion: The Music of The Grateful Dead Fri. & Sun., April 10 and 12, Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin