Lots happening all over town this Sat., Sept. 19. Check out a breakdown of concerts below...Eilen Jewell with The Iguanas Alt country sweetheart Eilen Jewell has been crooning sultry drawling odes of yearning, heartache, love gone wrong, seas of tears, and other dark-vibing topics over her noirish combo of folk, blues, honky tonk, rockabilly and gospel music for a decade. Her storytelling takes a more emotive and personal turn though it doesn’t lose her distinctive style of moodiness in 2015 sixth LP Sundown Over Ghost Town, which finds her reflecting on motherhood, moving back to her hometown of Boise, Idaho, and being different like a “Half-Broke Horse” that can’t make do in the wild or captivity. This Skipperdome bill finds her playing before New Orleans swamp-roots rock outfit The Iguanas, which adds Latin flavor and bluesy guitar hooks to their driving and grooving horns-fused sound. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
O Som Do Jazz This free (donations welcome) concert doubles as a jazz scholarship benefit for St. Petersburg College music students and a platform for musician/composer/faculty member David Manson to premiere new material with his band, O Som Do Jazz, which marries the sounds of Bossa Nova and jazz with various Brazilian styles (samba, afoxê, coco, baião). (SPC Music Center, St. Petersburg)
Blues Traveler with Lawrence John Popper may be about 150 pounds lighter than when he first formed Blues Traveler more than 25 years ago, but the harmonica-howling brassy-toned frontman’s musical presence is just as big as ever and his chops have only improved with time. The jammy radio-friendly rock band is touring behind a 12th studio LP, Blow Up the Moon; each of the 14 tracks are collabs with other artists, among them, 3OH!3, The Dirty Heads, Jewel and Bowling for Soup. AllMusic.com’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it “pleasingly bizarre, a pandering time capsule bound to satisfy no one,” though he didn’t seem to think this was a bad thing… (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Planet Retro 2-Year Anniversary with Moon Flag, Gino & The Goons, Empire Cinema, Kyle Chason, Mind the Canvas The small indie record shop owned and operated by Rob Sexton has carved a respectable niche out for itself in St. Pete’s Grand Central District, and celebrates two years here with special sales, free food and drink, and giveaways throughout the day that culminate in live music by five local indie rock bands beginning at 7 p.m. Story here. (Planet Retro, St. Petersburg)
Hiphopalooza III The main selling point of the third annual Hiphopalooza – which strives to expose a diversity of hip hop styles, from trill and boom bap to conscious and band-driven jams – is a local supergroup of sorts, Young Paris, featuring Mike Mass, Vern Sr., Beyo, Asher, Young Cody, Haze Ala and Goodie. The rest of the lineup is TBA. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
The Bends 3-Year Anniversary Party with Ufo Sex Scene, Selectric, Booty & The Browns Another milestone celebration, this one from the watering hole that’s become such a staple of downtown St. Pete’s Edge District. The 3-year party features a few Bends faves plus a South Florida outfit that co-owner Matt Kaye has been trying to book since ramping up the bar’s live music offerings this past year. Story here. (The Bends, St. Petersburg)
Super Freestyle Explosion with Stevie B., Taylor Dayne, Lisa Lisa, The Original Cover Girls, Freestyle, Debbie Deb, Johnny O, Cynthia, Lil Suzy, Lisette Melendez, JJ Fad Remember back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when freestyle artists were pumping out vaguely Latin-influenced synth-fueled dance pop that flooded the radio and served as the soundtrack to skating rinks across the country? Super Freestyle Explosion assembles some of the biggest names from the era under one roof; among the highlights, Stevie B. (“Spring Love,”“Because I Love You,”“I Wanna Be The One”), Lisa Lisa (“All Cried Out,”“Lost In Emotion,”“Head To Toe”), the original Cover Girls (“Show Me,”“My Heart Skips a Beat”), and Debbie Deb (“Lookout Weekend,”“When I Hear Music”). (Amalie Arena, Tampa)
Lions After Dark Album Release Party with Goodnight Neverland, Preson Phillips, Wilder Sons, Funny Bunny A rather fine lineup of local talent supports Lions After Dark on this celebratory night, when the femme-driven indie rock outfit debuts a fresh full-length – LOUD – at a rather impressively large venue before hitting the road to promote it. A persuasive Facebook invite sums it up most poetically: “Let’s set this moment on fire with rock and roll, raucous fury, and burn it down to a pile of beautiful char fit to remember for years, like a birthday wish for this moment.” (Orpheum, Ybor City)
The Knick Knacks with Mave’s Arcade, Donna Lu The Knick Knacks, aka Jacie & the Knick Knacks, hail from Melbourne and purvey a dark, fuzzy-chugging brand of garage rock glazed in vintage ‘70s hard rock hues, dosed with snarly ‘90s grunge attitude and brightened by the melodic lead intones of frontwoman Jacie Madison. She and co-songwriter Chris Walker formed the outfit with John Robert Bridges III and Nick Mascolo a few years ago, and recorded all-analog debut EP, La Rubia, in Nashville with Chris Mara at Welcome to 1979 studio (Jason Isbell, JEFF the Brotherhood). (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Ruben Moreno & Zydeco Re-Evolution An ensemble from Houston whose namesake leader takes plays a mean squeeze box, sings a soulful lead vocal and turns Zydeco music on its head with modern doses of honky-tonk, R&B and roots rock. (Edge of 9, St. Petersburg)
ALSO TODAY
Tampa Bay Jazz Fest w/Maurice Allen/Ryan Kilgore/Joey Sommerville/Jose Valentino Ruiz/Kyle Schroeder Water Works Park, Tampa
JP Soars SCourtyard Stage @ Ale And The Witch, St. Petersburg
Future Vintage/Row Jomah Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin
Pretty Voices/Archaic Interest/Seafang The Amsterdam, St. Petersburg
Troy Youngblood and the SoulFish SCapitol Beer House, Clearwater
Dark Disciple/Thrash Or Die/Singod/Nekromaniak/Into The Grave Brass Mug, Tampa
Post-Rays Concert Series: Sister Hazel Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg
Sasha Tuck & Friends The Underground @ Moscato’s, St. Petersburg
EMPIRE X Birthday Bash w/Jaybee/Kensi/Decibel Nation/Kay-S Fubar, St. Petersburg
The Midwest Maniac Monsters Mini Tour w/Ricky Dreamz/Syke Pachino/more Sacred Grounds Coffeehouse, Tampa
Green Jelly w/Nerds Raging/Twisty Chris & the Puddin’ Packs/Green Bastard Local 662, St. Petersburg
Ringside’s Six Ring Circus w/Displace/Holey Miss Moley/Serotonic/Dropin Pickup/No Need/K Slat Ringside Café, St. Petersburg
Josh Lamkin and Automatic Heat Den Stage @ Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg