The new year offers plenty of concerts to look forward to this spring. Here are the highlights.Tool with Primus Promising an “unparalleled sonic and visual experience,”" pioneering art/prog rock behemoth Tool snakes down to the Sunshine State and plays two dates, including a Thursday night O-town throwdown. Maynard James Keenan & Co. up the Tampa Bay draw factor with support from another revolutionary California act that came up in the same ‘90s grunge milieu with unexpectedly dark, idiosyncratic (non-grungy) sounds: Primus. This is an epic match-up, one unquestionably worthy of a Thursday night I-4 ride – if you can get a ticket, that is; the Orlando date is officially sold out. *HOWEVER, Tool is holding a very special "Last Chance" Deal for limited quantities of tickets to select shows, including Orlando. The sale starts tomorrow — Fri., Jan. 15 — at 10 a.m. via HERE (the link will appear on the page once the sale is live) and ends, at the latest, on Mon., Jan. 18 at 10 a.m. The price is $299.98, and you get a seat in the first few rows (tickets are available for pickup at will call on the day of show) plus a specialty merch pack sent to you after the show date. Or, you can try your chances with StubHub. Maybe pay less but get more dubious seats. Whatever you do, good luck, and rock out. January 28, CFE Arena, Orlando.
Clearwater Sea-Blues Festival Last year’s lineup was mostly standard, solid-issue blues fare but for the 2016 edition of the Clearwater Sea-Blues Festival, even more value is added to the free fest via Saturday’s soul searing headliner, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, preceded by a set from another super fine talent of Motown groove persuasions, St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Sunday’s one-two punch of howling Cali songstresses, Beth Hart and Nikki Hill, isn’t too shabby, either. February 20-21, Coachman Park, Clearwater.
Protomartyr If you skimmed any year-ending Best of lists, you likely saw Protomartyr named on many of them; in fact, The Agent Intellect made it on CL’s own shortlist. The third album from Detroit’s moody post-punk outfit brims with sharp lyrics that are at turns dour, poignant or sardonic and sung in offhand verses over instrumentals that churn and thrust. February 21, Crowbar, Ybor City.
Duran Duran The British fathers of stylish New Wave synthpop hit town behind Paper Gods, their first new full-length in five years and 14th overall. The 2015 album has proved a comeback of sorts and the current North American tour will likely be a nice cross-pollination of vet fans and newer followers that likely discovered Duran Duran after listening to the indie dance acts influenced by the Simon Le Bon-led outfit their nearly four-decade tenure. April 2, MidFlorida Central Credit Union Amphitheater, Tampa.
They Might Be Giants Not simply a concert event but a full-fledged experience, a TMBG show finds fans dressed up in costumes and custom-made tee-shirts inspired by songs from the comedy rock band’s rather vast catalog, pretty much everyone sings-along the whole time, and a feeling of gleeful camaraderie pervades the room. Four years ago, we saw a storied Lincoln show – which found them playing the entirety of their second album along with various career-spanning highlights. We’re excited to see what’ll pop up this time around. April 5, State Theatre, St. Petersburg.
Ben Folds with yMusic He dazzled and mesmerized with his piano rock serenades when singer-songwriter Ben Folds brought his orchestral tour to town in 2014. This latest stop finds Folds joined by the Brooklyn-based chamber sextet of string and horn players he collabed with on his 2015 record of pop-symphonies, So There. So far, setlists have been heavy on new material but dotted with re-workings of Folds’ solo and Five songs, too, including “Effington” and “Zak and Sara.”April 20, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg.
ALSO COMING UP THIS SPRING
Billy Joel January 22, Amalie Arena, Tampa
Shannon and the Clams January 25, New World Brewery, Ybor City
Storm Large February 16, Tampa Theatre, downtown Tampa
Carly Rae Jepsen February 17, The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City
Gary Clark, Jr. February 18, Jannus Live, St. Petersburg
Heartless Bastards February 20, Crowbar, Ybor City
Vince Gill & Lyle Lovett February 24, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater
Roseanne Cash February 25, Capitol Theatre, Clearwater
Less Than Jake February 26-27, State Theatre, St. Petersburg
Tony Bennett March 7, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg
Gasparilla Music Festival March 12-13, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park & Kiley Gardens, downtown Tampa
Rihanna March 13, Amalie Arena, Tampa
Underoath Reunion March 16, Jannus Live, St. Petersburg
Napalm Death, Melvins, Melt Banana April 9, Orpheum, Ybor City
ZZ Top April 29, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater
Ellie Goulding June 2, Amalie Arena, Tampa