If there’s a hollow, empty sound ringing about in your life, then it’s probably the void in your pocketbook where your money was. After all of these recent music festivalannouncements, we’re sure bank accounts took a hit, but here’s a little good news (and one tidbit of bad news) for the music lover who must do it all.
Two-day, general admission passes to WMNF’s annual summertime bacchanal, Tropical Heatwave, are just $28 until January 30. That gives you roughly 48 hours to re-allocate what you would drop on tonight’s bar tab and put it towards the opportunity to get hot and sweaty whilst seeing a whole slew of bands — including circus-influenced collective March Fourth Marching Band, Afro-Cuban jazz fusionists Palo!, N’awlins roots rockers Honey Island Swamp Band— in Ybor City.
The festival is happening March 1 & 2. More bands are being booked and the lineup to date can be seen here. WMNF is only offering this deal on the web, which is convenient because you’re probably connected to the Internet as you read this. Watch Palo! be awesome below.
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It’s been two years since Atlanta flower-punks The Black Lipsheadlined a rowdy Ybor City kickoff show in advance of the Skatepark Of Tampa’s famed Tampa Pro, but the boys are returning to the 813 and taking their epically sketchy, always rambunctious brand of rock n' roll to the park. Curtis Hixon Park on March 21, to be exact.
It’s all in the name of the Spring Beer Fling, which returns to downtown Tampa for a second time and taps a roster of locals — including BOTB-winning Jensen Serf Company and Funny Bunny— to round out the bill. New Belgium, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Angry Orchard, and Deep Eddy vodka will be around to pollute your bloodstream and TBO.com says there’ll be a big ass slide there, too. Tickets are $14-$125, and an early bird $75 VIP option gets you all you can drink (call a cab, people). More information is available here. You can drool over the Lips’ Cole Alexander below.
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And speaking of Lips...
Anyone who was stoked to see the Flaming Lips at Vinoy Park’s Coastline Festival should get un-stoked right now. The fest — scheduled for February 21 (and February 22 in Pompano Beach) —has been canned. Anyone who already bought their tickets via Ticketmaster should’ve been refunded automatically, and others can get their money back at point of purchase.
Why the cancellation just a month away from the event? Mike Childs, the president of Coastline organizers Ledge Entertainment, told the Tampa Bay Times that ticket sales were not where they needed to be and that the event wouldn’t be able to “take the financial hit that we’d have to take to be able to tell our story.”
“If we were to go ahead with the show it wouldn’t be done right,” Childs added, “ we’re about doing things with quality, and we can’t give a half-effort on the show.”