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From tiny to giant, here are seven Tampa Bay music venues to visit this summer

By Ray Roa

Jul 24, 2023

It can be hard for a newcomer to get acquainted with their local live music scene, and in the new issue of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay on stands now, we mention must-visit rooms of every size from tiny, to giant. Here's what the scene looks like at seven venues on both sides of Bay...

Papadosio fans at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg, Florida on Jan. 20, 2023.

Tampa Bay's live music scene is very much alive, but venues of all sizes face challenges to their wellbeing

What is the state of play these days?

By Ray Roa
Jul 21, 2023
Seminole Heights' Far Forest is the latest in a long list of must-experience tiny Tampa Bay music venues

Small spots let us mingle with musicians and make friends in between bands in an unpretentious way.

By Ray Roa
Jul 21, 2023
For many, Tampa music venue Skipper's Smokehouse is religion

And there are even more uniquely Tampa Bay music venues on both sides of the bridge.

By Ray Roa
Jul 21, 2023
Ybor City's Crowbar is king of Tampa Bay rock clubs, but wraps up its lease in 2026

And there are many similarly-sized rooms that a local music fan should know.

By Ray Roa
Jul 21, 2023
When it comes to Tampa Bay's midsize music venues, Hard Rock Event Center is a humble giant

The acoustics are great and there’s not a bad seat in the house.

By Kyla Fields
Jul 21, 2023
St. Pete has changed, but Jannus Live has been like a music venue old faithful for the last four decades

By Kyla Fields
Jul 21, 2023
Simply put, there’s no other venue like The Sound in downtown Clearwater

When you’re enjoying a late-December gig with shorts on, you’ll really understand why Tampa Bay really needed to hear this Sound.

By Ray Roa
Jul 21, 2023
Whatever you call Tampa Bay’s largest concert venue can truly show your age

The amp, along with Amalie Arena and RayJay are the place for giant concerts.

By Kyla Fields
Jul 21, 2023
Tampa post-punk band Sleeping Pills gets lost in new video for ‘Endless Maze’

It’s the fourth single from the band’s 2022 album ‘A Bend In Time.’

By Ray Roa
May 25, 2023
On new album ‘You,’ Tampa electro duo Alien House has a little fun with a more free-form approach

Out on May 5, the album marries the audio artifacts of the early aughts with the resurgence of '90s house music,

By Annalise Mabe
Mar 24, 2023
Listen to 'It Came Out Out Of Nowhere' from the new live album Damon Fowler recorded in St. Pete

'Live at the Palladium' will be released on Friday, Jan. 20.

By Ray Roa
Jan 19, 2023
Beloved dive bar The Bends celebrates a whirlwind decade in St. Petersburg

Newly-formed booking duo 'We're Sweet Girls' brings a stacked lineup to the bar this weekend.

By Kyla Fields
Sep 21, 2022
St. Pete artist Steve Madden is bringing flair to the bins at Daddy Kool Records

He's brought life to the plain, white, thick plastic sheets the shop uses to categorize and separate its stock.

By Gabe Echazabal
Jul 22, 2022
Ten years after the debut of St. Pete punk band Wolf-Face, Michael J. Wolf is still a son of a bitch

The band plays a free anniversary show at Daddy Kool Records on Friday.

By Ray Roa
Apr 7, 2022
Applications are now open for Girls Rock Camp St. Pete 2022

Camp runs from July 18-22 at Allendale United Methodist Church.

By Ray Roa
Apr 6, 2022
Meet MAK, a synergetic, 'hydrophonic' Tampa band making its Gasparilla Music Festival debut this weekend

The band plays on Saturday.

By Brandalynn Nuñez Cepeda
Feb 24, 2022
Murder and moonshine are just two elements of the debut full-length from Tampa indie-rock band Navin Ave.

The band celebrates with a Feb. 19 release show at Hooch and Hive.

By Gabe Echazabal
Feb 11, 2022
Citing hearing loss, revered Tampa recording engineer Tom Morris has decided to hang up the headphones

Morris first detected problems with his hearing back in the 1990s.

By Eric Snider
Feb 10, 2022
DJ Ekin is the Tampa Bay Bucs’ official DJ, and he wants to help kids understand the entertainment business

His Hip-Hop Study Hall is part of Ekin's iCare About Me.

By Aaliyah Selene Pasols
Jan 7, 2022
Grammy-nominated Tampa composer Chuck Owen releases seventh Jazz Surge album, then ‘retires’

Owen re-invented Big Band music for the modern age.

By Eric Snider
Dec 16, 2021

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