Dozens and dozens of acts will make it onto Tampa Bay area concert stages this summer. Here’s our best bets, in a wide range of genres.

Stanton Moore The bespectacled founder of NOLA funk purveyors Galactic is widely regarded as one of the best drummers currently drawing air. This show has him in a trio setting with estimable guitarist Will Bernard and keyboardist Robert Walter. The small ensemble allows room for Moore to strut his Crescent City-honed skills. Expect expansive jamming and finely honed interplay. (Video: Stanton Moore Trio performing at Emerald Lounge in Asheville, N.C., Sept. 10, 2008.) (May 28, Crowbar, Ybor City) —Eric Snider

Sunday, May 31 WMNF Jazz Jam feat. Sam Rivers/PBS/World Afro-Cuban Ensemble/Infinite Groove Orchestra/Impromptu/Trio Vibe/others TBA Tampa Bay’s community radio station has been putting together more jazz events of late — thank you for that — this being one of the more ambitious. Saxophonist Sam Rivers, 83, was once a front-rank player on the New York (and thus international) avant-garde scene. He’s settled into legendhood well, living in Orlando and taking gigs as he pleases. A potpourri of locally-based acts rounds out the bill. (May 31, Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) —ES

Matisyahu / Les Claypool Brooklyn’s dub reggae rockin’ hip hop artist Matisyahu revels in his Hasidic Jewness and has a faction of diehard fans who proudly wear their Yamakas to concerts in cultural solidarity. He’s impressive on disc, but not so much in a live setting. Claypool’s got many years on Matisyahu, and with age comes experience and fine-honed talent; Les knows how to bring the fire on disc and on stage. He’s an engaging showman and has all kinds of badass bass-playing tricks up his sleeve. (June 1, Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg) —Leilani Polk (Video: Les Claypool performs “Red State Girl” on Jimmy Kimmel Live in April.)

No Doubt w/Paramore/The Sounds Pop princess Gwen Stefani has enjoyed a rather successful solo career, but she can’t seem to stay away from the ska-pop band that made her famous. Or maybe she needs some extra dough for the latest baby she popped out. No new album yet, but one is supposed to be in the works during this tour. (June 2, Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —LP

Wanee Music Festival 2009 Last year, the annual Allmans-hosted fest suffered from a weak bill and the absence of founding father, Gregg Allman, who bowed out to battle hepatitis C. The fest has been moved from April to June, which’ll make camping much less comfortable, but Gregg’s back at least. Expect sets by the usual Allman family players (Trucks, Tedeschi, Warren Haynes and Gov’t Mule, Oteil, Honeytribe), some returnees (The Wailers, Keller Williams, Dumpstafunk), and several welcome newbs (The Doobie Brothers, Buddy Guy, Umphrey’s McGee, Drive-By Truckers). (Video: a clip of the Allmans playing “Jessica” at the Fox Theater in Oakland, Calif., May 12, 2009.) (June 6-7, Spirit of Suwanee Music Park, Live Oak) —LP

Animal Collective Animal Collective’s latest, Merriweather Post Pavilion, is a well-crafted album that’ll likely land on every music rag’s Top 10 this year since it was already a “Best of” contender even before its official release date. The music is experimental pop noise, colorfully chaotic, and marked by ecstatic whoops and squeals, layers of sound and samples, and much repetition. This is a pretty hip act for the Bay area and tickets have been moving, so get yours quick before it sells out. (Video: AC performing “My Girls” at Coachella, 2008.) (June 8, State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —LP

New York Dolls Anyone of a certain (semi-advanced) age from anywhere near New York calls them, bluntly, the Dolls (heavy on the D). The proto-glam-punk band formed in ’71, busted up four years later, and then reunited in ’04. Flamboyant frontman David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain are the two original members in a group that just released a new album of good-time garage-punk (with a few slow tunes and a bit of R&B mixed in) titled Cause I Sez So. (June 9, State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —ES

Bon Iver The acoustic neo-folk project of Wisconsin singer/songwriter Justin Vernon made waves with a stunning debut, For Emma Forever Ago. The album was among my favorites of ’08, and I credit Vernon’s delicate, soulful falsetto, which is sometimes multi-tracked to elegant effect and so expressive it brings a tear to the eye. Bon Iver’s recent Blood Bank EP shows that Vernon still has the ability to squeeze hearts, even with eerily processed vocals. (June 10, State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —LP

Steely Dan Since reuniting in 1993, Steely Dan hasn’t achieved much on the recording front, but has become a tireless, well-drilled and captivating live act. This is pretty much an about-face from their original run in the 1970s, when every album was an event, but they didn’t tour after 1974. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker surround themselves with a crackshot ensemble of top musicians, most of them with jazz chops, and play a compendium of storied material. (Video: Steely Dan doing “Kid Charlemagne” from the Two Against Nature DVD.) (June 12, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —ES

Aerosmith w/ZZ Top According to legend, a certain CL staffer once wrote an essay titled, “Dream On: the Penultimate Classic Rock Song.” Whether the paper ever really existed or not, “Dream On” is a goddamn great song, perhaps great enough to wipe out all the garbage Aerosmith has put out over the past dozen years. But I’ve always loved the band – I mean, how can you not with Stephen Tyler jumping around like an elastic-mouthed monkey dressed in drag? And even as near-geriatrics, Aerosmith knows how to put on a show. Same goes for ZZ Top – those forever-bearded dudes are dinos, but are more than capable of delivering heavy hitting, cock struttin’ rock ‘n’ roll. (July 11 Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —LP

The Avett Brothers Concord, N.C.’s Avett Brothers make beguiling, unvarnished acoustic rock brimming with the kind of emotion that sounds cribbed from punk-rock. While the music has a distinctive DIY raggedness, there’s no denying the melodic substance of the songs. (Video: The Avett Bro’s music video for “Murder in the City.”) (July 18, The Cuban Club, Ybor City) —ES

Vans Warped Tour 2009 feat. Bad Religion/Bouncing Souls/Flogging Molly/Less Than Jake/NOFX/Scary Kids Scaring Kids/Anti-Flag/The Ataris/many others Hey, it’s a summer tour, so like it or not, Tampa Bay hosts Warped in the summer. The height of summer. That doesn’t stop hail-and-hearty youngsters from donning band-logo’d black tees, getting wasted to varying degrees and soaking up hour after hour of punk and alternative music. Several of the above names are more or less perennials on the jaunt. (July 26, Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg) —ES

Gogol Bordello The multi-ethnic Brooklyn-based gypsy punk ensemble sold out last summer’s State Theatre show and has moved to bigger digs for their return. Gogol visionary Eugene Hütz served as ringmaster, leading the group through a supercharged set of ska, punk-metal, rap and funk marked by accordion, fast and furious fiddle, and exotic lady entertainers, who alternately sang, danced, and played marching band-style percussion throughout. (Video: Gogol Bordello performing their hit, “Start Wearing Purple,” at Coachella ‘08.) (July 27, Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg) —LP

Blazed and Confused Tour feat. Snoop Dogg/Slightly Stoopid w/Stephen Marley Didn’t Snoop drop the pot references in his music for awhile because he had young children? That didn’t last. It seems a sober Snoop just wasn’t marketable. His first album, Doggystyle (1993) was a genuine classic, but since the turn of the century, he’s been more or less a cartoon character, his flow getting lazier and lazier. The California heads in Slightly Stoopid do a kind of surf-reggae mixed with R&B and hip-hop thing. Stephen Marley is among the multitude of Bob’s sons. (July 31, Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg) —ES

Green Day In 1994, Green Day raised the question: Can you sell 10-million units of your major label debut and still be considered punk? So to accommodate, a new genre was born: pop-punk. Fifteen years later (22 since forming in Berkeley, Calif.), the band still does it best, able to grow within and expand upon the genre they pioneered. The band is touring to support 21st Century Breakdown, the follow-up to ’04’s landmark American Idiot. (Video: Green Day performing “21st Century Breakdown” for Live at Uptown in Oakland, Calif., this May.) HQ (Aug. 3, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa) —ES

Coldplay I saw Brit alt rock foursome Coldplay perform at Hard Rock Live when they were on the verge of international mega stardom. That was back ’03, during the band’s A Rush of Blood to the Head tour, when singer/multi-instrumentalist/frontman Chris Martin was courting Gwenyth Paltrow and all his balladry seemed directed at her. The band now plays arenas, is currently on the road in support of their Grammy-winning fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, and Martin will celebrate his sixth wedding anniversary with Gwynnie in December. (Aug. 9, Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —LP

The Jonas Brothers When will time run out on these guys? They’ve had a nice run as teen heartthrobs — more power to ’em — but some high-profile appearances this year (SNL, the Grammys) have laid bare the bro’s deficiencies, especially in the vocal department. But hey, the young girls aren’t too concerned if the Jonas’ sing out of tune — they’d just better not look too much like real adults. (Aug. 18, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa) —ES

Depeche Mode w/Peter Bjorn and John Depeche Mode, one of Britain’s longest-lived and most successful and significant bands, has put out one chart topper after another since 1981’s Speak & Spell. Their brooding sound, recording techniques and pioneering use of sampling has influenced anyone from Franz Ferdinand to Radiohead to Marilyn Manson. Swede pop trio Peter Bjorn and John seem an odd choice as support, but the group’s latest album, Living Thing, is a dark dance record that would satisfy any Mode fan. (Video complete with annoying sing-along: Depeche Mode playing “Enjoy the Silence” at a warm-up concert in Luxembourg in May.) (Sept. 4, Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —LP

No matter how hard we might try, family gatherings and holiday season don’t always add up to joyous — or even peaceful — experiences. But when the Trucks clan joined forces for their Soul Stew Revival bash at Tampa Theatre on Monday, a near capacity crowd of around 1,400 witnessed domestic bliss at its finest. The jubilant vibe, marked by expert musicianship, permeated the ancient venue. If the rumors are true about the historic movie house being haunted, even the ghosts must have been grinning.

The gnat’s-ass-tight gang of musicians mesmerized with gorgeous executions of the timeworn tension-and-release dynamic. It’s a God-send rooted in the churches of the Deep South, one that was sold with aplomb to the secular world by the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. The Allman Brothers Band, Derek Trucks’ chief employer, then expanded the sonic presentation with Kind of Blue-indebted jazz elements in the late 1960s. Decades later, the holy tradition thrives, coming together wonderfully Monday night at Tampa Theatre.

Trucks, a 29-year-old slide guitar master, and his band, were joined by his soul singing (and pretty damn good ax player herself) wife Susan Tedeschi for an awesomely old-school R&B revue goosed with jam band touches. A three-man horn section, two drummers (one being Derek’s younger bro Duane), a percussionist, bassist and keyboardist who doubled as a flautist for one number (think Astral Weeks and save the Jethro Tull jokes) filled the stage. The formidable ensemble, which featured members of Tedeschi’s and Trucks’ individual bands, melded terrifically. 

Photo of Tedeschi and Trucks, from a previous performance, courtesy of Flickr. 

Nuanced blues belter Tedeschi traded vocals with Derek Trucks Band singer Mike Mattison and his delightfully deep growl while Trucks eased in and out with delicious guitar fills before unleashing spellbinding solos. A lengthy rendition of Aaron Neville’s soul stirrer “Hercules” featured the mixed gender, multi-racial group at its fiercest, with every single person on stage nailing a solo. Tedeschi’s vocals were fiery and her hubby’s extended, experimental solo was slack-jaw inducing.

The Lee Boys’ Roosevelt Collier, a Floridian who ranks as the best pedal steel guitarist this side of Robert Randolph, sat in for a couple number including a killer cover of The Band’s “The Weight.” It’s the same song that gave me chills when Trucks brought his wife on stage to sing it at New Orleans Jazz Fest last year. With Collier adding extra sweetness, the encore capped an excellent evening of gimmick-free music staked in emotive, masterful musicianship — an increasingly rare commodity these days. More importantly, Trucks and Tedeschi put across a completely contagious sense of, well, happiness. And that’s something we could all use this season. Especially this season.