Tampa Calling

Here’s a quick breakdown of your best live music bets for the upcoming weekend. Yes, we count Thursday, because that’s when the weekend really starts, right? I mean, for those of us who pretend it’s just a second Friday… For a more comprehensive schedule of concerts, check out our Upcoming Events page.

Thursday, July 09
Don Chambers w/Urbane Cowboys/Roppongi’s Ace/Al Torchia Don Chambers (pictured) sings in a raspy drawl, plays banjo with electric guitar aggression, and writes Southern gothic narratives about death, heartbreak, and other grim topics set against slinky Southern-fried roots rock that crackles and burns with a fiery intensity. Last September, with his Athens, Ga.-based band GOAT, Chambers released his fourth album, Zebulon, which was co-produced by the Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood and featured on NPR’s Second Stage. Chambers has been likened to Tom Waits and Johnny Cash, and both are adequate, if not accurate, comparisons. Chambers performs solo (sans GOAT) at two shows on either side of the Bay: at New World Brewery on Thursday with Urbane Cowboys, Roppongi’s Ace and Al Torchia, and on Friday at The Garage in St. Petersburg with support acts TBA), and also appears on Studio 10 Friday morning. Thurs., July 9, 9 p.m., New World Brewery, Ybor City; and Fri., July 10, The Garage, St. Petersburg. Both shows are $6. —LP

Friday, July 10
PBS (Porter Baptiste Stoltz) Ever since The Meters, New Orleans has had a tradition of turning out funky trios. PBD includes stalwarts of the Crescent City: bassist George Porter Jr., drummer Russell Batiste and guitarist Brian Stoltz. Their vocals are serviceable, but their musicianship and way with a groove are really the reason to see them. Standback opens. Fri., July 10, 8:30 p.m., Ace’s Lounge, Bradenton, $15 in advance/$18. —ES Read the rest of this entry »

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 Read the rest of this entry »

See Stevie Wonder on the Grammys? They had him slumming with the Jonas Brothers, and the dude is enormous, whale-esque — but, y’know, he can still sing.

Coming up is a better opportunity to see the pop/R&B legend on the tube — in a program called “Stevie Wonder In Performance at the White House: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize.”

A press release adds that the program will “showcase an evening of celebration with President and Mrs. Obama at the White House in honor of musician Stevie Wonder’s receipt of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The 60-minute program, to be taped by WETA Washington, D.C., airs Thursday, February 26, 2009, at 8 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide.

The concert takes place February 25 and will include performances by Wonder himself and Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Martina McBride, Esperanza Spalding, Will.i.am, and the gospel duo Mary Mary, among others. President Obama will confer the Gershwin Prize upon Wonder during the event.