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We’re only a few days into January, yet there are already big-name concert and comedy tours making their way to our area, starting this weekend and through February and March.
The two biggest shows each showcase a pair of musicians, as rappers Drake and J. Cole co-headline two nights at Tampa’s Amalie Arena, while the Piano Man himself Billy Joel teams up with fellow ’70s and ’80s hitmaker Sting at Raymond James Stadium. Multiple annual music festivals also return over the next three months, including Florida Strawberry Festival, Gasparilla Music Festival and Reggae Rise Up, along with the debut of a new comedy festival.
To help keep track of it all, here are the top rock, rap, country, pop, R&B and stand-up comedy shows set to visit the greater Tampa Bay area from January to March, listed in chronological order. Event details are subject to change.
100-plus fun things to do in Januaryin Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Punta Gorda
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Friday; The Sound, Clearwater; rutheckerdhall.com/the-sound
The band behind such late ’70s and early ’80s hits as “Babe,” “Mr. Roboto,” “Come Sail Away” and “Renegade” will be joined by special guests .38 Special, the Jacksonville-formed group with its own hits “Hold on Loosely” and “Caught Up in You.”
Saturday; St. Pete Pier, St. Petersburg; stpetepier.org
The Rise Up concert series, featuring the same organizers as the Reggae Rise Up festival (see below), returns with this show featuring rap duo Atmosphere, joined by other indie hip-hop favorites including Brother Ali and RJD2, whose song “A Beautiful Mine” was the theme for “Mad Men.”
Jan. 11; Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater; rutheckerdhall.com
Debuting with what’s regularly considered one of the best first albums of all time, 1977’s “My Aim is True,” Elvis Costello has remained active, releasing 2022’s Grammy-nominated “The Boy Named If” and last year’s box set “The Songs of Bacharach and Costello,” including the Grammy-winning 1998 album “Painted from Memory.”
Jan. 11-14; various venues; sunshinecomedyfest.com
The inaugural comedy festival across Tampa, St. Pete and Wesley Chapel will be headlined by TikTok star Troy Bond, “Last Comic Standing” finalist Jeff Dye and “Kill Tony” standout David Lucas, plus podcast hosts Ian Fidance and Jordan Jensen of “Bein’ Ian with Jordan” and Steebee Weebee and Jeremiah Watkins of “Scissor Bros.”
Jan. 12; Tampa Theatre, Tampa; tampatheatre.org
Along with last year’s Netflix stand-up special “Soup to Nuts,” and a half-hour set on the same streaming service’s series “The Standups,” Mark Normand released the special “Out to Lunch” on YouTube where it currently has around 12 million views and co-hosts the podcasts “We Might Be Drunk” and “Tuesdays with Stories.”
Jan. 13; Ruth Eckerd Hall
Best known for his decades-long tenure hosting “The Tonight Show,” Jay Leno has remained a prolific stand-up performer along with starring in the series “Jay Leno’s Garage,” centered on his love of cars, and hosting a revival of the classic quiz show “You Bet Your Life.”
Jan. 20-21; Tampa Theatre
Though Leanne Morgan may be relatively new to the national stand-up comedy scene (her current tour is called Just Getting Started), she’s already highly successful, releasing the Netflix special “I’m Every Woman” last year and selling out venues, including all four of her shows at Tampa Theatre.
Jan. 24; Amalie Arena, Tampa; amaliearena.com
The rapper whose 2020 full-length “Whole Lotta Red” topped the Billboard 200 and is set to soon release a new album — previewing it with the singles “Different Day,” “2024” and “HoodByAir” — tours with Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang, all artists on Playboi Carti’s label Opium.
Feb. 1; Capitol Theatre, Clearwater; rutheckerdhall.com
Named one of the 100 greatest songwriters of all time by Rolling Stone, with her 1998 full-length “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” also named one of the 100 greatest albums by the same publication, Lucinda Williams last year released the memoir “Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You” and album “Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart.”
Feb. 2 and 4; Amalie Arena
Two of the most popular rappers performing today, Drake and J. Cole play two Tampa shows on their co-headlining tour following the release of Drake’s latest No. 1 album “For All the Dogs” last year, which features J. Cole on the track “First Person Shooter.”
Feb. 3; Yuengling Center, Tampa; yuenglingcenter.com
The stand-up comedian most recently released the 2022 Netflix special “World War III,” the follow-up to his 2018 special “Great America” on the same streaming service that was filmed at Jacksonville’s Florida Theatre and discusses the city at length.
Feb. 3; Ruth Eckerd Hall
Scoring her first hit at 13 years old with her 1972 rendition of “Delta Dawn,” country singer Tanya Tucker has had a career resurgence in her 60s, winning her first two Grammys for the Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings-produced 2019 album “While I’m Livin'” and releasing last year’s follow-up “Sweet Western Sound.”
Feb. 3; Capitol Theatre
The singer was the first Black woman to earn a Best Country Solo Performance Grammy nomination for her track “Black Like Me,” which she also performed at the Grammys, among other high-profile gigs including singing the national anthem at the 2022 Super Bowl and co-hosting the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards.
Feb. 5; Amalie Arena
Dormant since their 2003 breakup and the deaths of original members “Dimebag” Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott, metal band Pantera recently reunited with lead singer Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown returning, and Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante joining the lineup.
Feb. 8; Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center
The singer who’s had numerous No. 1 hits both with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group the Four Seasons (whose story inspired the Tony-winning musical “Jersey Boys” and its film adaptation) and as a solo musician will visit Tampa on the Last Encores farewell tour.
Feb. 9; The Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg; themahaffey.com
The stand-up comedian and actor whose latest special “The Old Man & The Pool” premiered on Netflix last year, and who you may have also recently seen in the music video for pop superstar Taylor Swift’s song “Anti-Hero,” will come to St. Pete with his latest show “Please Stop the Ride.”
Feb. 10; The Sound
Turning 90 years old last year, outlaw country icon Willie Nelson remains busy as ever — that same year winning a Best Country Album Grammy for his latest album “A Beautiful Time,” serving as the subject of the docuseries “Willie Nelson & Family” and being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Feb. 14; The Mahaffey Theater
A great Valentine’s Day option is this show featuring the singer of one of the greatest love songs of all time, the Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted No. 1 hit “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Knight’s other honors include seven Grammys, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction and being named the 51st greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone.
Feb. 14; Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center
Another strong Valentine’s Day option is R&B group Boyz II Men, who had numerous No. 1 hit ballads in the ’90s with “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love to You,” the duet “One Sweet Day” with Mariah Carey and “On Bended Knee” — the first two songs also winning them Grammys.
Feb. 14; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota; vanwezel.org; Feb. 17, Ruth Eckerd Hall
One more Valentine’s Day option: this concert featuring musical couple David Foster, the 16-time Grammy winner who had a hand in such hits as Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me” and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” cover, and Katharine McPhee, an “American Idol” runner-up who also co-starred in the musical series “Smash.”
Feb. 16; Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center
After headlining Amalie Arena multiple times in past years, the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee — both as a member of Faces and for his solo career, which includes such hits as “Maggie May” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” — will play the relatively intimate Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center.
Feb. 16, Tampa Theatre
The stand-up comic and “Daily Show” correspondent has released two Netflix specials, 2019’s “Asian Comedian Destroys America!” and 2022’s “Speakeasy,” and had roles in films including “M3GAN,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Crazy Rich Asians.”
Feb. 16-18; Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, Tampa; gasparillamusic.com
The 13th annual Tampa music festival, moving to a new location this year in Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, will feature a lineup of rock (Young the Giant, Lake Street Dive, Coin), electronic (Louis the Child, Big Gigantic) and hip-hop (Digable Planets.)
Feb. 24; Raymond James Stadium, Tampa; raymondjamesstadium.com
The Piano Man known for his ongoing residency at Madison Square Garden will visit another famed sports venue in Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, joined by another famous musician: Sting, the former frontman of the Police turned highly successful solo artist.
Feb. 29-March 10; Florida Strawberry Festival Grounds, Plant City; flstrawberryfestival.com
The annual festival returns with a typically eclectic lineup of concerts in genres including country (Riley Green, Cody Johnson, Oliver Anthony of controversy-raising “Rich Men North of Richmond” fame), pop (Black Eyed Peas, Flo Rida), classic rock (ZZ Top, The Beach Boys) and more.
March 10, Amalie Arena
Three of the biggest crossover successes in Latin music, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin and Pitbull team up for the Trilogy Tour. The trio all have ties to Florida, having lived in Miami and Miami Beach, with Pitbull also previously serving as the state’s tourism ambassador.
March 11; Amalie Arena
One of the biggest names in Afrobeats, the Nigerian singer Burna Boy will visit Tampa following the release of his latest album “I Told Them…” last year, the same year he was named one of the 200 Best Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone.
March 14-17; Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg; reggaeriseup.com/florida
The annual reggae music festival features two sons of the genre’s biggest name, Bob Marley — Damien “Jr. Gong” and Stephen Marley — headlining this year along with Dirty Heads, Rebelution, Slightly Stoopid, Soja, Iration, Burning Spear and rapper Lupe Fiasco.
March 15; Amalie Arena
The country singer, “1883” star and former Jacksonville resident tours following the release of his latest album “Standing Room Only,” with Carly Pearce, who won her first Grammy last year for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and is up for another this year, opening.
March 16; Amalie Arena
The comedian who grew up partly in Vero Beach has released several stand-up specials, including last year’s “Sledgehammer” on Netflix, and hosts the podcasts “Your Mom’s House” with his wife Christina Pazsitzky and “2 Bears, 1 Cave” with fellow former Floridian Bert Kreischer.
March 22; Van Wezel
The Tony and Emmy-winning singer and actress best known for originating the role of Glinda in “Wicked” (a character that’ll be played by pop superstar Ariana Grande in the upcoming film adaptation) will headline this year’s annual gala at Van Wezel, joining other past headliners including Harry Connick Jr., Barry Manilow and Seal.
March 22, The Mahaffey Theater; March 23, Tampa Theatre
The stand-up comedian was recently chosen to host the upcoming CBS late-night show “After Midnight” — which’ll air in the timeslot following “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” with Colbert executive producing — but don’t expect her to give up stand-up, especially after signing a deal with Netflix for her next two specials.
March 23; Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Golf Resort, Palm Harbor; valsparchampionship.com
PGA Tour golf tournament Valspar Championship, which has featured country stars such as Darius Rucker and Braid Paisley as musical performers in past years, will welcome another big name in the genre this year: Cole Swindell, who has eight No. 1 country airplay hits to his name.
March 24; Ruth Eckerd Hall
Though best known now for his HBO talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher” that debuted its 21st season last year, Bill Maher started out as and remains a stand-up comedian, releasing numerous specials including his most recent, 2022’s “#Adulting.”
March 24; Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center
The comedians from the hidden camera TV series and 2020 movie of the same name — Sal Vulcano, James “Murr” Murray, and Brian “Q” Quinn — perform two shows. The group until recently also featured Joe Gatto, with the show’s current tenth season featuring guests in his place.
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
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