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Thoughts and prayers: The CL mailbag
I’m no stranger to the peanut gallery comment. It’s come up, in jest and in ire, after Creative Loafing posts about something and we take it in stride. As our new local ownership embarks on this next chapter of the alt-weekly, it wants to bring back the letters page. Engaging with our readers by mail, in person, and, yes, even on social media sometimes, is a fun practice that is essential to this project.
The publication does more than cover the community—it lives in it, and that means feedback. Over the next few weeks we’ll fine tune this section, but in the meantime, please scan the QR code below to send us your thoughts via email. If you’re a reply kind of person, drop a comment on social media. Thanks for being here. Ray Roa
Email response to “In Pinellas, a dark money-funded ‘Energy Alliance’ is working against the push for publicly-owned electricity”
I liked Valerie Smith’s piece on dark money fueling the opposition against a municipally owned utility, which I support, but I wish she could have included some information about how it saves consumers money with examples from other areas.—Bruce Rodgers, Largo
Facebook response to ‘Tampa Councilwoman Hurtak says Mayor Castor is limiting her ability to ride along with city departments’ (read more on p. 19)
Lynn has learned a lot about how the PD works, what’s going on in Tampa, and what needs to be done to solve our problems. Jane clearly doesn’t want Lynn to become more qualified to be the next
mayor than her pal Bob (too bad, she already is).—Phil Compton
Sounds fair during the campaign season. I love that she does this while on council. So many layers to each public service job that it may just take eyes on the whole shebang to understand if improvement opportunities are being captured and the how best to do it. Had the pleasure of listening to Lynn on WMNF (can’t remember which program she was on) as a guest and her take on Tampa.—Molly Finn Johnson
Facebook response to ‘St. Pete Razing frames downtown’s pink paint job as ceremonial humiliation [PHOTOS] (read more on p. 42)
I was having trouble explaining why this didn’t sit right with me -- even though I’m a fan of the artists -- and this piece really sums it up. Thank you.—Karen Sherman
Except it wasn’t a satirical piece. And the buildings look like straight trash now with the murals painted. The pink was a statement, albeit a wrong and offensive statement about the nature of that project. But now with the cheesy corporate/ commercial murals strewn about it, it’s an embarrassing eyesore.—Amy Wolf
Instagram response to ‘Ybor City gets new pedestrian safety upgrades, following deadly police chase’ (read more on p. 23)
HP and TPD collaborated on a police chase that resulted in the death of multiple people when they already were following him by helicopter! FHP rammed into his car only a few blocks away from the crash! They only stopped chasing SECONDS before the crash! INVESTIGATE AND CHARGE FHP OFFICER INVOLVED!—@irresolu
There are metal stanchions (basically posts) that can be installed to either lower all the way down to be flush with the ground, or raised up to create a barrier. Install those along the streets and raise them at a certain hour so that the road gets converted to pedestrian only. Simple and very effective.—@smiecz5
Day glow
Photos by Dave Decker
International Women’s Day came and went last Sunday, but not without a beautiful, empowering celebration at Crowbar in Ybor City. Led by Betty Dawl (a Tampa expat producer and songwriter performing as Eemmyy, stylized all-caps), the show included sets from Ari Chi, Shevonne Philidor, DJ Starrza, and more. See all the photos via cltampa.com/music.—Ray Roa
do this
Tampa Bay's best things to do from March 12-18. See more on pp. 38, 46 and 49
Irrational fun
Math lovers and curious kids alike can celebrate the most famous number in Tampa this weekend. At the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI)’s Pi Day celebration, circles, numbers and discovery take over the museum floor with family-friendly activity stations highlighting patterns, measurement and problem-solving, along with live demos designed to bring big ideas to life. A paint-by-numbers mural will grow throughout the day as visitors add their own splash of color, while special themed star tours inside the Saunders Planetarium connect math to space exploration. And because it wouldn’t be Pi Day without pie, complimentary samples from sponsors including Publix, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Mike’s Pies will be available while supplies last. If pie isn’t your thing, the museum’s food truck, Melt Machine, will serve sandwiches. The event is included with general admission ($7-$13), with specialty upgrades available for purchase at the door.
Pi Day: Saturday, March 14. 10 a.m. Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), 4801 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa. mosi.org
—Laura Troyer
Eight’s great
Shuffle is more than a bar and sports venue. “It’s everything all the time, all at once,” Jennifer Evanchyk told WMNF public affairs program “The Skinny,” last Friday. She lauded the neighborhood bar’s full kitchen, live music stages and function as a gathering place for groups political and otherwise. Once an award-winning “vaginaforward” watering hole, Shuffle is also home to a Tampa Period Pantry and a verycoded Equality Florida mural on the front facade. “We just like to be part of the community more than just a business,” O’Connor said, adding how the outdoor area has been a welcoming space for families looking for a place for their kids to just be free. “Because of all that, I think people stay and they come back.” This weekend, Shuffle celebrates another turn around the sun with three days of events, kicking off Friday with pre-St. Patrick’s Day concert with Paddy O’ Furniture playing traditional Irish music. A Saturday concert includes sets from five homegrown artists, and Sunday festivities go all day with Wally Rios’ Wu-Tang and Biscuits brunch happening ahead of the evening Women in Music Concert (read more in Music Week on p. 56).
Shuffle Turns 8: Friday-Sunday, March 13-15. No cover. Shuffle, at 2612 N Tampa St., Tampa. shuffletampa.com—Ray Roa
Whatcha gon’ do with all that junk
The Great Junk Hunt is making its Florida debut, bringing more than 87,000 square feet of curated “junkin’” to the Florida State Fairgrounds. The twoday market gathers hand-selected vendors selling vintage, rustic, farmhouse and industrial finds alongside handmade and repurposed goods. Think your grandparents’ front porch rockers, your mom’s high school wardrobe and every cool girl’s bookshelf decor. Cocktails and music round out the experience, turning the fairgrounds into both a treasure hunt and party.
The Great Junk Hunt: Friday, March 13. 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, March 14. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. $11 & up, $12 parking. Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 US-Hwy 301, Tampa. thegreatjunkhunt.com. mosi.org—Laura Troyer
Built to last
Architecture buffs are in the midst of a riveting week. For its Design Week, AIA Tampa Bay’s Center of Architecture and Design shows off the area’s historic and unique structures while bringing in filmmakers and award-winning designers. Between the last few seminars, there’s a chance to get on the water with an open bar. Urban designer and Tampa native Josh Frank co-leads at Pirate Taxi riverboat tour with architect Ross Tisdale. Similar to Chicago’s famous architecture cruises, Tampa offers a looser, warmer alternative, occasionally fueled by an open bar. The boat glides upriver at a leisurely three to four knots, sometimes as far as Armature Works or the N Boulevard bridge, depending on wind and tide. Guides point out the shifting downtown grid, underappreciated bridges and the layered history embedded in the waterfront. “Not every city has a river that runs right through the middle of it,” Frank told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “The city grew up around it—there’s some really amazing details to the way everything is laid out.”
Tampa Urban Arcitecture Riverboat Tour: Friday, March 13. 5 p.m. & 6:15 p.m. $45. Pirate Water Taxi, 333 S Franklin St., Tampa. cadtampabay.org—Laura Troyer
Earn your hipster badge
Girl Scouts sell the cookies, but this pairing is strictly for the adults. Rapp Brewing Company, a nano-sized brewery in Seminole, hosts a cookie and beer pairing to find the best combination of hoppy, malty bitterness and sweet nostalgia. The four-drink flight features brews inspired by, and paired with, the cookies themselves: a butter pecan blonde with trefoils, a blueberry lemon scone berliner paired with lemonades, a peppermint patty porter alongside Thin Mints, and a chocolate peanut butter stout matched with Do-si-dos. Pairings and flights will be available all weekend, but visitors are encouraged to come for the tasting on Friday, as supplies are limited. Food trucks will also be on site for more savory eats throughout the weekend. The kicks off Friday, March 13 at 2 p.m. Guests must be 21 or older to participate, and there’s no cover charge to attend.
Girl Scout Cookie & Beer Pairing: Friday-Sunday, March 13-15. No cover. 10930 Endeavor Way, Seminole. @RappOnTap on Facebook—Laura Troyer
SHEILA FITZGERALD/SHUTTERSTOCK
LIVE COMEDY SHOWS THIS WEEK
THURSDAY, MARCH 12 TH
7:00 PM: WEEKLY IMPROV DROP-IN CLASS
Give improv a try in a super supportive, fun environment! No prior experience required. 8:30 PM: LONGFORM IMPROV SHOWCASE
The Commodore's best improv teams split the bill in this weekly show! Come for the Drop-In at 7:00, and stay for this show for free.
FRIDAY, MARCH 13 TH
7:30 PM: THE CAPTAIN'S WHEEL: ST. PATRICK'S DAY EDITION
Join your Captain and his crew of seaworthy improvisers for a competitive improv show like none other, where comedians are put through their paces by a wheel chock full of St. Patrick's Day challenges.
9:00 PM: LONGFORM IMPROV CLASSICS: THE SPOKANE
Tampa Bay's best improvisers take on a new classic longform improv format each month
SATURDAY, MARCH 14 TH
8:00 PM: THE COMMODORE'S SIGNATURE SHOW
Join us for the show that defies description but guarantees laughter!
SUNDAY, MARCH 15 TH
7:00 PM: SARASOTA SUNDAY
A night of hilarious improv comedy featuring an amazing lineup of improv acts from Sarasota and beyond.
FRIDAY March 27th 2026
Sights set
Urban designer and USF assistant dean enters Tampa mayoral race.
By Ray Roa
The field for Tampa’s 2027 mayoral election has eight names in it now after Taryn Sabia filed paperwork last Monday morning. The 47-year-old urban designer and Assistant Dean for Research at the University of South Florida’s College of Design, Art & Performance was joined at the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections on March 2 by her husband Adam Fritz—while more than a dozen supporters waited downstairs.
than 20 years experience with planning processes for master plans.
“Being able to anticipate the future is what I do, and setting that vision and then working toward it is critical,” she told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “Just like ordering donuts the day before my party is going to get here, so I can make sure that everyone is taken care of.”
ELECTIONS
The group walked two miles from Sabia’s Tampa Heights home, the original Robles house, and made a stop at Supernatural Food & Wine to share a box of coffee and two dozen of Tampa’s favorite doughnuts. The doughnuts usually sell-out before 9 a.m., but Sabia’s campaign pre-ordered to make sure there was mid-walk sustenance. Answering a very unserious question about the wisdom to secure the bag, Sabia noted that she has more
Outside the county center in downtown Tampa, Sabia’s 16-yearold daughter Tessa Fritz told CL about her mom sitting her and her brother down to tell them she was thinking about running for the office.
“We all were like, ‘It’s taken you this long? Like, finally,’ because she talks about the community so much, and she’s done so much for the community that we were all just like, ‘It’s about time,” she said. “I’m just really proud of her that she’s doing it.”
In a throwback to 2008 comments to CL (“Tampa’s time is now”), Sabia told CL that she’s running in what is already a crowded race because the city needs new ideas.
Just before filing the paperwork, Sabia noted the dozens of committees and boards she and Adam have been a part of as they work towards a better city. “This was the only thing we haven’t done,” she added.
“We’re facing a lot of new challenges, and they’re challenges that I’ve been dealing with over the last several years, especially related to flood resilience and heat resilience,” she said.
Sabia is up against a crowded field, set to get bigger when former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn gets in the ring. Buckhorn, who served two terms between 2011-2019.
about telling developers what the city’s playbook is, in accordance with conversations officials have had with the community.
“Being able to anticipate the future is what I do, and setting that vision and then working toward it is critical.”
A PAC supporting his candidacy has already collected more than $1.4 million—mostly from development and investment interests. Asked why “development” has become such a dirty word, Sabia tossed out another term: “balance.”
Tampa, Sabia said, has been very reactionary over the past decades—and not proactive
“Cities have to continue to grow in order to thrive, and sometimes that means new development, sometimes it means redevelopment, but including people’s voices in that process is important, and understanding what their needs and challenges are so that development not only works for the developers, but works for us as a community,” she added. “And you can absolutely find the win, win, win in projects, but those projects also need to align with the community’s priorities, and it’s not hard to do it. It just takes thinking ahead.”
In a press release, Sabia wrote that “Tampa deserves leadership that plans for the future, not just reacts to it.”
“The same challenges we talked about 20 years ago are still here, and Tampa can’t afford another decade of the same conversations without solutions. We don’t need the same politicians with the same playbook,” the release says. “We need a new vision.”
Tampa votes on its new mayor in March 2027.
NEW BALANCE: Taryn Sabia claims there a ‘win, win, win’ scenario when it comes to developing Tampa.
BLUE
Pump the brakes
Councilwoman: Mayor is limiting ability to ride with city departments.
By Ray Roa
Tampa City Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak is no longer allowed to schedule ride alongs with various city departments “during campaign season,” according to communications between her office and the administration of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
“[We] were told yesterday in a meeting with the mayor that we are no longer going to tolerate us interrupting their work,” Hurtak—who recently announced a run for mayor—added from the dais at a March 5 city council meeting.
The news came to light at the end of a meeting where Hurtak added, “The decision by this administration to block our access to city government is anti-democratic.”
Emails obtained by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay show Hurtak’s aide communicating with former police officer Sal Ruggiero, now Deputy Administrator at Neighborhood & Community Affairs. In them, the aide attempts to schedule a ride along with code enforcement for March 24.
The next email in the chain is Hurtak’s aide trying to confirm the date and time. The third is another from the aide to Ruggiero saying, “Sal, Thank you for the phone call. Just to confirm, during ‘campaign season’ I am not able to schedule any ride-alongs with Code Enforcement.” Ruggiero responded, “Correct.”
From the dais, Hurtak told fellow council members that her office had received “tons of complaints about code enforcement.”
She said she’s already ridden along with code compliance for the building department and sat through code enforcement hearings at The City Center at Hanna Avenue.
“I was going to do this code enforcement ride along. So it’s just, it’s unfortunate that now they really want to prevent city council from doing city business,” Hurtak added. “It’s very funny, because I never talk about these. I
don’t politicize them at all now, now they want to make this political.”
“This policy was not put into place during the last election cycle, so it’s clear that it’s arbitrary and capricious. It’s intended to harm me, but instead harms all of Council and all of the residents of the city of Tampa, Hurtak added from the dais.”
Tampa’s Code Enforcement recently saw the departure of its leader, Keith O’Connor, who in December 2022 was seen in a video driving a golf cart with his wife, now-discraced Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor. That video first obtained by CL shows Keith and Mary getting pulled over before she uses her position to get out of a traffic citation. “I’m the police chief from Tampa, I’m hoping that you’ll just let us go tonight,” she said as Keith smiles.
Keith was fired in December 2025 following an investigation that revealed he cashed a $20,000 lottery ticket for one of his employees. The employee, as WTSP reported, “owed more than $70,000 in unpaid child support, meaning the winnings would have been seized if he cashed the ticket himself.”
Tampa City Councilman Charlie Miranda said that at one ride along, he and the officer even caught a robber in West Tampa. Councilman Guido Maniscalco said his ride alongs have opened his eyes to the trauma that first responders experience.
In her comments from the dais last Thursday, Councilwoman Hurtak invoked Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter’s comments from a 1953 ruling about the right of elected officials to monitor the government on behalf of citizens (United States v. Rumely).
“This is just fundamentally wrong,” Hurtak added as she read from Frankfurter’s opinion. “It is the proper duty of a representative body to look diligently into every affair of government and to talk much about what it sees, because unless these elected officials haven’t used every means of acquainting themselves with the acts and disposition of the administrative agents of the government the county or the country must be helpless to learn how it is being served.”
LOCAL NEWS
In response to Hurtak’s comments, Tampa City Council chair Alan Clendenin made a motion asking the administration to “rescind its position on open access to members of Tampa City Council to City of Tampa facilities including ride alongs— that open access ensures fiscal responsibility and transparency amongst the decision makers of the city of Tampa.”
The motion passed without opposition.
Smith said officials are planning two informational meetings for the public and potential candidates to meet with key city officials, promising one “in the near future and another after qualifying ends next year.”
“We expect to limit ride alongs during this campaign year,” Smith added, noting that he did not know if there was a precedent for this policy.
“We want to be fair to everyone and be mindful of employees’ time, as they are busy serving the public. Council requests are in addition to that work,” he added.
But in his response to Hurtak from the dais, Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera noted that voters are still a year away from the 2027 Tampa municipal election.
“So long as it’s not interfering with the function of that public servant,” Viera—who is termed out of council, but running for state house—added. “Everybody is up for election or re-election in one way or another. And that doesn’t preclude us from going on ride alongs.”
In a phone call, Smith told CL that Hurtak has done a good job of monitoring city activity and noted that the councilwoman did mention her ride alongs in a campaign launch video.
According to the City of Tampa’s January 2026 organizational chart, Ruggiero oversees code enforcement as part of his job at Neighborhood & Community Affairs. He began his career in public service as a police officer in 1982, In 2009, Ruggiero was promoted by then-Police Chief Jane Castor to the rank of Major and commanded Police District 1 until he retired in 2011.
Ridealongs, as fellow city councilmembers detailed in response to Hurtak’s comments, are common. They involve elected officials tagging along with various departments, including the fire and police departments, among others.
In a text message to CL, Adam Smith, Communications Director for the city, said “There is no edict to rescind.”
“Mayor Castor told Lynn that council members need [to] be more cognizant [of] city employees’ time, and city staff members no longer can spend hours in council meetings or writing memos about issues council members’ aides can research themselves,” Smith wrote.
He added that Castor’s administration is formulating a policy for ride alongs and informational meetings for candidates for city office, given the well over a dozen people who have announced campaigns or potential campaigns.
“Four years ago, I went from being on my neighborhood board to being on city council and immediately got busy figuring out how this city really works. Doing ride alongs with departments like code enforcement, police, solid waste, and fire rescue to see how those who serve us can be better served,” Hurtak says in the clip before diving into her work on the city budget.
“Yeah, I mentioned a lot of things I do as a councilmember,” Hurtak told CL. “If you’re going to restrict me from doing my job just because I’m running for another job that’s just ridiculous.”
Smith could not give exact dates for “campaign season,” but told CL, “Our thinking is generally, we’re in a campaign year now. The next year is going to be campaign season. We need to have some way of watching out for our staff, so they’re not suddenly appearing in somebody’s Facebook campaign picture, or having to spend countless hours educating candidates.”
CITY COUNCIL: Council unanimously passed a motion asking the Mayor’s office to rescind its policy.
Feeling green
Tampa will once again dye the Hillsborough River, despite concerns from environmentalists.
By Kailey Aiken
Each spring, the Hillsborough River glows an unnatural shade of green as part of Tampa’s River O’Green Fest. For many, it’s a beloved St. Patrick’s Day tradition. For others, it’s a poor use of resources to alter one of the city’s most important waterways.
Despite assurances from city officials that the kelly-green colored dye is safe to use for the one-day event, local fisherman and environmentalists say it’s harmful to the river’s wildlife and promotes the wrong idea about respecting the environment.
The tradition began in 2012 under mayor Bob Buckhorn and has continued every year since, except during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The 2026 River O’Green Festival happens Saturday, March 14.
Each year, about 250 pounds of dye produced by Ohio-based Kingscote Chemicals is mixed with roughly 280 gallons of water and sprayed into the river. The dye, appropriately named Bright Dyes ® FLT Yellow-Green Powder, transforms the water into a bright neon green.
According to the company’s safety sheet for the product, the dye is biodegradable, nontoxic, and “does not meet hazardous criteria set forth by the 2012 OSHA Hazard Communication Standard.” However, its recommended use is for “water tracing & leak detection dye,” and makes no mention of being used to turn entire rivers green.
In 2023, Captain Dustin Pack launched the “Stop Dyeing the Hillsborough River Green” petition to raise awareness about opposition to the city’s river-dyeing tradition. The petition has earned more than 7,000 signatures, with numbers on the rise as the event approaches.
Pack, a local fisherman, said when the river suddenly turns neon green, it alters how fish and other animals hunt, feed, and navigate in their environment. Essentially, the dye disrupts their normal behaviors and processes.
“If you’re in your living room, and all of a sudden, your living room turns neon green, it wouldn’t be normal for you,” Pack said.
Because the dye is described as a tracer dye meant to be used in tiny amounts (parts per billion) to locate leaks in pipes, it should not be used to color an entire river, Pack said. The product’s safety sheet also lists an environmental precaution stating: “Prevent from entering into soil, ditches, sewers, waterways and/or groundwater.”
Chris Pratt, a senior environmental manager for the water division from the Environmental Protection Commission (EPC), said the environmental precaution on the safety sheet is the one statement that hangs people up .
“If you had a bulk of this stuff, and, and you just tried to use it indiscriminately, and didn’t use it as per their manufacturers’ directions, there could perhaps be some problems there,” Pratt said.
Pratt said he appreciates Pack’s and other environmentalists’ concerns for the river, but that the EPC has no objections to dyeing the river.
“We’ve looked into the Material Safety Data Sheets and all the literature behind it, the history behind it, and the EPA has not found it to be in violation of the Clean Water Act,” Pratt said. “So EPC’s stance is that we’re, we’re neutral. We don’t advocate for the event, but we also don’t have any objections to doing it.”
the river or to wildlife or reports following the event,” Pratt said.
Pack, on the other hand, holds that whether or not the dye is “detrimental” to the river’s health, it is still doing a disservice to it and sending the wrong message to younger generations about how we should be treating the environment. He even shared photos of sludge in the river after the 2025 River O’ Green.
LOCAL NEWS
River O’Green
Saturday, March 14. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. No cover. Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, 600 N Ashley Dr., Tampa. community.cltampa.com
The EPC has 16 monitoring stations across the lower Hillsborough river, where they conduct monthly water samples.
“In all the years that this has been going on, we have not seen any detrimental effects to
“It gets filled with trash. It gets filled with storm water. It gets filled with nutrients. It gets filled with green stuff, and then we’re treating it like a retention pond in a subdivision, not like a 27,000 year old body of water that we get our drinking water from,” Pack said.
The Downtown Partnership, which helps run the River O’Green Fest each year, referred CL to past statements about the practice saying “The dye is safe for the environment, non-toxic,
“Why do you have to do that to have a party?”
biodegradable, meets all EPA standards, and is certified to comply with National Sanitation Foundation Standard 60. This is the same dye often used in eye surgeries, food, and water systems to trace the flow of drinking water.”
In a statement shared with FOX 13, Kenyetta Hairston Bridges, President & CEO of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, said “We’re thrilled once again to partner with the City of Tampa and Grow Financial to bring one of the region’s largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations to life. This family-friendly event draws thousands of residents and visitors into Downtown, boosting support for our local small businesses and showcasing the vibrancy and energy that define our urban core.”
Aside from the dyeing of the river, the River O’ Green Fest includes a variety of other activities for guests to enjoy, including food trucks, live music and dance performances, and a parade.
“I just feel like it’s not necessary to dye the river,” said Pack. “Why do you have to do that to have a party?”
DYE-ING TO KNOW: The product used in the Hillsborough River is meant for water tracing and leak detection.
Green light
Ybor City gets pedestrian safety upgrades following deadly police chase.
By Ray Roa and Colin Wolf
The City of Tampa and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) say that a new $400,000 roadway improvement project in Ybor City is in “direct response” to the fatal high-speed chase that resulted in four deaths and multiple injuries last November.
According to a City of Tampa press release, the first phase of the project is already underway and will focus on repaving a total of 3.75 lane-miles in select areas around the historic district, including the section of 7th Avenue between Nebraska Avenue and Nuccio Parkway, near where the deadly pursuit with law enforcement occurred.
The project—which officials told reporters was the beginning of more to come—also adds a total of 45 new on-street parking spaces and two bus bays, which the City of Tampa says will help naturally reduce speed in the area by narrowing the roadway.
pursuit of a Toyota Camry driven by 22-year-old Silas Sampson, who they believed was driving “in a reckless and erratic manner,” on I-275.
At one point during the pursuit—just about 2,000 feet from the crash—a Florida Highway Patrol officer unsuccessfully attempted a PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver to force the vehicle to stop, but Sampson continued towards the western gateway to the historic district.
Local law enforcement, including TPD, are prohibited from executing PIT maneuvers unless the driver is suspected of a forcible felony or burglary.
Sampson ultimately lost control at 82 mph and crashed into a crowd in front of The Copper Shaker and Bradley’s on 7th.
LOCAL NEWS
Other upgrades in the area include installing new crash-rated bollards at high volume pedestrian areas and crosswalks, and the continued rebricking of 7th Avenue, “which helps calm traffic,” claims the city.
“Ybor City has always been a safe place for drivers and pedestrians. Over the past decade, there has not been a deadly crash on 7th Avenue, other than the November incident,” reads the press release. “While no infrastructure can eliminate every risk, these improvements will go a long way toward making Ybor City even safer for the many visitors stopping by to take in its rich culture.”
The first part of the project, which is funded entirely by the Mobility Department, is expected to be completed by the second week of March, while the bollards and rebricking phase won’t begin until later this year.
On Nov. 8 of last year, Tampa police and the Florida Highway Patrol began a high-speed
NOW OPEN!
The incident resulted in four deaths and at least 11 injuries.
Sampson is currently jailed without bond until trial and facing multiple charges, including five counts of fleeing to elude at a high speed with serious bodily injury or death, four counts of DUI manslaughter, four counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of reckless driving with serious bodily injury.
Responding to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay about the conversations Tampa Police is having with FHP about the failed PIT maneuver that led to the crash, Police Chief Lee Bercaw said that his agency is not the lead investigator but in constant communication.
Once FHP sends its report, TPD can start its after action, the chief added. “We review all critical incidents, whether it’s a traffic crash or whether it’s a shooting, anything that’s high liability,” he said.
As far as a timeline for when that FHP investigation might finally be closed?
“We’re eagerly waiting ourselves,” Bercaw said.
PLANS CEMENTED: (L-R) Tampa City Council Chair Alan Clendenin, Mayor Jane Castor, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw, and City Councilmembers Naya Young and Guido Maniscalco in Ybor City, Florida on March 3.
Anti-anti-DEI
Ken Welch speaks out on proposed government DEI ban, plus more Tampa Bay news.
By Chris Young/WMNF
Bills on the House and Senate floors banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in local government are raising alarms among local leaders across the state.
Florida mayors and local commissioners gathered to speak out against the bill.
House Bill 1001 and Senate Bill 1134 ban counties and municipalities from funding and promoting anything relating to DEI.
The bills defines diversity, equity, and inclusion as “training, programming, or activities” designed or referring to race, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation
“It could impact existing programs that support women and religious communities, and could even restrict, as has been said, celebrations for certain ethnic groups like St. Patrick’s Day, not to mention Black heritage, Hispanic heritage, and Pride,” Welch said.
Dean Trantalis is the mayor of Fort Lauderdale.
LOCAL NEWS
If a local official does partake, they could be removed from office and face litigation.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch joined leaders from Fort Lauderdale, Tallahassee, Fernandina Beach, and more, calling it dangerous and undemocratic.
“This past weekend, my community celebrated Black History Month with a parade. And I was one of the Grand Marshalls. So I would have been denied the right to stand on a float and to go down one of the streets in our community, of an AfricanAmerican dominated community, as part of the celebration of Black History Month.” Trantalis said.
Other local officials worried the cancellation of DEI events, like cultural heritage festivals, could result in the loss of billions for Florida’s economy.
Citing concerns over Black voting power, West Tampa leaders share redistricting preference
There are four proposals under consideration to redistrict Hillsborough County. Some community leaders worry the changes could dilute Black voting power.
The West Tampa Community Development Corporation held an emergency presentation to discuss concerns of the alternative proposals.
The changes would impact over 14,000 registered voters in the nine precinct under the proposals. Of those, precinct 207 has a majority of Black voters and precincts 342 and 345 have a majority of Hispanic voters. Shifting precinct 207 from District 5 to District 6 like alternative four suggests, raises concerns about reduced representation of Black voters.
Michael Randolph with the West Tampa CDC said residents should support alternative two, which he said best protects the community.
“Only one precinct is moved. There’s no disruption to the West Tampa or East Tampa Black community. No churches were split, and it had strong support, 440 people backed it compared to the other proposal,” Randolph said.
He said alternative two would make no changes to District 4 or West Tampa’s Black and Latino communities. He also said this proposal received the highest community support with 420 votes.
District 5 would gain the Temple Terrace precinct and District 7 would lose one precinct to District 5.
“This is to show what our position is—making sure that we preserve the Black vote here in West Tampa,” Randolph said.
Randolph said alternative one received 287 votes, alternative three received 295 votes and alternative four received the lowest community support with 240 votes.
A public hearing is scheduled for March 9. at the Frederick B. Karl County Center at 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. on the 18th floor. Randolph is encouraging residents to attend and speak out.
To view and rank the four proposals visit the Plan Hillsborough website.
The redistricting comes as President Trump demands Republican-led states to redraw congressional maps ahead of midterms.—Leah Burdick/WMNF News
These stories first appeared at WMNF news, which is part of the Tampa Bay Journalism Project (TBJP), a nascent Creative Loafing Tampa Bay effort supported by grants and a coalition of donors who make specific contributions via the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation. If you are a non-paywalled Bay area publication or donor interested in TBJP, please email rroa@ctampa.com. Support WMNF News by visiting WMNF.org/support
JOINT EFFORT: St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch joined local leaders in calling out anti-DEI bills.
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Margarita March WHO HAS THE BEST MARGARITA
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RESTAURANTS RECIPES DINING GUIDES
Roll models
Cinnaholic rises in St. Pete, and more Tampa Bay food news.
By Laura Troyer
Cinnaholic, the California-based chain known for its plant-based cinnamon rolls, has landed in St. Pete.
The bakery’s new location soft-launched on March 6 at 5246 4th St. N, next to Metro Diner.
Cinnaholic built its name on customizable cinnamon rolls—warm, sticky spirals topped with a rotating lineup of more than 20 frostings and toppings. Everything on the menu is vegan, and free of dairy, lactose, eggs and cholesterol.
The shop also offers “baby buns,” edible cookie dough, brownies, and customizable cinnamon roll cakes.
Since founders Shannon and Florian Radke appeared on “Shark Tank” in 2014 (accepting a later-quashed deal with Robert Herjavec), Cinnaholic has expanded rapidly over the past decade, opening more than 100 locations across the U.S. and Canada. The new St. Petersburg bakery will be locally owned by business partners Dawn Pierce and Victor Hamisevicz.
To mark the Wesley Chapel opening, the new location will offer any salad or wrap with a choice of chicken or tofu for $6 on Tuesday. The company also rolls out a spring menu across all locations that day, introducing a Southwest Caesar, dragon fruit lemonade and iced tea, and a chocolate chip cookie.
Greenlane currently operates several locations around Tampa, and Fouder Christopher Burch says he aims to open two to three new spots each year across the region and the state.
Greenlane in Wesley Chapel will be open daily from 10 a.m.-9 p.m.—LT
Tampa’s SoHo Saloon closes Soho Saloon is hanging up its spurs.
The South Tampa country-themed sports bar, located at 410 S Howard Ave., made the announcement last week via its Instagram account, saying it’s time for “something new.”
OPENINGS & CLOSINGS
Florida already has locations in Boca Raton, Tampa and Wesley Chapel. Another Wesley Chapel location is also slated to open in 2026 later this year.
Cinnaholic St. Pete is open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
Greenlane gives Wesley Chapel a tight end Gronk’s salads are coming to Wesley Chapel.
Greenlane, the health-focused drive-thru chain co-founded by former Buccaneer Rob Gronkowski, opens its fifth location, and first in Wesley Chapel, this Tuesday, March 10.
The 1,200-square-foot, drive-thru only outpost located off State Road-54 is also the brand’s first built specifically with a dedicated mobile-order lane.
Greenlane’s menu consists mostly of salads, wraps and a few snack options, with everything priced under $10.
Its most recognizable menu item, “The Gronk,” is a salad with roasted broccoli, roasted sweet potatoes, crispy bacon, green onions and cheddar jack cheese over romaine, finished with the brand’s Greenlane Goddess dressing.
Owner Michael Disser, of Disser Hospitality Investment, said in the post that the closure and rebrand of the space will bring “a new chapter that is focused on bringing an even better atmosphere, stronger concept, and unforgettable nights in Soho.”
The company currently operates the nearby Nashville-inspired Sunset Rodeo music venue and Howard & Platt, which is expected to open in May. Disser also teased a new concept opening in the former Deck Pizza/Side Piece space in the coming months.
The post didn’t explain the reasoning behind the rebrand, but the announcement comes as TPD has implemented increased pressure campaigns in the area over the last 12 months regarding the use of fake IDs, including “Operation Buzzkill,” which resulted in over 50 arrests in the Soho and Ybor City districts.
The bar also made headlines in 2022, when a patron was charged by the Tampa Police Department with a hate crime after firing “multiple gunshots from his vehicle into the air while yelling ‘White Power.’”—Colin Wolf
J’s Asian Kitchen opens in Seminole Heights Ramen, pho and other steaming bowls have moved into Seminole Heights. J’s Asian
Kitchen opened last month, adding another casual dine-in dinner spot—or late-night takeout option—along N Florida Avenue.
The new spot at 5229 N Florida Ave. casts a wide net across East and Southeast Asia, with a menu pulling from Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese staples. The throughline is the comfort-bowl approach: soups, noodle dishes and rice.
The appetizer list is full of familiar favorites like crispy calamari with sweet chili sauce
and spicy mayo, crab rangoons and kara-age in honey garlic, spicy or original styles. From there, things get steamy. The kitchen turns out pho, udon and ramen alongside noodle plates and donburi-style rice bowls. Sushi isn’t on the menu just yet, but the restaurant says it’s coming soon.
J’s offers a small lineup of bubble teas, classic ramune sodas and mochi for dessert. J’s Asian Kitchen is open 4-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday. LT
SUGAR RUSH: Cinnaholic has locations in Tampa, Wesley Chapel and now St. Pete.
The menu: Food and drink events happening in Tampa Bay
Beyond our Do This section on pp. 12-13 and our events listings on p. 49, there are a ton of food and drink experiences happening around Tampa Bay. Have a look at what’s going down the week of March 12-18 and beyond. All events are at community.cltampa.com unless noted otherwise. Head there for more and list your own.—Selene San Felice
Tiki Night with Xul Thursday, March 12. 4 p.m. No cover. Ology Brewing, Tampa Yuengling Tampa Brewery tour and stout dinner experience Thursday, March 12. 6:30 p.m. $89.95. Yuengling Draft Haus & Kitchen, Tampa Zillicoah and BarrieHaus beer release Thursday, March 12. 3 p.m. No cover. BarrieHaus Beer Co., Ybor City Bohdega Friday, March 13. 12 p.m. No cover. Ology Brewing, Tampa. ologybrewing.com
St. Patrick’s Day Pickle Fest Saturday, March 14. 11 a.m. No cover. Armature Works, Tampa
Woodwright tenth anniversary bottle release Saturday, March 14. 1 p.m. Prices TBA. Woodwright Brewing Co., Dunedin Yuengling St. Patrick’s Day Saturday, March 14. 1 p.m. No cover. Yuengling Draft Haus & Kitchen, Tampa. yuengling.com/ tampa
Tampa Bay Beer Week: All About Foam Sunday, March 15. 12 p.m. No cover. BarrieHaus Beer Co., Ybor City. barriehaus. com
A Taste of Woodford Reserve: Spirited Dinner Tuesday, March 17. 7 p.m. $150. Jekyll Hyde Park, Tampa
Where in the Vino (Italian wine dinner) Wednesday, March 18. 6:30 p.m. $150. Steelbach at Armature Works, Tampa. armatureworks.com
Greetings From Florida (Lager celebration) Friday, March 13. 5 p.m. $75. Green Bench Brewing, St. Petersburg. greenbenchbrewing.com
Lucky’s St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl
Saturday, March 14. 4 p.m. $13.67. Park & Rec
DTSP, St. Petersburg. youthhasnoage.com
Safety Harbor Craft Beer Festival Saturday, March 14. 3 p.m. No cover. Safety Harbor Waterfront Park, Safety Harbor
St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl Saturday & Tuesday, March 14 & 17. Times vary. $15.60. Welcome To The Farm, St. Petersburg
Sailors and Sires Sapphic Mixer Friday, March 20. 7 p.m. No cover (donation suggested). Grand Central Brewhouse, St. Petersburg. @suncitysapphics on Instagram.
Easter Brunch Sunday, April 5. 11 a.m. & 1 p.m. No cover for entry, but reservations required. Maestro’s Restaurant at Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa Taste at Straz Center Saturday, April 18. 6 p.m. $180. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa
Mother’s Day Brunch Sunday, May 10. 11 a.m. & 1 p.m. No cover for entry, but reservation required. Maestro’s Restaurant at Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa
HUEVOS RANCHEROS | $11
black beans, tomatillo, tortilla tostada, guajillo salsa, egg
SOPE | $18
pork belly, mole verde, goat cheese, pickled carrot, on a masa sope
MASA BENEDICT | $12
soft masa biscuit, hollandaise, poached egg
CON AMOR BREAKFAST | $16
eggs, bacon, hash, side salsa, pickle mix, guajillo marmalade, side tortillas
HASH BOWL | $20 (ADD EGG $2)
deshebrada, hash, poblano & bell pepper, onion, pickled jalapeno, pickled fresno, guajillo salsa and avocado crema
BREAKFAST BURRITO | $18
pancake, sausage, egg, maple syrup, on a flour tortilla, side hash brown
Pinellas satirist frames St. Pete’s pink paint job as ceremonial humiliation.
By Laura Troyer/Photos by Dave Decker
Several Tampa Bay news outlets covered St. Pete’s newest skyscraper. But a satire site may have done the best job at telling some residents’ side of the story.
A cluster of century-old buildings on the corner of 4th Street South and 4th Avenue were vacant for a year before a developer hired local artists to turn them pink. In St. Pete fashion, the buildings became a canvas. In late February, artwork climbed their cotton-candy facades during a “mural flash mob,” crowds gathered for photo ops organized by the people who will soon tear the historic buildings down.
The social media account St. Pete Razing (not to be confused with the blog St. Pete Rising) framed the house’s new pink costume with into mock-occult language, describing the repainting
as a “transitional submission phase” and a “ceremonial humiliation,” to strip the buildings of their former identity.
Why so salty?
Behind the spectacle is the planned 29-story Roche Bobois St. Pete Tower, a 164-unit luxury condominium development backed by Valor Capital. The firm assembled six parcels between 2023-2025 for $7.3 million and plans call for more than 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space, a 5,000-squarefoot public arts plaza and interiors tied to the French furniture brand Roche Bobois.
Three of the structures slated for demolition date back more than a century, with the oldest built in 1916. Demolition is scheduled for spring, with construction to begin this summer.
Official statements and coverage from other outlets have largely framed the demolition as routine redevelopment, and the art project as a community service, a tone doesn’t align with the unease from some locals. That disenchantment is more closely represented by St. Pete Razing account holder Cedric Harris.
“The first thing that popped into my mind is it feels like a humiliation ritual,” Harris— pictured on opposite page, top-left—told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Though he calls the page satire, Harris was candid about his reaction to the project and the optics of the paint. He grew up downtown and said the buildings’ transformation felt personal. His faux public notice suggests that repeated “ritualized indignity” helps erode
LOCAL ARTS
public resistance and soften emotional attachments to the past, making communities more receptive to redevelopment. “There’s so many people in the Bay area struggling to pay the bills and rent and we’re gonna take affordable housing and we’re gonna dump hundreds of dollars of pink paint on it and then we’re gonna demolish it,” he said. “It was insulting to me—it felt like a victory lap.”
Before vacancy, the apartments functioned as affordable housing for service workers and young professionals. Neighbors say the buildings contributed to the daily rhythm, housing bartenders, baristas and hospital staff within walking distance of jobs. When they left, Wendy Wesley, who lives next door and was born in St. Pete, told CL the loss was immediate.
“It was a really lively building,” Wesley told CL. “I was really sad—where are they going to live now?”
She worries about infrastructure keeping pace with growth, particularly for essential workers increasingly priced out of the urban core. Without stronger public transportation, she said, longer commutes become inevitable, and with its accessibility, the city loses its realness.
Wesley does not believe growth can or should be halted. But she questions whether the city is asking enough in return, and whether the rush to cultivate an image sometimes overtakes deeper concerns. Since the buildings turned pink, she has noticed a surge in foot traffic.
“I love St. Pete, but it’s becoming very Instagramable” she said. “Sometimes I think we’re just too eager to be liked—too eager to be on a post.”
Developer Moises Agami has framed the project as both iconic and accessible. Units are expected to start around $500,000, with other residences reaching into the millions.
Agami did not respond to CL’s interview requests, but in press releases described the pink buildings as “the last burst of creativity” before they are “reborn into an incredible new icon for St. Pete.” Art, he said, is central to the vision.
Valor partnered with the St. Pete Arts Alliance (SPAA) and the Vitale Brothers to produce the mural event, and Agami said select designs will be incorporated permanently into the tower “so you don’t have to be a resident to enjoy the art.”
Helen French, Executive Director at SPAA told CL that her nonprofit gets inquiries from different kinds of entities trying to learn more about the arts and that merely served as a connector between artists and the developer.
“We didn’t fund it. We didn’t receive funding for it or from it in any way. And it wasn’t an idea that was created in my office,” French added.
Some artists defended the spectacle. Longtime Bay area muralist Derek Donnelly, who served as a lead and artists liaison for the 2025 Shine mural festival went on social media and said, “There’s something meaningful about
choosing art in the middle of change. About color in the middle of demolition. About community showing up to witness it.”
Shine founder Leon Bedore, however, had a different take. He called the project “a very large, very pink mockery of what ‘art’ actually means.”
Bedore, AKA Tes One, said that some of SPAA’s largest donors are real estate developers. He criticized the nonprofit’s choice to connect the developer “to a willing paint team that sees the opportunity before the optics.”
“The paint team then invites local artists to an ‘art jam,’ dismissing the fact that the work will be used to amplify the developer’s out-oftouch marketing language: ‘Art is the Ultimate Luxury,’ painted three stories tall on a historic St. Pete building set to be demolished,” Bedore wrote on social media. “Leveraging local artists and their very real need for paying jobs, the project becomes a marketing spectacle (a win for the developer) loaded with baggage (gentrification, city erasure, the role of public art, the developer’s background, affordability, etc.).”
Muralist Rhys Meatyard, who moved to St. Pete in the late 1980s, sees this moment as part of a longer arc of change. Downtown, once cheaper and rougher around the edges, has steadily polished itself into a destination—at the cost of its residents.
“It’s the gentrification of art,” Meatyard told CL. “The commodification of creativity.”
He does not fault artists who participated in the flash mob or in the pink paint, noting that steady work can be difficult to find, especially amid arts funding cuts. Still, he questions the broader dynamic of using public art as branding for developments many artists cannot afford to inhabit.
“It feels like we’re being exploited,” he said. “The art community has a lot of credit for bringing the city into its renaissance—and now we are being forced out.”
The promise to preserve select murals inside the new high-rise does not fully reassure him.
“It feels like this artificial pastiche of the community that they’re destroying,” he said. “None of us are going to actually live there.”
AFTER HOURS (21+) IN CARAVAGGIO’S LIGHT FRIDAY, MARCH 13 | 7:00-10:00 PM
Tickets available at mfastpete.org
Step into the shadows and experience the dramatic world of Caravaggio. This adultsonly evening brings together art, music, fashion, flavor, and flair, immersing guests in the spectacle of the Baroque. Dress to impress and explore the museum after hours— with modern beats from In Between Days Vinyl DJ and in-house musical Curator DJ Sein, an exclusive sommelier-led wine tasting from Book + Bottle, dynamic live painting from oil painter Whitney Paige, and much more!
Matthias Stom (Stomer), Annunciation of Samson’s Birth (detail), c. 1630-1632, Oil on canvas, Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi, Florence, Italy
Out and about: Events happening in Tampa Bay
The events listed in our Do This section on pp. 12-13 aren’t the only things to do in town this weekend. Have a look at more events— like comedy legend Paula Poundstone in Clearwater—going down the week of March 12-18 and beyond. All events are at community.cltampa.com unless noted otherwise. Head there for more events and list your own.—Selene San Felice
ARTS
Poetry at the Dalí Thursday, March 12. 6 p.m. No cover. Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg Pow Wow Festival 2026 ThursdaySunday, March 12-15. 5 p.m. Thursday & Friday; 12 p.m. Saturday & Sunday. No cover. Seminole Recreation Center, Seminole. myseminole.com
Death Becomes Them Friday, March 13. 7 p.m. $25 & up. Cuban Club, Ybor City. cubanclubybor.com
Ghost Hunt Friday, March 13. 11:30 p.m. $43.20. Gigglewaters, Safety Harbor Hunahpu’s Day 2026 Friday, March 13. 11 a.m. No cover. Cigar City Brewery & Taproom, Tampa
In Caravaggio’s Light Friday, March 13.
7 p.m. $65 & up. Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. mfastpete.org
The Abstractionists Exhibition Saturday, March 14. 5 p.m. No cover. GCAA Artworks, St. Petersburg. gcaa-artworks. com
Britney Houston (Drag brunch)
Saturday, March 14. 11 a.m & 2 p.m. $75 & up. Red Mesa Cantina, St. Petersburg. redmesacantina.com
Corey Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Street Party Saturday, March 14. 11 a.m. No cover. Corey Avenue, St. Pete Beach
Dani Kay’s St. Pete Perfume Exchange Saturday, March 14. 1 p.m. $15 donation, Chillum Mushroom and Hemp Dispensary, St. Petersburg. chillumdispensary.com
Shamrock Live Block Party Saturday, March 14. 11 a.m. $9.94 & up. E Washington Street, Tampa
St. Patrick’s Day Parade Saturday, March 14. 2 p.m. No cover. Julian B. Lane Park, Tampa
Tampa’s Downtown River O’Green Saturday, March 14. 11 a.m. No cover. Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Tampa
USFAA Green & Gold Gala Saturday, March 14. 6 p.m. $125 & up. The Motor Enclave, Tampa. usfalumni.org Dance Now Multi Cultural Dance Festival Sunday, March 15. 12 p.m. No cover. Water Works Park, Tampa Heights. tampacityballet.org
Hawley Trucker Hat Pop-Up Wednesday, March 18. 6 p.m. No cover with RSVP. Hotel Haya, Ybor City. @hawleytruckers.tampabay on Instagram
Selina Román: Abstract Corpulence Through March 29. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $0-$20. Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota. Jun Kaneko: Silence Before Sound Through Aug. 23. $5 & up. Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa.
COMEDY
Dirty John’s Dirty Disco ThursdaySaturdays. 8 p.m. The Studio@620, St. Petersburg.
Steve Hofstetter Thursday, March 12. 7 p.m. $37 & up. Funny Bone Comedy Club, Tampa
Matt Rife Friday, March 13. 8 p.m. $53.15 & up. Benchmark International Arena, Tampa
Paula Poundstone Friday, March 13. 8 p.m. $49 & up. Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater
Steph Tolev Friday & Saturday, March 13 & 14. Times vary. $29. Funny Bone Comedy Club, Tampa. tampa.funnybone.com
Caroline Rhea Saturday, March 14. 6 p.m. $33.80. Side Splitters Comedy Club, Tampa. sidesplitterscomedy.com
The Dinner Detective (True crime murder mystery dinner show) Saturday, March 14. 6 p.m. $81.58. Hilton Garden Inn Tampa Airport, Tampa. thedinnerdetective.com
Eric Eaton Sunday, March 15. 5 p.m. $28.80. Side Splitters Comedy Club, Tampa. sidesplitterscomedy.com
Rod Minger Sunday, March 15. 6 p.m. $27 & up. Funny Bone Comedy Club, Tampa. tampa.funnybone.com
Aaron Chen Wednesday, March 18. 7 p.m. $27 & up. Funny Bone Comedy Club, Tampa. tampa.funnybone.com
FILM
Friday The 13th Friday, March 13. Times vary. $5.35. Gigglewaters, Safety Harbor
Labyrinth Friday, March 13. 8 p.m. $6 & up. Richey Suncoast Theatre, New Port Richey. richeysuncoasttheatre.com
Clueless Saturday, March 14. Times vary.
$5.35. Gigglewaters, Safety Harbor
New Port Richey Film Festival Sunday. March 15. 2 p.m. No cover. Richey Suncoast Theatre, New Port Richey. richeysuncoasttheatre.com
Oscars Viewing Party and Fundraiser
Sunday, March 15. 6 p.m. $55.20. Scottish Cultural Center, Dunedin
The Big Night: Oscars Viewing Party & Fundraiser Sunday, March 15th. 6 p.m. $60. Green Light, St. Pete
Thelma and Louise Sunday, March 15. Times vary. $5.35. Gigglewaters, Safety Harbor
The Roadshow: La La Land Tuesday, March 17th. 7:30 p.m. $10. Webb’s City Cellar, St. Pete
Movie On The Deck: Mean Girls and Deadpool Wednesday, March 18. 7 p.m. No cover. Lower Deck Harbour Island, Tampa
Movie On The Deck: Trolls Wednesday, March 18. 5 p.m. No cover. Lower Deck Harbour Island, Tampa
Movie on the Lawn: Twilight - Breaking Dawn Part 1 Wednesday, March 18. 8 p.m. No cover. Armature Works, Tampa
LEARN
Cafe con Tampa Fridays. 8 a.m. $12. The Portico, 1001 N. Florida Ave., Tampa. cafecontampa.com
Bill Leavengood (Playwriting workshop) Mondays throughout March. 7 p.m.-9 p.m. $200 tuition. The Studio @ 620, St. Petersburg. bill-leavengood.com
Bill Leavengood (Acting workshop) Saturdays throughout March. 10 a.m. $200 tuition. The Studio @ 620, St. Petersburg 20x20 Presentation by Prominent Architects Thursday, March 12. 5:30 p.m. $20. New World Brewery, Tampa
State Of The City Thursday, March 12. 6 p.m. No cover. Dunedin City Hall, Dunedin TogetHER 2026 Thursday, March 12. 5:30 p.m. $50. Hyde House Public Studio, Tampa In-Glaze Lusters Workshop with Lisa Zolandz Friday-Sunday, March 13-15. 11 a.m. $375. Morean Center for Clay, St. Petersburg. moreanartscenter.org
continued on page 49
Out and about: Events happening in Tampa Bay (cont'd)
Tampa Urban Architecture Riverboat Tour Friday, March 13. 5 p.m. & 6:15 p.m.
$45. Tampa Convention Center Marina, Tampa. cadtampabay.org
How To Be a Working Comic with Dave Schwensen Saturday, March 14, 21, & 28. 12:30 p.m. $225 for all three days. Funny Bone Comedy Club, Tampa. tampa.funnybone.com
William Harvard and His Legacy
Saturday, March 14. 4 p.m. No cover. President Barack Obama Main Library, St. Petersburg. cadtampabay.org
Cuscaden Park with Wes Singletary
Monday, March 16. 6:30 p.m. $10 & up. Tampa Baseball Museum, Ybor City Researching Your Home History
Monday, March 16. 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. No cover. John F. Germany Public Library, Tampa. tbcommunitydesign.org
Resilience & Growth! A Lifelong Learners of Tampa Bay Event Tuesday, March 17. 7 p.m. $21.31. WestShore Plaza, Tampa
MARKETS
51st Annual Tarpon Springs Fine Arts Festival on the Bayou Saturday & Sunday, March 14 & 15. 10 a.m. No cover. Craig Park on Spring Bayou, Tarpon Springs
St. Paddy’s Street Party Saturday, March 14. 12 p.m. No cover. The Shops at Wiregrass, Tampa. theshopsatwiregrass. com
Carrollwood Market Every second Saturday. No cover. Carrollwood Cultural Center, Tampa Waypoint Artisan Market Every second Saturday through May 9. 11 a.m. No cover. Waypoint Bar & Grill, Palmetto St. Pete Sunday Market Sunday, March 15. 11 a.m. No cover. University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. stpeteissupercool. com
Community Yard Sale Saturday, March 21. 9 a.m. No cover. Seminole Recreation Division, Seminole
Tampa Cigar Week Wednesday-Sunday, March 18-22. 12 p.m. $50 & up. JC Newman Cigar Factory, Tampa
SPORTS
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings Thursday, March 12. 7 p.m. $75.75 & up. Benchmark International Arena, Tampa Cage Fury Fighting Championships 151 Friday, March 13. 7 p.m. $91.75 & up. Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Carolina Hurricanes Saturday, March 14. 7 p.m. $76.85 & up. Benchmark International Arena, Tampa
Valspar Championship Monday-Sunday, March 16-22. Times vary. $20 & up; no cover Tuesday. Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club, Palm Harbor
Brooklyn FC at Tampa Bay Sun FC Wednesday, March 18. 7:30 p.m. $23 & up. Suncoast Credit Union Field, Tampa
THEATER
My Name is Asher Lev March 6-22. $30$50. Stageworks Theatre, 1120 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa. stageworkstheatre.org
The Shark is Broken Select times and dates from Wednesday, March 11 through Sunday, April 5. $59.40 & up. Shimberg Playhouse at Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa
Julius Caesar Select times and dates from Thursday, March 12 through Sunday, March 22. $35 & up. The Studio @ 620, St. Petersburg
Jesus Christ Superstar Select times and dates from Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 22. $31 & up. Carrollwood Cultural Center, Tampa
Darci Lynne Saturday, March 14. 7:30 p.m. $43 & up. Ferguson Hall at Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa. strazcenter.org
Love...Or Best Offer Sunday, March 15. 6:30 p.m. $10. Kings Point Veterans Theater, Sun City Center. pelicanplayersscc.org
Interested in advertising around this listing? Contact jhoward@cltampa.com and acarbone@cltampa.com for details.
Friday March 13, 2026 • 8:00 PM
Neon Nights: A Glow-in-the-Dark Sip and Paint
Experience @ Marcolina’s Fine Arts Gallery
1517 East 7th Ave
Tickets - $$65.08
bit.ly/NeonNightsYbor
Saturday March 14, 2026 • 7:00 PM
Cult Member w/ BODYBAG @ Crowbar
1812 N 17th St
Tickets - $29.67 cultmember26.eventbrite.com
Saturday March 14, 2026 • 10:00 PM
AFROBEAT X KONPA MEET THE POP BALLONS
@ Geo’s Lounge
1730 East 7th Ave
Tickets Free - $23.18
bit.ly/AfrobeatYbor
Saturday March 14, 2026 • 1:00 PM
St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Bar Crawl
@ Bad Monkey Ybor
1717 East 7th Ave
Tickets start at $20.31
bit.ly/TampaStPatBarCrawl
Sunday March 15, 2026 • 1:00 PM
St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Bar Crawl
@ Bad Monkey Ybor
1717 East 7th Ave
Tickets start at $20.31
bit.ly/TampaStPatBarCrawl
Tuesday March 17, 2026 • 7:00 PM
Sarasota Sunday @ The Commodore 811 E. 7th Ave
Tickets - $14.76
bit.ly/SarasotaSunday
Sunday March 22, 2026 • 6:00 PM
flyingfish w/ Love Letter, Harsh Intention & Flowers For Emily @ Crowbar 1812 N 17th St
Tickets - $24.06 flyingfish26.eventbrite.com
Sunday, March 22, 2025, 11:00 AM
Chicken Yoga with Yoga Loft @ Hotel Haya
1412 East 7th Avenue, Tampa
Tickets - $24.92
bit.ly/ChickenYogaMarch
Wednesday March 25, 2026 • 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Legacy of Artist Arnold Martinez Sr.: The Art of Coffee, Tobacco & Wine @ Centro Asturiano de Tampa
1913 North Nebraska Ave
Tickets - $17.85
bit.ly/3OQylnu
Saturday March 29, 2026 • 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
CUBAN SANDWICH FESTIVAL @ Centennial Park 1800 E 8th Ave
Free to attend - Tickets to Ybor Museum available bit.ly/CubanSandwichFestival
Where to Live:
Casa Ybor • casaybor.com
Casa Ybor offers unique retail spaces, office spaces, and apartment homes for rent or lease in both newly constructed and lovingly restored historic buildings throughout the vibrant National Historic Landmark District of Ybor City near Downtown Tampa, Florida.
La Union • bit.ly/LaUnionYbor
Community, connection, and culture come together at La Unión Apartments, where Tampa’s rich history and vibrant future unite. Inspired by the historic social hall once on this site, our Ybor City apartments honor that legacy by fostering bonds among residents, the neighborhood, and the area’s deep-rooted heritage.
Miles at Ybor • milesatybor.com
Step into the pulse of Tampa’s most vibrant neighborhood at Miles at Ybor, where modern luxury apartments in Tampa blend seamlessly with the rich cultural tapestry of historic Ybor City. These aren’t just furnished apartments in Ybor City – they’re your gateway to an elevated urban lifestyle that celebrates both heritage and innovation.
REVIEWS PROFILES MUSIC WEEK
Be careful
Gabriel
Jacoby’s one-of-a-kind Southern sound is putting Tampa on the map once again.
By Ray Roa
Just over 2,500 miles separate Tampa’s Robles Park from Hollywood, California. But those worlds collided in a big way last December thanks to Gabriel Jacoby. In a livestream from Justin Bieber’s Twitch studio, the 27-year-old songwriter riffed and jammed with the pop star’s band while thousands of viewers dropped comments left and right.
Bieber himself took photos and videos on his own phone, chiming in here and there, vibing and smiling nearly every time he appeared on camera. That kind of joy and awe about Jacoby’s jaw-dropping talent should be no surprise to anyone who’s been listening.
A month before the stream, Jacoby dropped Gutta Child (stylized all-lowercase, like every cut on the record), a debut that’s the culmination of a life that’s already seen more than its share of hard times. Clocking in at just 20 minutes, the outing sounds unlike anything else in the world.
Over eight tracks, the King and Wharton High School product delivers a funky, distinctively Southern, blend of blues, pop and R&B that channels Prince, Nina Simone, Anthony Hamilton, Anderson.Paak, N.E.R.D, and even D’Angelo all while remaining wholly unique. Critics have been falling over it since.
and added that he and Bieber are working on stuff that will come out sooner or later.
He said that Gutta Child, a record that tracks his growth from a young man to who he is today, had to be damn near perfect. “I needed to show people who I was and what it really meant to me to be Gabriel Jacoby,” he said.
While he calls Los Angeles home now, Jacoby’s affinity and connection to Tampa is all over Gutta Child where he is trying to pay TECO bills, searching for the ghost of a friend near the Martin Luther King Jr. mural in Robles and getting freaked out by palmetto bugs floating in the toilet.
INTERVIEW
Khamari w/Gabriel Jacoby
“We would just play over there if we were around that part of town,” Jacoby said about Robles Park, a neighborhood where residents have since been relocated ahead of redevelopment. His family bounced around town, between neighborhoods off Fletcher Avenue, Temple Terrace, and the Del Rio area known to some as “Nuccio.”
Next Thursday, March 19. 7 p.m. $48.20
Jannus Live, 200 1st Ave. N, t. Petersburg gabrieljacoby.com
Despite coming up in what some see as the roughest parts of Hillsborough County, Jacoby’s record doesn’t necessarily frame life in a sad or tragic lens.
Billboard called the title track “an instant contender for one of the year’s grooviest R&B songs.” NPR’s Sheldon Pearce said there was “some kind of voodoo taking place” on “The One.” The notoriously pretentious Pitchfork lauded how Jacoby—who lived in Tampa between the ages of nine and 20—yoked together “backwoods blues, bayou funk, and earthy R&B with Dungeon Family bombast…”
Jacoby—a self-taught multi-instrumentalist who played piano exclusively until he was 12 or 13 before picking up drums and the guitar— doesn’t get too caught up in the hype.
“I don’t know, man, I feel like he’s more like my frienxd than a known artist,” he told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay about the livestream. It’s been dope to connect and collaborate, he said,
“When you grew up with people who are in the same situation, you realize that it’s not like life is out to get you just because you grew up in poverty,” he said. Sure, he’s lost friends but others he’s kept in touch with have become successful, a testament to their drive and talent.
“There’s always someone who’s going through something worse, and so you’ve got to find joy and happiness and whatever you have while you have it,” Jacoby added.
That jubilation is all over Gutta Child, and comes to life in the videos.
“Bootleg,” featuring legendary Tampa rapper Tom G., shows crank dancers, including some from Jook City Heroes, in front of the Silver Dollar Food store on N 40th Street and the recently-renamed Pix & Mix Fried Chicken in Seminole Heights.
continued on page 54
FIGHTING SPIRIT: Gabriel Jacoby's punch is potent.
Curtis Mattear, who appears in the Juan Nieto-directed video, told CL that he can hear the pain in Jacoby’s delivery on the record, but said that dancing the way he does in the clip is a way to release energy and bad vibes.
“Cranking is a big movement in Tampa. When drill took off everyone started to talk about Chicago and pushed a different narrative, but Tampa’s been cranking with Tom G.’s ‘City Boy Wit’ It,” and Tae Bae,” Mattear, 36, added. He said the singer even surprised the local crew with his own moves.
“I was like, ‘Oh, damn, I got to do that,’” he said. “I just kind of fell in love with it. And so for two years, I was going every week until I got good at it.”
Edward Johnson is the featured skater in “The One,” and vividly remembers Jacoby’s positive and creative energy when they first met around 2021. A shared love of expression through movement made for a natural connection.
INTERVIEW
Jacoby—who was born in Anderson, South Carolina—agreed, and told CL that he started dancing like that pretty much the moment he moved to Tampa.
“That’s just like something every kid knew how to do in school. And, I mean, every kid’s parent knew how to do,” Jacoby added. “It’s just, like, second nature coming from Tampa.”
Shining light on the city, Jacoby said, was paramount, despite him not being born here because every location, even in the U.S., has a thing that makes it what it is.
“I didn’t really feel like the world has seen enough of that from Tampa,” he said, promising to showcase even more of the depth and expression—including cranking and jooking—from the place that raised him.
Another graf in Jacoby’s love letter to Tampa is the clip for “The One,” a straight up celebration of life filmed inside the United Skates on N Armenia Avenue in West Tampa. He told CL that his first touch with the skate dancing in the video happened when he was on a date and saw more experienced rollers doing tricks.
“The vibe at the rink is always full and free. It’s a different kind of energy when you go to the skating rink. It’s more of a family feel,” Johnson, 24, told CL. “It’s just like a community that’s built within its own.
It’s unity. There’s so much power in that alone.”
Jacoby’s record, he said, brings a smile to his face.
“It’s something you play at a family reunion. You dance with your queen to this, late night with some wine,” Johnson added. “We need more happy music.”
And there’s a lot to be happy about if you’re Jacoby, who is the eldest of seven kids.
“Dirty South Baby” is transparent about his darker days. A non- Gutta Child track, “Brother and Sister” from 2024, plays like an ode to his siblings. On it, he sings: “Ain’t got to give me nothing. I just don’t want to see you suffer… Beautiful baby brother, make sure you love our mother.”
The track includes heart-wrenching samples of voice messages where young kids pray for their brother, express their love and hope outloud that he comes home soon.
The DJ in “The One” is Gregory Greenway, AKA DJ Nilla Greene. He met “Gabe” through Jacoby’s mom, a photographer and artist who remains connected to her craft. She told
Greenway, 41, that her eldest son was getting into music, so he gave Jacoby a MIDI controller. Jacoby was probably 17 at the time, and working at Bent String Studios now located in Lutz.
“Five years later, I see him posting music and putting out songs. And I was like, ‘OK, that’s pretty cool, man,'” Greenway told CL.
Jacoby told CL that Greenway DJ’d his first show ever, back in 2016 at The Orpheum’s second Ybor City location.
Greenway—who has a residency at Red Thread in St. Pete—hears the Prince influence pretty explicitly in Jacoby’s music, but more than anything, he hears a rebel.
“I’m hearing fearlessness,” Greenway added. “Not just being yourself, being unique.”
As the world discovers Jacoby’s one-of-akind sound, fans and observers in the Bay area have a chance to see it for themselves next Thursday when the homegrown songwriter opens for L.A. R&B singer Khamari at Jannus Live.
realize what it is. This is gonna be like a wake up call, like, ‘This is really what the world looks like, and this is how we can fix it.’”
Jacoby added that while his music is meant to help people heal, he had to do healing of his own, mentally and emotionally, to get to this point.
“If you went through what I went through, it damn near makes it easy to not want to move. You don’t want to do anything, because you feel like the world is trying to break you down,” he said. “I had to just kind of fight through that. And then it was like, right after, where the light kind of showed up.”
All of it might seem like a heavy load for a 27-year-old to carry, but Jacoby said that his mother always encouraged him to fulfill his purpose to be a musician. His rise, he thinks, isn’t a surprise to mom—but more of a relief. “She knows how much I’ve been through, just as a man and even when I was a child,” he said.
“She knows how much I’ve been through.”
“It’s just me and my guitar,” Jacoby said when he checked in between dates in Vermont and Connecticut. “Once I do my own tour later in the year, I have a band that I’ll bring with me on stage, because I feel like my music demands that.”
Jacoby’s next record, he added, will be kind of like Gutta Child 2 because there’s a lot more he needs to say. There’ll be hope and love baked into the album, but there’ll be a heaviness to help listeners who came up like him feel even more heard.
“It’s not all roses and daisies,” he told CL. “Gutta Child is for people who grew up in the gutter who need something to smile about. This is for everybody outside of the gutter who don’t
“Be Careful,” the tender closing track on Gutta Child, feels like a message from Jacoby today to his younger self.
“It’s gon’ be OK,” he sings. “I’ve done all I can and said all that I need to say.”
It’s a theme Jacoby reiterated when asked what he would say to the kid in Tampa who sees his come up, and wonders how they might do the same.
“I would tell them you don’t even have to be like me. Just be you. Just know that life, everything’s going to be OK as long as you want it to be OK. It might not be perfect all the time, but just have fun, keep a good attitude, do your best and take care of those around you,” he said. “Even if you feel like you’re just a kid—take care of yourself.”
JUAN NIETO
DIRTY SOUTH BABY: Gabriel Jacoby always knew he wanted to put Tampa in the spotlight.
THE GROWN FOLKS STANDARD
Where the Rhythm Meets the Ritual
A curated selection of premium cigars and a full-service bar for the discerning enthusiast. Live music venue featuring the finest in Jazz, Soul, Funk, and Blues.
5908 N ARMENIA AVE. SUITE 500, TAMPA, FL 33603 CHEWYSLOUNGE.COM / 813-250-0244
THU 3/12 - FERG’S COUNTRY NIGHT SECOND RODEO BAND LINE DANCE INSTRUCTION (FREE) FERG’S TRIVIA (INSIDE)
FRI 3/13 - BIG BROTHER BAND (PARTY DECK) DJ ARI & PITCH A FRIEND (PAVILION)
SAT 3/14 - TROPICS MUSIC FESTIVAL (PAVILION) FEATURING 8 HOUSE/BASS DJ’S FLO-RAW BAND (PARTY DECK)
SUN 3/15 - THE 727’S BAND MARCH MADNESS GAMES SELECTION
MON 3/16 - NASUREE VAN GELDER (SOLO) FERG’S TRIVIA (INSIDE)
TUE 3/17 - 6 STRINGS & A FIDDLE BAND MARCH MADNESS BEGINS!
WED 3/18 - NCAA BASKETBALL GAMES
THU 3/19 - NCAA BASKETBALL GAMES
FERG’S TRIVIA
FRI 3/20 - NCAA BASKETBALL GAMES COMEDY NIGHT (UPPER DECK)
SAT 3/21 - NCAA BASKETBALL GAMES BUD LIGHT POP UP EVENT
FERG’S RESTAURANT BARS OPEN DAILY AT 11AM FOR
THU MARCH 12–THU MARCH 19
THU 12
Landon Conrath w/Abby Holiday Conrath’s second studio LP Employee of the Year recently had a birthday, but the 26-yearold latest triumph was dropping a new EP, Can I Win Just a Little Bit??? The acoustic project has a subplot centered around the side of depression that isn’t always spoken about, like the ever-growing pile of clothes on your bedroom floor and feeling less awake every time he wakes up. 7 p.m. $27.51. Crowbar, Ybor City—Josh Bradley
C Reggae Rise Up: Sublime w/ Rebelution/Slightly Stoopid/Cypress Hill/more The ultimate heady spring break has arrived, and St. Pete has come to embrace this nearly weeklong reggae-rock takeover of downtown. Stacked from to back, the lineup has some
heavyweights—including 311, Slightly Stoopid, and a revamped Rome Ramirez-less Sublime—along with stuff for the hip-hop heads thanks to Cypress Hill and surviving members of De la Soul. Look for a host of Reggae Rise Up afterparties to pop up around town all week, too. Thursday-Sunday, March 12-15. $75 & up. Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg
C Maggie Koerner w/Olivia Barnes
Koerner is known for the sultry and powerful vocal she brought to New Orleans jazz-funk outfit Galactic. She’s really got control of the ship on her latest solo outing, Upstate . With help from friends like The Revivalists’ David Shaw, the 39-year-old went back to her roots, to a place in her life when she was just starting to make music in Shreveport. She will certainly rouse the spirits when she takes the stage alongside Olivia Barnes at this special venue. 6 p.m. $45.21. Jack Kerouac House, St. Petersburg
FRI 13
C Dýke Nite St Pete Presents: Dykeaspora w/Emmpowerr/Zanzibean/El Gargola Prepare to have a Red Stripe hangover plus sore hips and knees. Queeribbean baddies already know about this Dyke Night gig, but folks curious about getting drenched in the sounds of sexy, sapphic, dancehall, reggae, Afrobeats and baile funk will want to join in on this always rowdy party. 8 p.m. $15. Crowbar, Ybor City
C Tiger 54 w/Carson Cox/Haves & Thirds Some dives draw you to their barstools by the paint job on the walls outside. Tampa’s Why Not Bar—with checkered flags above the door facing N Nebraska Avenue— is one such place. Described once in a Creative Loafing Tampa Bay dining guide as a “beer-and-wine-only spot that will leave you wanting a shower after,” the cave bar has a wall of fame, and pig’s feet, too. To kick off the weekend, it plays host to a show by Jake Brown, a St. Augustine songwriter and producer who deals dark, pulsating, and often
harsh cyberpunk under the Isya moniker. Brown also has a St. Pete show, but this one in Tampa includes a set from Merchandise frontman and songwriter Carson Cox, plus Haves & Thirds, a project featuring Todd Lynne, the Tampa artist who co-founded legendary homegrown DIY experimental label Cephia’s Treat Recordings. 7 p.m. $10. The Why Not Bar, Tampa
C Zack Keim w/David Shane/Monallo After a run with Pittsburgh rock band Nox Boys, Steel City songwriter Zack Keim broke out to play introspective, often-catchy guitar folk and garage-pop, under his own name. Keim’s sophomore outing, Battery Lane , is an optimistic offering that includes contributions from Matt Costa, The Frights’ Jordan Clark, and Evan Westfall from the folk-pop band Caamp, which released the album on its Super Sport label last year (coincidentally, Caamp is in town this weekend supporting Zach Bryan). Beachy-bluesy songwriter Monallo plays support along with “Escape” singer David Shane. 8 p.m. No cover. The Bricks, Ybor City
By Ray Roa
C CL Recommends
Cult Member
SAT 14
Catnap EP release w/Mossheads/ Indigo Lane/My Dead Roomate On a February single from its forthcoming Songs From the Darkroom EP, Orlando emo outfit Catnap (stylized all-caps) throws mathy riffs from the genre’s golden age in with a crunchy breakdown. A day after releasing the work, the band brings its weekender tour to Tampa where Summer Party rock band Indigo Lane opens. 7 p.m. $17.65. Orpheum, Tampa
Cubatonazo Tampa: El Chacal w/La Señorita Dayana/WoW Popy/Dale Pututi/ El Niño y la Verdad If Donald Trump has his way, Cuba could be a very different country before the year is over. Ahead of an April set by one of the country’s finest exports (Cimafunk, who was added to the Gasparilla Music Festival lineup this week), stars of the Cubatón genre—including Latin Grammynominated Dale Pututi Gente de Zona and Becky G collaborator Dale Pututi—come to Tampa for a superconcert of sorts. 8 p.m. $58.05 & up. Yuengling Center, Tampa
C Cult Member House music has so many offshoots, and Liam Hayden plays some of its most popular strains. Better known as Cult Member (FKA GothBoiClique, Thraxxhouse, or Ghoste), the 27-year-old used to make cloud rap inspired by Spaceghostpurrp and Gravity Boys, but he currently plumbs the depths of techno, ambient, and trance music on records that utilize gear like the Roland TR-08, Tascam Portastudio 424, and Elektron Octatrack (as pointed out by the website Underground Underdogs). A December 2025 LP, New Life , was an appropriately-named release to jump start this year and drive the Québécois producer to our neck of the woods. 7 p.m. $29.67. Crowbar, Ybor City
C Emo Night Tampa: Jaron Jammer w/Nephew/more In the daylight hours (and there are more of them for the next few months!), Jaron Jammer writes about musical instruments. By night, the Tampa songwriter and Jordan Esker collaborator plays sublime, pristinely-recorded alt-folk that could’ve soundtracked movies like “Garden State” or “Juno.” Nephew, for its part, plays infinitely-catchy, jangly and melancholy pop-punk and rock. In a world where Live Nation is trying to pay a $280 million settlement to avoid being split up from Ticketmaster, this show curated by the fine folks at Emo Night Tampa is proof that there affordable good times can be had if you just follow a social media account run by locals who care. Bring cash for the bar, and be ready for heavy pours. 10 p.m. No cover. The Hub, Tampa
Subterranean Tampa: Dance at Dusk! w/DJ Cub Face it, you’re too fucking old to stay up past 10 p.m., even on a Saturday. For anyone who loved nights at Czar, DNA, or Parthenon, but also finds themselves getting mail from the AARP, DJ Cub has curated an early-evening night where he’ll spin dance club hits from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and earlyaughts. There’s plenty of parking, but your knee brace doesn’t mean you get to slide into the handicap spots, OK? 6:30 p.m. $9.07 & up. Music hall at New World Tampa, Tampa
Zach Bryan w/Caamp/J.R. Carroll Even after throwing epic tantrums and going back and forth about his aversion to immigration enforcement, Zach Bryan still rules as king of country and Americana. His second stadium gig in Tampa comes nearly a year after the 29-year-old Navy veteran signed publishing deals reportedly worth $350 million—and per usual, he is joined by a stellar supporting cast that includes Ohio pop-folk darling Caamp, plus Oklahoma songwriter J.R. Carroll. 7 p.m. $76.15 & up. Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
SUN 15
C 15th Annual Listening Room Festival Showcase: Daniel Kimbro w/ Andy Sydow/Hobo Cane/The Honey Badgers For a decade-and-a-half now, St. Petersburg’s Listening Room Festival has asked music fans to take it down a gear and just sit. The tradition kicks off Thursday, and features five days of concerts in the most intimate of settings. Four artists—including Denver’s Andy Sydow—play seven Florida cities as part of the festivities, but folks can see all of them in one place when Palladium Theater hosts the LRF showcase in its big room. 3 p.m. $20 & up. Hough Hall at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg
C 3rd Annual Women In Music: June Bunch w/Boycott/Melissa Grady/Deb Ruby/Ashley Smith Two of the most powerful women in Tampa Heights (read more on p. 12) celebrate the eighth anniversary of their neighborhood bar during a weekend-long celebration that culminates in this concert that’s become a springtime tradition in the Bay area music scene. Best of the Baywinning cellist Melissa Grady is on the bill along with rock band Boycott, powerhouse vocalist Ashley Smith, plus two homegrown giants of the songwriter scene, Deb Ruby and June Bunch. Bring some cash to toss in the hat. 6 p.m. No cover. Shuffle, Tampa
C Engage: DJ Deacon w/Queen of Ex/ He Kindly/Giorgi/J.IN.X Democrats, lately, always look like they are at a crossroads or existential crisis, wringing their hands and doomscrolling online looking for the next thinkpiece that’ll explain why they can’t win elections in not just in Florida but locally, too. A concert and fundraiser for the executive committee of the Hillsborough County Democrats is asking voters to logoff at least for a night and level up. “Many people say they’re disenfranchised with their local politics, but the best way to do that is what we’re asking you to do, and that’s engage,” Crowbar owner Tom DeGeorge, who ran for Tampa City Council last year, said in a promo video. “You can have the impact on your party to make it the party that best represents you.” Two powerhouse emcees, Queen of Ex and J.IN.X, are on the concert bill along with rock outfits He Kindly and Giorgi, plus a homecoming set from DJ Deacon. 4:30 p.m. $17.67. Crowbar, Ybor City
C Kröna w/Walled City/Defrauded/ Arcane Arcade If Andrew W.K. was Dominican he might fit perfectly in the lineup for Kröna. The Miami band’s 2024 LP, Dead Air Diaries , has all the punk-rock party vibes W.K made famous (“Black Rock Coast”)
mixed in with chugging hardcore (“Take ‘Em All”) and almost-oi-ready bops, too (“The Weasel Strut”). Too bad the show was canceled after visa issues came up. Canceled. Deviant Libation, Tampa
TUE 17
C Central Park Jazz Jam: Dan Calkins Trio Tampa’s Black History will get a boost in a couple of years, at least according to the Jackson House Foundation, which recently said that it could reopen the crumbling, irreplaceable piece of Tampa history within the next two years. In the meantime, the folks at Tampa’s first Black history museum are celebrating the culture on the regular, including at these no-cover jazz concerts and family festivals that are a hat tip to the clubs that once served a thriving Central Avenue. Trumpeter Dan Calkin leads bassist Jon Shea and pianist Thomas Kehoe as their trio works through standards, plus jazzy flips of their favorite hip-hop and pop songs. 6 p.m. No cover. Tampa Black History Museum, Tampa
WED 18
C John Legend Quite literally, there is not much that John Legend has already achieved. At 39 years old he became one of just over two dozen people who can call themselves an EGOT (winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award)—and he’s got a family with four beautiful children, too. Now 47 years old, Legend is working on new music with Pharell, releasing books with renowned thinkers on his Get Lifted imprint, continuing a life of activism, and back on the road with this evening with featuring “A Night of Songs & Stories.” The show was last in town in 2024 when Legend talked for almost 45 minutes during a nearly twoand-a-half hour gig that included monster medleys, photos from his life, and more. CL checked in with the songwriter ahead of his arrival; read the interview via cltampa.com/ music. 8 p.m. $92.25 & up. Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater
THU 19
C After The Movies Presents: Right On Time w/Risk Averse/Al Torcia & The Tattered Saints The new concert series inside Sun-Ray Cinema at Tampa’s former University Mall rolls on this weekend, with Right On Time leading the charge. The Tampa pop-punk and emo outfit’s 2023 LP, Strange Sounds From Seminole Heights , is a highlymelodic throwback to the golden days of Hot Topic, and for this gig the band finds itself joined by bouncy punk project Risk Averse and longtime Bay area songwriter Al Torchia and his ever-evolving band The Tattered Saints. 9 p.m. $10. Sun-Ray Cinema, Tampa
C The Florida Orchestra: Inside Mozart’s ‘Jupiter Symphony’ Violinists, oboists and bassoonist are familiar with the piece from auditions, but everyone else is getting a glimpse of Mozart’s “Jupiter Symphony” this year, which marks the composer’s 270th birthday. “Symphony No. 41,” was given its nickname posthumously by German-born, London-based Johann Peter Salomon—aka the man who brought Haydn to London. Mozart’s final symphony, completed in 1788, is famous for a finale that finds five melodies woven together simultaneously. TFO director Michael Francis talks to audiences about the details during an interactive talk preceding a performance. 7:30 p.m. Pay what you can. Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg
C Lobster’s Gyro Shack w/Liquid Pennies/Cozy in the Black/Sorry Barb A year after nearly 1,300 listeners helped shatter a single-day fundraising record for the station, WMNF is not resting on its laurels. The nearly 47-year-old community radio station is now one of the last places to hear hand-picked, often homegrown, music on the radio. 'MNF gets some help passing the hat at this second “Save Our Soundwaves” concert featuring out-of-the-box art-punk by Lobster’s Gyro Shack, straight ahead rock sounds from Liquid Pennies and Cozy in the Black, plus the refined art-pop of Sorry Barb. 8 p.m. $12 & up. Crowbar, Ybor City
See more concerts via cltampa.com/music.
PHIL DESIMONE
John Legend
Last Christmas, John McCauley had to cancel Deer Tick’s New Year’s shows after being hospitalized with acute back pain. But a belated holiday gift arrived last week with the announcement of new music, and a tour that stops in the Tampa Bay area.
Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, Deer Tick is among the preeminent purveyors of real American rock and roll—but had not dropped music since 2023 and 2024 companion releases Emotional Contracts and Contractual Obligations
Skillet Saturday, March 21. 7 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Beth Hart Sunday, March 22. 8 p.m. $43.75 & up. Ruth Eckerd Hall, Tampa
Robin Thicke Sunday, March 22. 6 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Warren G Friday, March 27. 8 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Dylan Scott Saturday, March 28. 7 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Kansas Sunday, March 29. 6 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Dead Butterflies w/The Caution Children/i.liedtomyself/Cheap Cult Friday, April 3. 7 p.m. $15.10. Magnanimous Brewing, Seminole Heights
Nick Carter Saturday, April 4. 7 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Blessd Wednesday, April 8. 8 p.m. $66 & up. Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg
The Band Perry Friday, April 10. 8 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Tickets to see Deer Tick play Bayboro Brewing in St. Petersburg on Friday, Nov. 13 are $30 and go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 13 at 10 a.m. EDT. Look below to see Josh Bradley’s weekly roundup of new concerts coming to Tampa Bay—including the artists coming to Busch Gardens’s Food, Wine & Garden Festival this spring.—Ray Roa
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico Saturday, April 11. 7 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Smash Mouth Sunday, April 12. 6 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Phoneboy w/Heart Attack Man Tuesday, April 14. 6:30 p.m. Prices TBA. Crowbar, Ybor City
Flo Rida Saturday, April 18. 7 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Air Supply Sunday, April 19. 6 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Alyssa Edward s Tuesday, April 21. 8 p.m. $39.50 & up. Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater
Bowling For Soup Friday, April 24. 8 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Bow Wow & Ying Yang Twins Saturday, May 2. 7 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
Taking Back Sunday Sunday, May 3. 6 p.m. Free with park admission. Busch Gardens, Tampa
RICHARD MCCAFFREY
McCauley & co. teased their latest announcement this week with a metal video clip featuring band members in creepy, Kiss-esque facepaint.
Quickies
By Dan Savage
1. My boyfriend swears he’s cut. I say he’s totally uncut. He insists he was circumcised as an infant. How do I convince him?
Some circumcisions are “tight” (all of the foreskin was removed) and others are “loose” (most of the foreskin was left intact). The looser the circumcision, the more “uncut” a man’s cock might appear. So, it’s entirely possible your boyfriend was circumcised as an infant but that his cock—if his circumcision was loose—more closely resembles uncut cocks you’ve encountered in porn and IRL.
P.S. For the record: Your boyfriend should not have been circumcised in infancy. No infant should be.
2. What’s the best song about cheating? I nominate “One Way Out” by the Allman Brothers. There are so many greats—“Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “The Piña Colada Song,” “Don’t Hurt Yourself”—but in the category of “Best Song About Cheating,” my vote would go to “Torn Between Two Lovers” by Peter Yarrow and Phillip Jarrell as performed by Mary MacGregor. Readers are invited to offer their own nominations in the comments!
3. I’m interested in exploring a D/s sexual dynamic, but I have no experience and I don’t know where to start. How do I explore?
“The best thing you can do now is to identify the tone of D/s that excites you most,” said Lina Dune, host of the “Ask a Sub” podcast. “D/s is a big umbrella, but if you can tell someone that as a sub you want to feel like someone’s secretary or like a raccoon they’ve trapped on their back porch or like their most prized houseplant, then you’re that much closer to living out the fantasy—and if you need any additional help on either side of the slash, the Ask A Sub podcast is here to enable your highest filth.”
Follow Lina Dune on Instagram @ askasub2.0.
4. If you post X-rated stuff to “close friends” on your Instagram, do you need to ask your friends before you add them?
Yes.
5. Can one person be the primary partner of two different people? No.
6. Tips for a first foursome?
Clean sheets on the bed, hand towels, lube, and condoms on the nightstand, four pints of ice cream in the freezer.
7. Getting an AI boyfriend… is that cheating? I’m allowed to have an actual boyfriend because my marriage is open and we’re (zzzzz) poly, so it wouldn’t be cheating if I got an AI boyfriend. Pathetic? Yes. Cheating? No. Someone in a monogamous relationship might be tempted to argue that the non-existence of their AI boyfriend—at least in corporeal form—means it’s not
cheating to get one. Your monogamous partner, if you have one, will probably disagree. Because while your AI boyfriend won’t be sucking your dick, your AI boyfriend is going to be a time suck.
8. How do I ward off the opinions of friends who disapprove of the age gap in my current relationship? (I’m a 33-year-old man, my new partner is a 23-year-old woman.)
A romantic relationship between two people who did not experience gestational concurrency—who were not in utero at the same time—is inherently problematic. There must be a period of significant fetal overlap for a relationship to be truly egalitarian. And while I would argue that your current relationship (and my current relationships) should be grandfathered in and we should get a pass on our age gaps, age gaps larger than eight months should be banned going forward.
P.S. Just kidding. Tell your friends to Google “consenting adults” and “fuck off” in that order.
P.P.S. For the record: relationships with significant age gaps should come in for a higher degree of scrutiny from family and friends—and the older partner should welcome that scrutiny. If the older partner is defensive about this scrutiny, that’s a red flag. Also: you should Google “Dan Savage” and “campsite rule.”
Follow Early to Bed on Instagram @ Early2Bed.shop.
11. I just went to a cabin for a friend’s birthday. We all got super drunk and put on lingerie and then we all made out. I’m home now, and I can’t stop thinking about my best friend’s boyfriend… who I pegged in the bathroom while everyone was partying. Do I bring this up with my best friend? Or do I bide my time? I’ve been fucking him in the bathroom of his job every day since, and I would like to steal him for myself.
At this party where everyone got drunk, put on lingerie, and made out… were other people slipping away from the group to hook up in bathrooms and bedrooms? Or were you and your best friend’s boyfriend the only ones who spent time alone? Another possibly relevant detail you omitted: Are your best friend and her boyfriend in an open relationship? Is he allowed to get pegged by other women? And has this boy—your best friend’s boyfriend—expressed any interest in being stolen from his girlfriend?
P.S. Unless your best friend is a cuckquean who gets off on her boyfriend hooking up with her friends—unless she was on the other side of that bathroom door masturbating—you’re a pretty lousy best friend.
SAVAGE LOVE
9. As a gay/neurodivergent man, how do I get on the apps and meet other men IRL?
The same way neurotypicals do: you post some recent pictures on dating/hookup apps and put what you’re looking for in your bio. You send messages to guys you might be interested in and respond to messages from guys who have expressed interest in you. To meet guys IRL, you go places and do things. You join a club, you volunteer for a community group, you find a third place where you feel comfortable—a café, a gym, a library—and you frequent it. You should also seek out services and social groups serving the neurodivergent community, gay and straight, in the city where you live.
10. If you accidentally used silicone lube on a silicone sex toy just once, is it safer to just toss the toy?
“Most silicone toy manufacturers and reputable retailers advise against combining silicone lube with silicone toys, as the lube can bond with the toy and degrade its surface,” said Searah Deysach, the owner of Chicago’s beloved sex-toy shop Early to Bed. “But we have found that silicone lube does not always damage silicone toys. So, if you accidentally combine the two and your toy shows no visible marring or sticky spots, you should be fine. No need to toss your toy out! But if you are still concerned, you can throw an unlubricated condom on the toy—most lubricated condoms use silicone lube—to be extra safe.”
12. I’m having trouble staying fully hard while waiting for the bottom to “open up” before penetration. Advice? If opening up the bottom doesn’t keep your dick hard (if that’s not a pleasure for you), and if a few self-administered strokes once the bottom is open don’t get your dick hard enough to penetrate him, you could ask the bottom to do a little advance work, e.g. lube himself up and have a plug in before you even get there. I think opening up the bottom is a top’s responsibility—you should regard it as a privilege and a pleasure—but if all you wanna do is walk in \ and dump your load in some gaped dude, there’s no shortage of guys looking for you on the apps.
13. After hearing so many stories about people who didn’t discover their kinks until they got a kinky partner and something clicked, I figured that would be how I discovered mine, if I have any. But my partner is vanilla. Can two vanilla people just randomly try kinks to see if something clicks? How would that work? Could it work?
Vanilla sex is great but I find myself wondering if that’s all there is, my friend.
“I’ve spoken to countless clients who were able to explore new kinks—things they had never even considered before—with established partners; many found they love D/S dynamics or foot play or tying someone up,” said Certified Sex Therapist Claire Perelman. “But it can be daunting to figure out where to start with exploring kink and BDSM. Finding kinks that might turn you on—especially starting from vanilla sex—can feel overwhelming, but it can also be a surprisingly hot exploration. To help
people on that journey, I created ‘Un-Vanilla Your Sex Life,’ a consent-centered guide full of therapist-backed reflections, questions, and activities that can help you explore kinks on your own or with a partner.”
Follow Claire Perelman on Instagram @ SexClarified.
14. Where do I find the sapphic orgies? They’re in Berlin, they’re in porn and they’re in porn made in Berlin.
15. Rape/SA made me asexual. But I’m 39 now and want a partner ASAP. I don’t know if that will change. What do I do?
If you want a romantic partner but not a sexual one (some asexual people are sex averse, some are happy to have sex to please a partner), you should be upfront about not wanting to have a sexual relationship, just a romantic/intimate/ committed one—basically, you will have to disclose. And if you’re not okay with your partner having sex with other people, you should look for a partner who is also asexual.
16. I know you’ve answered this before, but is there a book/influencer you recommend for seniors entering the dating pool safely and with solid, sexpositive advice? Just sorting through the many options online for a friend. Much appreciation!
The great Joan Price is the senior sex author/ influencer I’ve recommended most—she’s been on my show many times—and her book, Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud About Senior Sex, is packed with great advice for seniors who fuck, wanna fuck, or wanna keep fucking. Naked at Our Age was just reissued to mark the fifteenth anniversary of its publication and you can get a copy for your friend here!
17. My 18-year-old son has told me that, ideally, he’s only willing to date virgins because he would be too jealous of anyone his GF slept with before. Also, he would be opposed to dating anyone that had sex outside of a long-term committed relationship because he doesn’t think you should just “give” sex away. I told him he needs to get over this, but he seems unwilling/unable. Is there anything I can tell him? Background info: His girlfriend of two years (no physical relationship beyond kissing) just broke up with him because he’s not religious and she has become increasingly religious.
The charitable read: your son created a list of criteria that makes it nearly impossible for him to have the sex… because he’s not ready to have sex and wants an excuse. The fact that he’s already relaxed his criteria—and there’s a big difference between a virgin and someone who’s only fucked guys she cared about—is a pretty good indication that he’ll continue to relax about sex and relationships. The less charitable read: your son has the kind of hangups about female purity that can, if not addressed in time, make a man undateable, unfuckable, and unbearable.
Send questions for the column to mailbox@savage.love!Or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan! Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love
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