Creative Loafing Tampa — August 24, 2023

PUBLISHER James Howard

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ray Roa

DIGITAL EDITOR Colin Wolf

MANAGING EDITOR Kyla Fields

THEATER CRITIC Jon Palmer Claridge

FILM & TV CRITIC John W. Allman

IN-HOUSE WITCH Caroline DeBruhl

CONTRIBUTORS Josh Bradley, Gracey

Davis, Kate Oberdorfer, Jennifer Ring PHOTOGRAPHERS

Caesar Carbajal, Dave Decker

FALL INTERN Inquire by emailing rroa@cltampa.com

Story

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jack Spatafora

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Joe Frontel

question

ILLUSTRATORS Dan Perkins, Cory Robinson, Bob Whitmore

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Anthony Carbone, Scott Zepeda

MARKETING, PROMOTIONS

AND EVENTS DIRECTOR

SeaWorld in February, animal rights claiming the practice of keeping wild dangerous. But even though public many don’t see a parallel between the kind and the practice of displaying animals asking for too much? Or is it time for a “entertainment” animals?

Leigh Wilson

MARKETING, PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS COORDINATOR Kristin Bowman

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING

MANAGER Corrie Miserendino

CHAVA COMMUNICATIONS

at SeaWorld in February, animal rights claiming the practice of keeping wild and dangerous. But even though public widespread, many don’t see a parallel between the kind Vick and the practice of displaying animals activists asking for too much? Or is it time for a “entertainment” animals?

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Michael Wagner

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Cassandra Yardeni Wagner

Music: Tampa Bay Blues Fest 40 Music Week ...................................................42 Concert review: Artic Monkeys 42

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Colin Wolf

VP OF DIGITAL SERVICES Stacy Volhein OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Hollie Mahadeo

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chavagroup.com

cltampa.com

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EDITORIAL POLICY — Creative Loafing Tampa is a publication covering public issues, the arts and entertainment. In our pages appear views from across the political and social spectrum. They do not necessarily represent the views

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do this

Tampa Bay's best things to do from August 24 - 30

What DFAC

Fashionistas from across the region converge on Dunedin this weekend, and we have Dunedin Fine Arts Center (DFAC) is to blame. For the 17th iteration of its wearable art fashion show, the nonprofit has tapped balloon-fashion designer Mark Byrne, Wearable Art legend Julian Hartzog, new designer Kelli-Lynn Luckey (work pictured) and more. Pre-and-after-glow parties are available for anyone looking to enhance their experiences, with a $20 standingroom option available, too. Wearable Art 17. Saturday, Aug. 26, 7 p.m. $20 & up. Dunedin Fine Art Center. 1143 Michigan Blvd., Dunedin. dfac.org—Ray Roa

School daze

New York-based independent education writer Cara Fitzpatrick already has a Pulitzer prize under her belt for local reporting, but that’s not stopping her from continuing to cover public education in Florida and beyond. The former Tampa Bay Times reporter and current Chalkbeat editor returns to St. Pete for a highly-anticipated (and unfortunately soldout) discussion about her latest work “The Death of Public School: How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America” (which came out on Aug. 22). Fitzpatrick will talk about the main themes of her book and portray how conservatives have pushed for a revolution in public education—“one that threatens the existence of the traditional public school.” Although all of Tombolo Book’s author talks are free to attend, purchasing copies at the popular, hyper-local bookstore is always encouraged. Fitzpatrick’s newest book hits the shelves on Aug. 22. Death of Public School: A Conversation with Cara Fitzpatrick. Tuesday, Aug. 29. 7 p.m. Sold-out. Tombolo Books, 2153 1st Ave S., St. Petersburg. tombolobooks.com—Kyla Fields

Life, lines

The Tampa Museum of Art has been hosting its “drawing from life” classes for the past few weeks, and this Monday is the last installment of the educational series that happens at the Glazer JCC. Specifically for folks ages 18 and up, these drawing classes explore pencil, pastel, and charcoal drawing from observation. Throughout the session, students will complete both still life and paintings of a live model. All art supplies are provided by the museum, and members of TMA can receive 20% off all studio art classes in the future—which include kid-friendly art play dates, classes that focus on figure drawing and painting, and lessons for teens. And if North Hyde Park or drawing isn’t your thing, the museum itself is open in downtown Tampa seven days a week, for anyone that would rather look at art instead of participating in it. Drawing From Life @ TMA. Monday, Aug. 28. 9:30 a.m.-noon. $160. Golding Visual Arts Center at Bryan Glazer Family JCC. 522 N Howard Ave., Tampa. tampamuseum.org—Kyla Fields

Stay fly

Sorry Barb might be the closest Tampa Bay’s punk-rock/DIY scene gets to an art-school band these days, and this weekend the ensemble soundtracks a silent auction and inaugural membership drive for the art galleries at Hillsborough Community College (members will get prereception mocktail hours, specialty prints, swag, and more for their support of the gallery). Affordable art from about two dozen of the Bay area’s best-known artists will be on display and for sale, and the event is a good chance to check out two of the campuses current art shows: “In Their Own Words” where artists got to be out-of-the-box transparent about certain works, plus “Touchy/Feely” where Alyssa Miller has curated an exhibit that encourages the visitor to literally handle and manipulate work from contemporary fiber artists (including Emiliano Settecasi, work pictured). Hawk of the Town: HCC Art Galleries Membership Silent Auction. Friday, Aug. 25, 6 p.m. No cover. Gallery221 at Hillsborough Community College. 4001 W Tampa Bay Blvd., Tampa. hccfl.edu—Ray Roa

Half full

Each spring, Tampa Bay brewers celebrate the best our local craft beer industry has to offer, but beer lovers can get a little taste of that celebration this weekend in St. Pete. Tampa Bay Beer Week organizers and the Tampa Bay Brewer’s Alliance host a “Halfway There” party at The Coliseum, featuring dozens of breweries from every corner of the Sunshine State. Just a handful of participating breweries include local heavy hitters like Magnanimous, Woven Water, King State, and Green Bench alongside out-of-towners like Miami’s Tripping Animals, Dade City Brew House and Pompano Beach-based Odd Breed Wild Ale. Tickets to this beer-centric gig include unlimited samples from 60-plus breweries, as well as access to a few food trucks (although the price of food isn’t included). There’s also an afternoon Tampa Bay Ray’s game happening just a few blocks away that day, and “Halfway There” would certainly make one hell of a pregame. According to its organizers, this weekend’s party is their primary fundraiser—“attendance is the best way to help us make TBBW bigger and better each year.” Halfway There: A Celebration of Beer. Saturday, Aug. 26. 1 p.m.-4 p.m. $55-$75. The Coliseum, 535 4th Ave. N, St. Petersburg. tampabaybeerweek.com—Kyla

Decolonize

Indigenous identity—and a reimagination of what it means to be a citizen in North America—are at the center of the latest exhibition at USF’s Tampa campus, curated by Apsáalooke artist Wendy Red Star. This weekend, Sarah Howard, USF Curator of Public Art and Social Practice, leads a gallery tour and talks about the work from nine Indigenous artists including photographer, Rebecca Belmore (work pictured) who “creates powerful reenactments of past performances incorporating organic materials that reference knowledge, labor, and care of the Earth in defiance of state violence of Indigenous people.” Native America: In Translation. Through Dec. 1 (reception on Friday, Aug. 25, 6:30 p.m.). No cover. Contemporary Art Museum at University of South Florida. 3821 USF Holly Dr., Tampa. usfcam.usf.edu

—Ray Roa

MOVIES THEATER ART CULTURE

Walled cities

Murals find new ways to break ground in Tampa Bay.

Leon Bedore once said that murals are reflective of a city that takes pride in its community. “Like all art, it is proof of life. I think the level of art and impact of murals in St. Pete are beginning to align—so there is a deeper appreciation for the work, and it can now co-exist with the community rather than fall into stereotypes of either graffiti or advertising,” Bedore, aka Tes One, wrote.

How old is Tampa Bay’s mural scene?

Tampa-based muralist Tony Krol traces it back to a mural Bask (stylized “BASK”) and Tes One painted on the old Tampa Museum of Art building before the museum moved to its new location in early 2010. “Those were the first large-scale murals I saw, and it blew my mind,” Krol told CL. “I thought, ‘Wow, that looks rad. I want to do that.’”

Bask and Bedore painted “Goodnight,” on the front of the old Tampa Museum in January 2008. Although the mural no longer stands, the duo's “Goodnight” painting is now part of Robert Downey Junior’s private collection.

“Tes One and Bask are probably my favorite muralists in the area because they started everything,” said Krol. “They started the whole culture.”

Then Bedore established the Shine mural festival in 2015 (stylized “SHINE”), bringing 17 new murals to the St. Pete within a two-week festival environment. Now the Sunshine City has over 100 murals. Thanks to the efforts of Creative Pinellas and Tampa artists, murals are spreading throughout Tampa Bay.

Every October, Shine brings artists from all over the world to St. Pete to paint our walls. But make no bones about it, some of the best muralists in the world live right here in the Bay area—and we're lucky to have them.

FALL ARTS

Pinellas Park-based muralist Derek Donnelly remembers joining Tampa Bay’s mural scene in its beginnings, around 2012.

“At the time, there were maybe only a half dozen murals in the whole city [of St. Pete],” Donnelly told CL.

Tes One, Bask, and Palehorse were the only muralists in town. Chad Mize completed his first mural in St. Pete, “Starry Eyed,” in 2014.

“There’s been this global renaissance of murals in the past 15-20 years,” says Donnelly. “I was lucky enough to be in St. Pete at the right time, around the right folks, and I just kind of wanted to try it. I really wanted to get something downtown, out in the public.”

Donnelly's first big mural was Woomorial, still on Central Avenue. Find it and more placemaking murals in our slideshow, “40+ Must-See Tampa Bay Murals and the Stories Behind Them,” available via cltampa.com.

The Woomorial connected Donnelly with a growing community of Tampa Bay muralists that included Sebastian Coolidge, Zulu Painter, Vitale Brothers, and Christian Thomas.

“We all were for each other,” says Donnelly. “Just elevating each other as best we could. It still goes on. Everyone’s cheering each other on. There’s an element of friendly competitiveness as well. We’re always trying to impress each other and outdo each other in the friendliest way…I think that made us all better.”

More than a decade later, Tampa Bay’s mural scene continues to grow and improve. Shine is in its ninth year and still going strong. Technology like augmented reality is improving how we experience murals in our community. Tampa Walls is gearing up for its largest mural festival yet. Donnelly’s creating a mural garden outside of his Pinellas Park studio, which he now owns. And new initiatives in Tampa and St. Pete bring graffiti training and practice walls to aspiring artists so Tampa Bay’s mural scene will continue to thrive for years to come. Read all about it in our Fall Arts Preview.

Reform school

Arts organizations on both sides of Tampa Bay champion legal graffiti.

For most artists, there is no mural school. Artists in big cities like New York or Chicago might be lucky enough to find a crew or mentor. But given the oft-illegal nature of graffiti, mentors can be hard to locate. How do you find a mentor in someone who’s using a fake name and sneaking out in the middle of the night to paint other people’s walls?

The answer is to make it legal. Art, in any form, shouldn’t be a crime. When cities and property owners allow artists to learn from professional artists and practice techniques, a better-looking city often emerges. That’s the idea behind Tampa Walls Mural School and St. Pete Art Yard, two new art initiatives in Tampa Bay.

When it came to mural mentors in Tampa Bay, the late Matt Callahan was one of the best. “He was always there to help,” Tampa muralist Tony Krol told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “We don’t have an artist like that really anymore. Matt was the one. [His death] left this hole of knowledge sharing in the community because he knew how to do everything.”

Whether it was signs, lettering, or murals, Callahan got the job done. His legacy includes a giant octopus painted on the side of Classic Architectural with Angela Delaplane during the 2016 Shine mural festival, the Green Bench postcard mural, St. Tampasburg on the back-alley wall of The Lure. And now, Tampa Mural School.

In a fitting tribute to Callahan’s spirit, Callahan’s friends and family kickstarted Mural School in 2023. The program, a collaboration between Tampa Regional Artists and Tony Krol’s Tampa Walls, brings professional muralists to Hillsborough County schools to teach art students graffiti fundamentals. “We have local professional graffiti writers come in and help teach some of those fundamentals,” Krol told CL. “And then we’re doing scale-up techniques [like] the doodle grid method.”

Krol flew Denver-based muralist and arts educator Thomas Evans, aka Detour, to Tampa for the first Mural School. Aspiring artists worldwide turn to Detour’s YouTube page (@ iamdetour) for inspiration and tips. But in April 2023, Broward Elementary School students learned from Detour in person as he created a new mural with a message of “Hope” on their school campus. In the inaugural mural school, students watched Detour work as part of their art class instruction.

Three months later, Mural School edition No. 2 rounded up 13 regional artists to teach five adult mural school participants, and three children ages 12 and up, the tools of the trade via a new mural at the Tampa Heights YMCA. Krol gave the artists a theme and a color scheme.

The idea was for the artists to find their inner voice or inner peace and then express that to the community in all six colors of the visible spectrum—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The artists took the idea and ran with it.

“It features a local yoga teacher, and that yoga teacher is holding up a mask of Indie Reece,” says Krol. “There’s a lot of symbolism. That mural’s crazy in how it aligned. You can actually take a picture of Dan’s piece that has this glaring third eye beaming out of it. And if you take it at the right angle, there’s

will take spray paint or brush paint or whatever’s out there and paint the wall because it’s right there. Then Parks & Rec will go yell, like, ‘You’re vandalizing this,’ then paint a beige square over it. Now this wall looks like a patchwork.”

What if instead, Parks & Rec partnered with an organization like Tampa Walls Mural School to bring legal graffiti walls to Tampa’s public parks?

Across the bay, Celebrate St. Pete’s George Gower and Robert Roberts teamed up with Austin David, owner of the graffiti supply shop Artissin, to bring legal graffiti walls to St. Pete. David was complaining to Roberts and Gower one day that there wasn’t a good place for aspiring muralists to practice without getting arrested. Just one wall near his home, and it wasn’t very big.

The lot in question is a 145 feet long and 45 feet wide lot on Emerson Avenue around 25th Street. David’s nonprofit, Life is Design Inc., is raising funds to bring 18 eight-by-eight-feet graffiti walls, bathrooms, electricity and lighting, and a small retail operation to the site.

FALL ARTS

“We’ll have a place for a food truck,” Roberts told CL. “The yard can also double as a place for events, vendor markets, live music, parties, and stuff like that. Aspiring artists will be able to come and paint on the walls, and the public can come by and watch.”

Austin David will manage the yard, which will have regular operating hours.

“We’re going to start off just three days a week and expand as we go,” says Roberts, who’s planning to open Art Yard in October 2023.

a Baptist Church steeple right over the third eye. It’s wild.”

This September, Mural School resumes with a more hands-on activity at Broward Elementary School. With regards to Mural School’s future, Krol says, “We’re building the program as we go.”

At the moment, he’s contemplating ways that Mural School could collaborate with Parks and Recreation in Tampa. “There’s a wall by the skate park at Perry Harvey Park…A lot of kids

“He was saying it would be wonderful to have a place where we could do that,” Roberts recounts.

“My partner, George Gower of Celebrate St. Pete, is a real estate developer. That’s how we know each other. We’ve done business together for the past 50 years. He has a piece of property in the Warehouse Arts District, and he said we could use that lot for an art yard. That’s how it all started.”

What will it look like when graffiti comes out of the shadows? Non-artists and aspiring artists will be able to observe folks painting murals.

“We want people to come out, or families, and maybe have a glass of wine or a beer, walk around and watch the artists work,” Roberts told CL. “I just think It’d be a wonderful situation. To walk out there on a Saturday or Sunday and see 10-15 artists working. I think I’d be a really energizing, exciting space.”

Keep climbing

Tampa Walls hosts its first major mural festival this winter.

Tampa’s had a few mural festivals over the years, but none took off quite like Shine in St. Petersburg. That’s something Tampa muralist Tony Krol hopes to change with Tampa Walls. Tampa Walls is an outpost of Hawaii’s World Wide Walls, formerly Pow! Wow! Hawaii, which is exciting for several reasons. Jasper Wong created one of the first mural festivals in the world when he established World Wide Walls in 2010.

That initial mural festival “set the trajectory for all other mural festivals around the world,” Krol told CL. "[It] set the stage for a lot of innovation that happened in street art, and it [showed] the value of public art going up in our communities.”

FALL ARTS

World Wide Walls has since expanded to more than 60 cities around the world. The list includes New York, Tokyo, Taipei, Taiwan, and DC. Each city has its own festival director. When Krol reached out to Wong in 2017 to discuss a Tampa project, he brought Tampa into a global conversation about murals and mural festivals.

“With so many directors all over the world, there’s not a problem they haven’t encountered in terms of logistics and fundraising,” Krol told CL. “Being a part of this network is a huge privilege and also a very big responsibility. It’s amazing to have access to so much knowledge. The value and the advantage really lies in the resource sharing.”

Krol brought six new murals to Tampa with the inaugural Tampa Walls in 2022. They’d hoped to bring 12-20 murals to Tampa this way—similar to Shine St. Pete—but the funding wasn’t there. The cost of creating a mural, depending on the size of the wall, can range from $10,000 up to $60,0000, Krol tells us. This year, they’re aiming for about 30 walls.

“People don’t realize how much organization and money these things take,” Krol told CL. “We have to raise $200,000 before December to make this happen.”

The good news is that Krol’s assembled a great team of people to bring this mural festival to Tampa. Real Estate agent Justin Ricke provides leads on commercial buildings that could host a mural. And festival Co-Director Ania Amador of Art in Session is an experienced art director with more than a decade of festival experience.

Tampa Walls is still courting sponsors, but a few folks have already signed on.

Art in Session’s providing scholarships to artists participating in Tampa Walls for learning

resources and artist retreats. Jason Sowell’s Current Initiatives is Tampa Walls’ fiscal 501c partner. So don’t be surprised if you see a laundromat or two get a new mural this year, as Laundry Project is a Current Initiatives project. The team hopes to host a “free laundry” event during the festival as well. Symphonic Distribution is helping with the kickoff party and some additional music events. Thanks to their involvement, murals come with a Spotify playlist to help festival attendees get to know the artists who painted these murals and the type of music they enjoy. You can access these by scanning the plaques affixed to each wall.

As for the muralists, Krol’s inviting artists he’s worked with before. New York City graffiti legend Queen Andrea One, who completed the “We Love Downtown” mural at 1415 N Ashley Dr. during the inaugural Tampa Walls in 2022, returns for the 2023 festival. They’re inviting some Atlanta graffiti artists and several Tampa Bay locals.

“Local skateboarder and artist Dylan Perry confirmed he wants to do one, so we’re going to get him on a wall,” says Krol. “Indie Reece wants to paint a wall. We’re going to have Melvin Halsey, who goes by Langstn, do his first mural in Tampa. And also, up and coming artists like [Tampa Bay local] Quinn Cale… and that’s just a handful.”

Festival attendees also have several collaborative murals to look forward to.

“There’ll be a lot of production walls, which means that multiple artists will work on one wall,” Krol told CL. “They’ll each do a piece of the wall and codesign the wall. So that’ll be interesting to see how some of those walls come together. Sometimes they’re super interesting. It’s just amazing to see how many artists can work together at once and knock out a wall in four days. It’s a really cool experience.”

Then there are the special events and experiences. Since the festival is in December, Krol hopes to do something Christmas-related. And they’re currently in talks with USF to get augmented reality added to some of this year’s festival murals. Krol would also love to create a nighttime projector mapping experience for one or two murals, but equipment costs would significantly increase the budget. Eventually, he’d like to add a nighttime projector mapping festival to coincide with Tampa Walls.

What will it take for Tampa Walls to happen as Krol imagines it? The short answer is

more sponsors. Local businesses who’d like a mural on their property can sponsor one for as low as $1,000. And if that’s not in the budget, there’s also the opportunity to sponsor one of the scannable plaques Krol’s team plans to affix to each mural.

“Small donations help as well,” says Krol. We can’t tell you exactly how large or how awesome this year’s Tampa Walls will be, but we can tell you that it’s happening Dec. 13-23, and we’re looking forward to it. Let’s make it great, Tampa.

“People don’t realize how much organization and money these things take.”

Home sweet home

Artists claim ownership of Pinellas Park studios.

Art is here to stay in Pinellas Park. After nearly a decade of bringing great art and events to the neighborhood, Derek Donnelly, John Gascot, and Laurie Elmer claimed ownership of their spaces in 2023. Now they’re remodeling, extending Diversity Arts Inc. programming, and planning a mural festival at Saint Paint Arts this fall.

Before the 5600 and 5700 blocks of Park Boulevard became Pinellas Arts Village, it housed the Suncoast Haven of Rest Rescue Mission. The Mission offered services to houseless individuals and impoverished families in the area. Unfortunately, sometimes individuals showed up inebriated, and businesses began to complain about loitering and trespassing on their private property.

and decided that this would be a great place to help growing artists.”

The idea was to “cultivate a Pinellas Park version of what’s going on in St. Pete and Tampa and so forth,” Colonna told CL. Community redevelopment agencies (CRAs) purchase a city’s problematic properties and convert them into something better for the community—and this is what Pinellas Park’s CRA did in 2012. Given Pinellas Park’s history—Beaux Arts Coffeehouse supported a vibrant art scene in this area in the 1950s-1970s—inviting artists back made sense.

FALL ARTS

“That location where the artists are now is what we’d call a typical blighted property,” Pinellas Park Community Development Administrator Nick Colonna told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “There were a lot of interesting activities going on there, so the CRA Agency ended up purchasing the property, cleaned it up,

Around 2012, muralist Derek Donnelly was working out of Bloom Art Center, which he could see was sunsetting, in St. Pete. “I’m actually raised in the neighborhood here, so it seemed like a good fit” Donnely told CL. “But I was also kind of hesitant because [pregnant pause] Pinellas Park. And I tried really hard to get out of the neighborhood I grew up in, live in St. Pete and do all that.”

But the powers that be, Debra Rose and Council Member Rick Butler at the time, talked him into it. “It started as a five-year lease, with

the option to renew after five years for another five,” Donnelly told CL, “but ownership was always the goal for myself and for the city as well.

John Gascot discovered the properties in 2015 through a Better Block event. “The city had an event, Better Block, to kind of test out what bringing art to that area would look like,” Gascot told CL. “They had storage containers like pods that they made for artists to display [their work]. The CRA person at the time [Debra Rose] pulled me over and told me that the offices were going to become art studios, and I might want to take a look at them.”

The low rent convinced Gascot to move into the Studios at 5663 in 2016.

“I think I [joined] in January, and then we got our first artist, other than myself, in March,” Gascot told CL. More artists moved in, formed collaborations, and painted murals. Pet photographer Laurie Elmer was photographing outdoors, and in her husband’s veterinary practice after hours, when she discovered Pinellas Arts Village around 2016-2017. She’d just established Urban Dog Studio with her business partner Knicki Knowlton, and they were studio shopping.

“I had taken notice of the area because of the murals on the side of the building,” Elmer told CL. “I’d researched renting a studio space there, but I had noticed on the application it said ‘no pets allowed,’ and I’m a pet photographer.”

Still, Elmer took Knowlton to see the space. Robert Riedel answered the door when they knocked and gave them a tour. When Elmer mentioned the pet policy, Riedel said, “Everybody brings their dog here.” So Urban Dog Studio applied for a spot in the Studios at 5663.

“I believe John was one of the people on the approval committee, and thankfully John got excited about dog photography in the studio, and we were accepted.”

Two months later, Urban Dog Studio moved into the largest studio space in the building.

Everyone has their own space in Pinellas Arts Village, but more than that, they have a community ripe for collaboration. Gascot gets mural-painting tips from Donnelly. Elmer sits on the board of Gascot’s Diversity Arts, an organization that provides arts programming to kids from underserved communities. And Gascot often models for Elmer’s human portraits. All of them collaborate on Pinellas Park’s signature event— the monthly Fourth Saturday Block Party (stylized “pARTy”). The October Block Party has a Halloween theme, and the Arts Village always delivers on that. It’s done haunted art installations, pet costume contests, and people costume contests too.

After close to a decade working together in Pinellas Arts Village, the city let them purchase their spaces. Donnelly claimed ownership of The

Cove in February 2023, and John Gascot and Laurie Elmer now co-own the Studios at 5663.

“The current council really deserves so much credit for how supportive they’ve been of us,” Gascot told CL. “They could have awarded these buildings to people who were bidding higher amounts…and they really acknowledged and rewarded the work that we put into the city. Not just myself and Laurie, but also Derek, and Painting with a Twist, and Swartz. We all got our building.”

“We hear so many stories about artists in St. Pete who are losing their spaces because their building’s being sold or their rent is going up,” says Elmer. “The one thing John and I were in agreement on when we went into this was that our goal was to do everything we can to provide reliable, long-term spaces for artists… and that’s because the city gave us the opportunity to do this.

For artists, owning your own studio space is “everything.”

“It’s a dream come true,” says Gascot. “As artists and creatives, to be able to own a brick and mortar, and do what we do, and offer what we’re going to offer, which is going to be so much more to the community. And to just have ownership in that.”

For Donnelly, Gascot and Elmer, their gratitude and joy manifest in renovations and exciting plans for the future. Donnelly’s doing some necessary maintenance on The Cove, but he’s also creating a mural garden and re-branding the space as a live entertainment venue with live music, open mic nights, poetry readings, and comedy. That’s in addition to art shows and block party events.

Next door, Gascot and Elmer are expanding the Studios at 5663’s gallery and classroom space. They’re also improving the overall look of the building to make it look less like an office space and more like a creative space. They’re creating an event space and planning to host art and continuing education classes. Gascot’s husband, Ron Diana, is a licensed massage therapist who will offer massage classes in a gallery environment for a relaxing and inspiring experience. Elmer’s already thinking about how they can make the space even more dog friendly. They’ll start curating regular, bimonthly/quarterly art shows in their expanded gallery space. And they’re actively looking for ways to broaden Diversity Arts’ programming at the studios.

“We’re going to have a full calendar of events and a full menu of services, experiences, and things to do,” Gascot told CL. “Something’s going to be going on all the time.”

So keep an eye on Pinellas Arts Village this fall by stalking them on social media @saintpaintarts and @studios5663, because Pinellas Park’s about to get exciting.

“The current council really deserves so much credit.”

On the move

Augmented reality brings murals to life in downtown Clearwater.

Thanks to a new app designed by the University of South Florida, you can now watch three murals come to life in Downtown Clearwater. It’s called Artours Clearwater (stylized “ARTours”), and it’s a fun, free new way to explore downtown Clearwater before you attend your next concert at The Sound.

The City of Clearwater commissioned seven murals between 2018 and 2021. You can view the murals, along with their locations, on the City’s Downtown Clearwater Mural Program. As the artists painted, Clearwater’s Community Redevelopment Agency entered conversations with USF’s Access 3D Lab and Advanced Visualization Center.

“At that point in time, the idea of augmented reality murals was newer, more or less,” says CRA Manager Eric Santiago. “So it was definitely [something that] was not being offered in the area. There’s a lot more of them now. But when these conversations started back in 2019, it was more of a new concept.

Conversations slowed as the pandemic entered our collective realities in 2020. In 2021, USF’s Access 3D lab students and staff traveled to Downtown Clearwater and used laser

scanners to capture four of the seven murals digitally. Using these digital models, USF’s Advanced Visualization Center established trigger points; each mural has three.

To view downtown Clearwater murals in AR, all you need do is download the Artours Clearwater app and drive to Downtown Clearwater. Then let your cell phone, the app, Google maps, and your two feet do the rest. Once you’re downtown, open the app, click start, and select the “mural map.” This opens Google maps. Tap on a mural title, then the associated pin, and the app gives your directions to that mural. After you’ve found your mural, tap the green button to “Begin Your Tour.” This opens a menu that lets you choose from four murals: Tony Krol and Michelle Sawyer’s “100 Years

a tunnel appears and a train passes through, heading down the Pinellas Trail—once the old Orange Belt Railway. Tap another point, and a man rides his bicycle right out of the wall. Tap the third point, and you’re visited by a space alien—that one I can’t explain, and neither can Tony Krol. According to Krol, the artists weren’t given any input when it came to the animations. Now that the city has the AR technology in place, they plan to involve future mural artists in the AR planning process from the beginning.

FALL ARTS

Using Artours Clearwater app, I saw MJ Lindo and Joshua Lawyer’s gator in “After a While” walk from one end of the wall to the other. I saw the ocean appear in a wave. I saw the lilies bloom in DAAS’ “Ikebana” and watched bees feast upon their pollen. I looked on as a cluster of flowers popped up on the lawn before the mural, their bright colors attracting a hummingbird. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any animations in Florencia Duran and Camilo Nunez’s “Comunidad.”

At The Dali’s AR-fueled “Visual Magic” in 2019, nothing popped up until I’d centered the entire painting within my iPhone camera’s frame. That’s hard to do for a mural, and thankfully it wasn’t necessary in this case. But be prepared to get your steps in when you take Clearwater’s augmented reality mural tour. Like the gator in MJ Lindo and Joshua Lawyer’s “After a While,” you too might have to walk from one end of the wall to the other while seeking circles to tap on. I walked all over the parking lot in front of “Comunidad,” but I had no luck getting the animations to appear for this particular mural.

Clearwater’s ARTours isn’t perfect, but it’s an important step in revitalizing Downtown Clearwater.

“When you’re thinking of destinations and places you want to be, often you think of art and the cultural amenities that the area has to offer…” says Santiago.

If you’re heading into Downtown Clearwater for a concert in Coachman Park this fall, I suggest stepping out to see these murals as well.

Before J. Cole,” MJ Lindo and Joshua Lawyer’s “After a While,” DAAS’ “Ikebana,” and Camilo Nuñez and Florencia Durán’s “Communidad.”

When you open the app and point your phone at one of the trigger points, like the train in the center of “100 Years Before J. Cole,” a yellow circle appears on your phone like the sun. Tap the circle and it triggers an animation. In this case,

As with any new technology, there are two ways to describe augmented reality—how it works in theory and how it works in fact. Or how it works and how it doesn’t work. If you’ve played with AR before, you know the technology can be…finicky.

The problem is always with the triggering mechanism. Sometimes you point your phone at a painting and nothing happens.

“We just want to invite people downtown to check out the park,” Santiago told CL. “And then also, when they’re here, continue their journey through downtown. All of the art murals are within a short walk from the park. So you can do a nice little lap—see the park, leave the park, head into our downtown, see the murals, finish the lap, and make your way back into the park.”

VOTE FOR US: BEST SPORTS BAR + ISABELLE VOGELER (for BEST BARTENDER)

Take a seat

Jobsite, the official theater company of Tampa’s Straz Center, is celebrating its silver anniversary with the start of its 25th season in just a few weeks, along with a special ticket package available to celebrate.

Its 25th season begins with Tom Stoppard’s Tony Award winning “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead,” a retelling of “Hamlet” featuring its cast from earlier this year, and Jack Holloway as The Player, from Sept. 13-Oct. 8

“Frankenstein” starring Best of the Bay-winning Giles Davies as Victor Frankenstein and Paul J. Potenza as the Creature runs from Oct. 18-Nov. 12, and Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” will start off the new year from Jan. 17-Feb. 11, 2024.

The 2023-24 season closes with the iconic cult rock musical “The Rocky Horror Picture” show from Jul.10-Aug. 4, and ends with Ronan Noone’s “The Smuggler” from Aug. 14-Aug. 25.

Unlike past seasons, smaller packages will not be offered at the same discount once the season is underway. Single tickets start at $40 and will increase by date and location by demand.

Last season’s shows topped at $75 for some of the more popular nights.

FALL ARTS

However, a season pass gives theater goers access to seven shows for $25 each in honor of the 25 year anniversary. The pass costs $185.50, $150.50 for Thursday preview shows, and includes free exchanges, because life happens.

in between are works for kids (“Pinocchio” in November), the holiday program in North Straub Park, and an Oct. 6 installment of the “Mornings

With the Maestro” series where Mark Sforzini and the cast present an educational overview of the work they do. stpeteopera.org

freeFall Theatre Company

Kurt Vonnegut’s “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” gets the freeFall treatment next spring, but the St. Pete company has “Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play”—adapted from the 1947 Lux Radio broadcast by Lance Arthur Smith, featuring original songs and arrangements by Jon Lorenz—happening in December, plus a comedy by Natalie Symons (“Nightsweat”) where a canceled celebrity housewife tries to escape the media. freefalltheatre.com

American Stage

Academy Award winner Martin McDonagh’s “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” runs Mar. 13-Apr. 7, followed by Federico Garcia Lorca’s “El Maleficio de la Mariposa” from May 15-Jun. 9. Auditions for this show are still ongoing, and more information about how to audition will roll out via jobsitetheater.org and social media in the next few weeks.

St. Pete Opera

St. Pete Opera is officially an adult now, and to celebrate it lined up three mainstage productions including Handel’s “Alcina” (Oct. 13, 15, 17), Puccini’s Turandot (March 15,17,19) and Gaetano Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Peppered

A pair of classics return to American Stage next spring (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”). Before that, however, are a fall presentation of David Yee’s “Acts Of Faith,” where a false prophet gets twisted into the life of a religious leader. To kick off 2024, the company stages “The Chinese Lady,” work inspired by the true story of Afong Moy, he first Chinese woman to arrive on American soil. americanstage.org

Stageworks Theatre

Tony Award-winning play “I Am My Own Wife”— the story of “a real-life German transvestite who managed to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime”—arrives at Channelside’s Stageworks next year. To close out the year, the Tampa company presents the “The Great Christmas Cookie Bake-Off” musical, and before that the beloved whodunnit story of “Poirot Returns.” stageworkstheatre.org

Fringe Theatre

Tampa Fringe has carved out a nice year-round home for itself in Ybor City, and this fall the Fringe Theatre presents “A Brief History of Beer," a sci-fi sketch comedy where theatergoers take a trip on the Quantum Pint Machine. This is one where you probably won’t get kicked out for being wasted. And if you need Fringe now, the theater recently launched its first storytelling open mic, "Shameless Stories with Trish Parry," on second Wednesdays. This fall adds two new storytelling events to the theater calendar. Tuesday night variety open mics are already in session, 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. and Walt Belcher hosts a monthly storytelling event for anyone 50 years old and up, appropriately called BoomerTown, starting this Sun., Aug. 27, and every Sunday afterward, 4 p.m.-6 p.m. theatre.tampafringe.org—Jennifer Ring

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

17th Century Florentine Sculpture, Saint Michael Archangel, mid 17th century, Polychrome wood, 25 15/64 x 18 57/64 x 11 1/2 in., Haukohl Collection. Photo Credit: MNHA/Tom Lucas

Elizabeth Emmet LeRoy (American, 1794 – 1878) Boats on the Hudson, 1841, Oil on canvas, Intended gift from the Gary R. Libby Charitable Trust Collection

Hank Willis Thomas (American, b. 1976), Emily Shur (American, b. 1976) and For Freedoms, Freedom of Speech, 2018 Archival pigment print, 54 x 43 1/4 x 2 in. The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Rollins Museum of Art. Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond. 2018.1.30 © For Freedoms

Giovanni Domenico Ferretti (Italian, 1692-1768), Harlequin and His Lady ca. 1745, Oil on canvas, 23 5/16 x 19 31/64 in., Haukohl Collection. Photo Credit: MNHA/Tom Lucas

Amy Sherald (American, b. 1973) Hope is the thing with feathers (The little bird), 2021, Color screenprint on Coventry rag, 48 1/2 x 40 1/2 x 2 in., The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Rollins Museum of Art. Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond, 2021.1.24 © Amy Sherald. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Photographer credit: Thomas Barratt

Thomas Cole (American, 1801-1848) Catskill Mountain House, The Four Elements 1843-44, Oil on canvas, 28 1/2 x 36 1/2 in. Gift of Diane and Michael Maher 2023.6

POLITICS ISSUES OPINION

Paved paradise

A third of downtown Tampa is parking lots, city planners say they are actively trying to fix that.

When you picture Tampa Bay, you might picture palm trees, the pink flamingo who greets you at the airport, the crystal beaches of St. Pete, the champion sports teams, or the occasional pirate. You probably don’t picture parking lots. And yet, from a bird’s eye view, one third of down Tampa is just that: parking lots. Over in St. Petersburg, the downtown area gives up 24% to parking. Surface lots, garages, street parking, you name it, Tampa Bay’s got it, and slowly but surely, cities are attempting to address just how much of our space is occupied by parking lots.

Of course Tampa and St. Petersburg aren’t the only cities that paved paradise to put up a parking lot. Cities across the nation are undergoing parking reforms in this post-COVID era when surface parking lots have become absolutely vacant due to remote work and ridesharing. The Wall Street Journal reported that the average American drove 4% fewer miles in 2022 than in 2019. “Recognizing this, cities are shrinking the number of spaces, freeing up the land for other uses,” WSJ added.

“We have parking instead of people space,” Karen Kress, Senior Director of Transportation and Planning at the Tampa Downtown Partnership, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “We’re wasting a lot of space, especially with the housing crisis.”

In 2019, Kress and the Downtown Partnership completed a parking survey, which reviewed 24,000 parking spaces in the central and business districts of downtown Tampa. Of these 24,000 spaces, the survey found that 6,000 spaces were unused during peak hours. Kress noted that one of the reasons that 90% of people think there isn’t any parking in Tampa is because Tampa isn’t great at sharing parking. For instance, certain commercial towers’ lots sit empty on the weekends and there does not seem to be an incentive to offer up those spaces to weekend visitors.

Furthermore, Kress is an advocate for unbundling the parking. She points out that an additional $225 is added to an apartment’s monthly rent which essentially means that you can’t rent an apartment in Tampa without also renting an accompanying parking space, even if you’re not going to use it.

Parking minimums also play into this issue of there being plenty of parking but nowhere to park. Parking minimums have their roots in the 1950s when city planners wanted every new car owner to be guaranteed a space, therefore apartment buildings, hospitals and churches had to include a certain amount of space for parking. Hospitals had to have two parking spots per bed and churches had to include one spot for every five seats in the pew. Cities like New York, San Francisco, Buffalo, and Bend, and even Fayetteville and Norman, Okla. have eliminated parking minimums altogether.

and Parking Division to draft a Parking Master Plan to address the parking issue.

Benson added that additional amendments will be forthcoming for the Westshore Business District, East Tampa and Tampa Heights. “Beyond reducing minimums in the code, we must find ways to reduce our reliance on cars,” Benson wrote.

LOCAL NEWS

Stephen Benson, the City Planning Director from the City of Tampa said in an email that, “Parking is not a one-size fits all approach. Reducing parking requirements can be a step in the right direction but there are

In Tampa, twice as much land is used for parking lots as for greenspace and although the city is making moves to redevelop the lots into something a little more aesthetically pleasing, for instance in 2018, the City of Tampa redeveloped the City Hall parking lot on Jackson Street and Florida Avenue to build what is now Hyatt Place, it’s not enough.

Kress hopes to create something in downtown Tampa similar to the Underline in Miami, which is a 10-mile linear park and trail that will

owned by the private sector. Although this private sector is operated by a few companies, 717 Parking, owned by the Accardi brothers, owns 4,000 of the 7,800 private sector spaces in the survey. “Downtown Tampa will never recognize its full potential until 717 develops its lots,” Kress said. The Accardis did not respond to requests for comment.

Across the bridge, St. Petersburg’s Transportation and Parking Management Director Evan Mory told CL that the Sunshine City is softly and systemically reducing the number of surface parking lots; replacing these lots with structured parking as well as re-purposing the land for more people-friendly spaces. He cites the Pier as one of the most recent and ambitious projects; the city took 750 surface and street parking spaces and reduced these down to 525. They used the space for the splash pad and playground that children now enjoy at the new Pier.

“We know we are still a car-centric city but over time we hope we can use parking spaces a bit better,” Mory said.

He pointed out, however, that parking is essential to the economy. The parking in St. Pete is for people working in St. Pete, as well as people who are spending money in the local businesses. Tropicana Field for example has 7,000 parking spaces for the people attending the baseball games. Mory said that without those parking spaces, people probably would not come to the games.

He added that surface parking lots are good place holders; they’re consistent income for the city and they keep property taxes down. Until the city can figure out how to better develop the lots, surface parking isn’t such a terrible use of the land. Mory’s department falls under city development so he and his team consider parking and transportation through an economic lens.

other elements at play that will drive how much parking is provided in a project.”

Since 2020, Tampa City Council has approved over 100 rezonings where the number of parking spots was waived below what the code required. Last year, the city controversially slashed free parking in Ybor City by 26%. Council has also approved amendments to the downtown zoning code and is working with the Mobility Department

run under Miami’s elevated rail system. While Orlando just nixed plans to create a similar project—and opted for more parking—Kress suggested redeveloping some of Tampa’s many parking lots into dog parks, pickleball courts or urban art spaces.

The 2019 downtown survey took stock of two parking platforms: the lots and garages owned by the City of Tampa and the lots and garages

St. Pete is working to reduce the demand for parking by giving people more choices to get around. The city now has scooters, bike lanes, clean sidewalks and most recently added the Sun Runner, which will run for free until October.

Mory emphasized that the city is slowly implementing these changes because they do not want to move too quickly. “But surface lots are not the end game for the city of St. Petersburg,” Mory said.

“We have parking instead of people space.”

MANDRITOIU/ADOBE

Growing pains

La Gaceta: Tampa mayor’s proposed tax increase is actually 30%.

Mayor Jane Castor is proposing a City budget that requires a one mill increase in property taxes. That additional mill, plus the increase in property values, equates to a 30.39 % tax increase.

In 2015, then-Mayor Bob Buckhorn proposed a City of Tampa budget of $876 million. Mayor Jane Castor proposed a budget last week of $1.92 billion. That is more than double and an increase of over $1 billion in just eight years. That is unsustainable spending growth for Tampa’s taxpayers.

never really had a business that had to make payroll. In her world, if you spend too much, you just ask for more money.

She sits on boards—but was absent for votes—that recently approved outrageous pay for our port director to make $800,000 and approved over $1 million to pay Tampa International Airport's top executive, making him the highest paid airport boss in America. Handing out big raises is easy when it isn't your money.

COLUMN

Without a mileage increase, the City would take in $38,484,158 in property taxes. That is a 12.3 % increase from last year. If a 12.3 % increase in taxes isn’t enough, then the mayor has created a problem that she wants us to bail her out of. Could spending $120 million on City offices on Hannah Ave with no competitive bidding cause this issue? Is the $41 million planned park in East Tampa that will not go out for competitive bid be the problem? Could it be the 8 % raise the mayor gave to police is the problem? How about the growth in nonessential staff?

Our mayor has always been on the winning side of taxation. She has received more taxes than she paid in her job in law enforcement, law enforcement consulting and as mayor. She

The mayor says this additional millage we’ll go to transportation. There is no guarantee of this once the money goes into the general fund.

Also, none of it will be used for mass transit. Instead, it will be used for roads.

And roads are needed, but the City has not shown itself to be prudent in spending. No bid contracts, overruns of costs and lack of transparency should not earn you a blank check. That’s what she wants from the taxpayers and City Council. We don’t want to give it to her. Last year, the City took in over 15 % more in property taxes. If a 12.3 % increase in taxes isn’t enough this year, then stop spending money we don’t have.

This column originally appeared at La Gaceta, Tampa’s tri-lingual, more than centuryold newspaper.

“Our mayor has always been on the winning side of taxation.”

Slow death

Groups sue to get Florida’s gopher tortoises on the endangered species list.

Two conservation groups last Wednesday filed a lawsuit challenging a decision by federal wildlife officials to reject listing gopher tortoises as endangered or threatened species, saying the burrowing animals face a “grim” future without help. The Center for Biological Diversity and Nokuse Education, Inc., filed the lawsuit in federal court in Jacksonville after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in October said increased protections were not warranted for gopher tortoises in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and parts of Alabama.

The lawsuit pointed to issues such as development encroaching on gopher-tortoise habitats and said the federal agency’s decision last year was “contrary to the best available science.”

“The gopher tortoise’s decline is driven primarily by habitat destruction, degradation and fragmentation, which leaves the species fewer places to live,” the lawsuit said. “These threats are ongoing and likely to continue into the future, meaning the tortoise’s outlook is likely to worsen.”

The Legislature last year passed a measure that took steps to increase the sites where gopher tortoises could be moved. In part, the bill directed state agencies to consider using parts of certain public lands as gopher tortoise “recipient” sites. Also, it called for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to “streamline and improve the review of applications for public and private gopher tortoise recipient sites.”

In the lawsuit filed last Wednesday, attorneys for the Center for Biological Diversity and Nokuse Education wrote that “existing regulatory mechanisms are not adequate” to prevent threats to gopher tortoises.

ENVIRONMENT

The groups want a judge to vacate the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s October decision and require the agency to undertake a process that will lead to a new “finding.” The lawsuit alleges that federal wildlife officials violated the Endangered Species Act and a law known as the Administrative Procedure Act in determining that added protections were not warranted.

In a 113-page decision, the agency concluded that gopher tortoises in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and parts of Alabama were “not in danger of extinction.”

“Although the threats to the species of habitat loss and fragmentation due to urbanization, climate change, sea level rise, and habitat management are expected to persist in the foreseeable future and the effects of these threats on this longlived species will continue at some level, some threats have been reduced and will continue to be reduced through implemented and ongoing conservation actions and regulatory mechanisms,” the October decision said.

Federal wildlife officials kept a longstanding threatened-species listing for gopher tortoises in parts of southwest Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Gopher tortoises have spurred debates in Florida for years, as development has spread and conservationists have pushed for habitat protections. Gopher tortoises are considered threatened by the state, which has a permitting process for capturing and relocating the animals.

“Urban development of tortoise habitat is particularly harmful because it drives and increases many other threats to the species,” the lawsuit said. “In addition to directly destroying habitat, development can kill or injure individual tortoises; disrupt habitat connectivity (habitat fragmentation), which reduces immigration between populations and can negatively affect population genetics; and impede habitat management activities like prescribed fire. Development also leads to increased human-driven threats like road deaths, nonnative species invasions and persecution by people, pets, and other predators.”

Opponents push to stop gas station near Wakulla Springs

Opponents who fear a proposed gas station could damage Wakulla Springs south of Tallahassee say they’re unfazed by a new state law designed to limit lawsuits over comprehensive plan changes. Ryan Smart, executive director of the Florida Springs Council, wouldn’t say last Monday if his group or other organizations would legally challenge proposed land-use changes sought by Southwest Georgia Oil Co. on a seven-acre parcel in Wakulla County. But Smart said the law (SB 540), signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May, won’t affect the decision.

“I’m not scared of spending money on legal battles if I think I can win,” Smart said before the Wakulla County Commission postponed discussion of the proposed changes Monday. “We’ve got 5,000 people that sent emails to the county commission from across the state that we can ask to support our legal challenge.”

The county attributed the postponement to an overflow crowd that left many people outside in sweltering heat.

The site of the proposed gas station, along with underground tanks to feed 16 pumps, is over an area called Chip’s Hole Cave. Critics raised the potential of leaks affecting Wakulla Springs, part of Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park. Wakulla Springs drew notoriety in the past as a film backdrop, including for early Tarzan movies and the horror flick “Creature from the Black Lagoon.”

Southwest Georgia Oil, the parent of Island fuel and SunStop markets, has requested comprehensive-plan and zoning changes to convert the property from an agricultural to commercial designation.

Environmental groups this spring unsuccessfully fought the new state law, which deals with legal challenges to comprehensive-plan changes. The law, which took effect July 1, allows “prevailing” parties to recover legal fees in cases at the state Division of Administrative Hearings.

During the legislative session, opponents argued the threat of facing hefty legal costs would be a roadblock to groups challenging comprehensive-plan changes.

Before last Monday’s meeting, Richard Grosso, a lawyer representing Sierra Club Florida, submitted a formal objection to the Wakulla County proposal. In a letter, Grosso said the county comprehensive plan’s primary environmental-protection goal is to ensure “the enjoyment of natural and man-made resources by citizens while minimizing the threat to health, safety and welfare.”

“A violation of this goal alone, by failing to adequately protect groundwater resources would be inconsistent with the comprehensive plan and, upon a legal challenge, could result in the plan amendment being found” out of compliance, Grosso wrote.

Wakulla County Commission Chairman Ralph Thomas said about 30 minutes into ;ast Monday’s 5 p.m. meeting that a special meeting would be scheduled, in a larger venue, as temperatures topped 96 degrees outside the compact Wakulla County Courthouse.

The proposal drew several hundred people, which forced nearly 200 to wait outside watching a pair of small monitors set up next to a speaker.

Janice Brown, 88, a lifelong Wakulla County resident who tried to stay out of the sun, bemoaned that growth in the region has already degraded water conditions through increased traffic, more septic tanks and fertilizer runoff.

“It (the spring) used to be gorgeous, you could see all the way to the bottom,” Brown said.

Thomas suggested the issue could become moot if the state can acquire the land from Southwest Georgia Oil through the Florida Forever land-acquisition program.

First magnitude springs in Bay, Citrus, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jackson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Madison, Marion, Suwannee, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington counties top what is known as the Florida Forever Partnerships & Regional Incentives list. The Wakulla Springs Protection Zone in Leon and Wakulla counties is third on that list.

“The gopher tortoise’s decline is driven primarily by habitat destruction.”

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RESTAURANTS RECIPES DINING GUIDES

The Bear

Rooster & the Till’s impressive Dinner Series lineup, plus more local openings and closings.

Each year, Seminole Heights mainstay and two-time Bib Gourmand recipient Rooster & the Till welcomes prominent chefs from around the country to give Tampeños a taste of their worldly cuisine—and its 2023 lineup just dropped. Each monthly installment of the dinner series at Rooster & the Till—located at 6500 N Florida Ave. —will offer a unique spread of tasting menus and experiences.

This year’s series kicks off with Chef Claudette Zepeda—winner of “Iron Chef,” a Michelin Bib Gourmand receipt and James Beard nominee—on Sunday, Aug. 27. The San Diego-based chef with a self-styled “fearless style and bold approach to regional Mexican cuisine.”

Other guest chefs include popular ceramist and culinary mind Zach Meloy on Oct. 8, Tampa native and Twice-Michelinstarred David Barzelay (Lazy Bear) on Nov. 5, and James Beard nominee Chef Chad Colby and former Rooster & the Till sous chef Arturo Rojas—who both helm the kitchen at Los Angeles Italian restaurant Antico Nuovo—on Dec. 3.

St. Pete’s Brick Street Farms hosts charity dinner for the American Cancer Society this month

The only thing better than eating a delicious dinner is indulging for a great cause—and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (stylized as “ACS CAN”) can help you do exactly that this month. In addition to dinner, this fundraising event includes live music, curated beverage pairings and a “luminary display to honor every life touched by cancer.”

FOOD NEWS

On Thursday, Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m., St. Pete’s Brick Street Farms (199 20th St. S) hosts a four course, Mexican-Italian charity dinner benefitting the organization’s mission of “promoting access to cancer prevention and early detection, treatment and follow-up care through nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy.” Tickets to Brick Street Farms’ American Cancer Society fundraiser dinner on Thursday, Aug. 31 run are $45.

Rooster & the Till 2023 Chef Dinner Series : Chef Claudette Zepeda

Sunday, Aug. 27, 6 p.m. $350 Rooster & the Till, 6500 N Florida Ave., Tampa. roosterandthetill.com

Although Barzelay left his hometown many years ago for the other Bay area, the lawyer-turned-chef brings his popular modern American fare from San Francisco’s Lazy Bear back to Tampa for one night only. Michelin inspectors describe his food as having “a sweeping creative scope, drawing on both nostalgia and current culinary trends with a confident swagger.”

Tickets to each installment of the Chef Dinner Series cost between $250-$350 per person and can be purchased via roosterandthetill. com. Each ticket includes a minimum of six courses paired with beverages, alongside access to a cocktail happy hour before the dinner itself and curated tunes from Tampa’s own DJ Blenda.

Rooster & the Till recommends getting your tickets ASAP, since seating at the intimate Seminole Heights restaurant is extremely limited. For more information on the out-of-town chefs heading to Tampa for 2023’s Chef Dinner Series, head to Rooster & the Till’s Instagram at @roosterandthetill.

The culinary mind behind the dinner itself is Bandit Coffee’s kitchen lead Chef Adrianna Siller. Not only did she dominate Feeding Tampa Bay’s annual Epic Chef competition this year, but also won an episode of the popular Food Network show “Chopped” in 2022 (season 51 episode 12 for anyone interested in watching.)

Chef Siller tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that her four dishes for this month’s dinner include a corn and poblano focaccia and veggie crudo to start, and short rib chochoyotes—which she describes as a “masa version of gnocchi”—for the main course. The decadent meal will finish with a dulce de leche tiramisu, rounding out the dinner’s unique Mexican-Italian theme.

This month’s event—which is also kidfriendly—is organized by St. Pete resident and ACS CAN Vice-State Lead Ambassador for Florida, Hyacinth Burrowes. If you can’t attend this charitable dinner in St. Pete, you can always donate directly to the ACS CAN via Eventbrite.com.

continued from page 41

Pepper’s Island, Tampa’s newest Trinidadian Restaurant, soft opens in Ybor City

Piping hot plates of Caribbean food are once again a thing on the corner of East 4th Avenue and N 17th Street in Ybor City. Trinidadian restaurant

Pepper’s Island— located at 1701 E 4th Ave. in the space that formerly housed the beloved Cephas Hot Shop— officially debuted last weekend.

During its soft opening phase, Pepper’s Island will be open from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. on Fridays, 11 a.m.-1 a.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays—with a DJ bumping Caribbean music each night. Owner Rodney Dhanraj tells CL that starting next month, Pepper’s Island will be open seven days a week, but specific hours will be “subject to change depending on customer traffic.” He also stresses that all of the restaurant’s dishes are made-to-order and hopes his first wave of customers can understand that Pepper’s Island just launched its soft opening phase.

At its opening weekend, the restaurant dished out entrees and small plates to be featured on its slightly-limited, soft opening menu—including classic Trini dishes like curried chickpea-filled doubles, aloo pie stuffed with spiced mash potatoes and pholourie fritters served with a side of tangy tamarind sauce. In addition to these street food-inspired a la carte items, Pepper’s Island also offers curry goat, chicken and beef on different days of the week.

On social media, Pepper’s teased expanded operating hours and a full menu rollout sometime in September, adding dishes like stewed chicken, curry duck, and paratha aka “Buss up Shot” to its daily offerings. Dhanraj, alongside his family and friends, have spent the last several months building out the Ybor City restaurant, which was originally slated to open in July. The official opening of Pepper’s Island marks an important chapter of Dhanraj’s life, who had a long-term goal of opening a restaurant in honor of his grandparent’s 60 year-old roti shop back in Trinidad.

For the latest information on Ybor City’s newest restaurant, head to its Facebook page or Instagram at @peppers_islandrestaurant.

Cass Street Coffee Company celebrates grand opening in downtown Tampa

The newly-renovated Floridan Palace Hotel is finally ready to debut its latest hospitality concept: the Cass Street Coffee Company. The new coffee shop—located on the ground floor of the Floridan Palace Hotel at 905 N Florida Ave.—serves coffee and espresso-based drinks from Philadelphia’s La Colombe Roasters and sweet treats from Local Mini Donut Co., in addition to oatmeal, yogurt parfaits and other grab-and-go bites. It’s open from 6 a.m.-3 p.m. seven days a week.

The Floridan Palace Hotel, which has undergone several renovations over the past few years,

also opened its new signature restaurant The Dan just a few months ago. Cass Street Coffee Co. joins the ranks of other downtown cafes like Caffeine Roasters, Buddy Brew, Blind Tiger and the newly-opened Little Tina. For more information on the historic Floridan Palace Hotel’s new cafe, head to cassstreetcoffee.com or Instagram at @cassstreetcoffee.

Italian restaurant Bavaro’s will open new location on Clearwater Beach

Pretty soon, there will be a Bavaro’s Pizza Napoletana & Pastaria in every corner of Tampa Bay. According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Clearwater Beach’s Bavaro’s will open out of a 1,800 square-foot parcel at 468 Mandalay Ave. by the end of 2023 (fingers crossed).

Clearwater Beach is home to dozens of bars and restaurants, and after the latest Bavaro’s makes its debut, it will be neighbors with Jimmy Hula’s, The Salty Crab Bar and Bob Heilman’s Beachcomber alongside many, many more. For the latest news on Clearwater Beach’s Bavaro’s, head to its Facebook at @bavarobrand or Instagram at @bavarospizza.

Tampa’s tallest rooftop bar makes its debut at Water Street next month

A new cocktail lounge and late night hotspot will soon have locals and tourists alike flocking to Water Street. A press release says that JW Marriott Tampa Water Street’s new rooftop bar Beacon is the “tallest public rooftop bar in Tampa” and the second tallest in the state of

Renderings from local design firm AvroKO depict Beacon as a sleek and vibrant space that boasts different lounge areas—including an outdoor terrace, main bar and a variety of private seating.

After Beacon makes its highly-anticipated debut next month, it will be open from 5 p.m. until “late” every day. For the latest news on the grand opening of Tampa’s tallest rooftop bar, head to the hotel’s Instagram at @ marriottwaterstreet.

Sprouts will open new Tampa location near University Mall next month

Over the last few years, Sprouts Farmers Markets have been, well, sprouting up all over Tampa Bay, and next month we’ll see one more spring out of the ground. According to sprouts. com, the boutique grocer chain’s newest location will officially open Friday, Sept. 15 at 2150 E Fowler Ave., within the Rithm multi-story, mixed-use neighborhood development near University Mall.

The new 23,000-square-foot Uptown store will open its door at 7 a.m., and the first 200 customers will score a free usable bag with samples, and the first 400 customers will receive a free long stem rose courtesy from Falcon Farms Floral. The grand-opening celebrations will run through Sunday, Sept. 17 and will feature kids activities, food samples, and more.

The Arizona-based grocer is known for having a wide selection of natural and organic foods, which includes produce, vitamins, packaged groceries, seafood, deli, baked goods, dairy products and frozen foods.

The beach-adjacent space—which formerly housed a real estate office—will undergo about $1 million dollars worth of renovations before making its debut. Owner Dan Bavaro told TBBJ that his “company is building an infrastructure for statewide expansion,” which may include additional airport locations throughout the Sunshine State.

Bavaro’s first made its Tampa Bay debut in 2009, claiming to be the “first traditional Neapolitan Pizzeria in the state of Florida.”

Florida. A rep for JW is still working to tell CL exactly how many feet in the sky Beacon is.

It’s slated to debut sometime in September at 510 Water St., although an exact grand opening date is yet to be determined.

A few specialty drinks patrons can expect when Beacon opens next month include the Zalamero complete with Don Fulano Reposado Tequila and Galliano Espresso liqueur, and a Japanese-inspired gin cocktail with notes of sesame, yuzu, pineapple.

FOOD NEWS

Alongside ‘za baked in traditional wood-fired ovens, the Italian restaurant also dishes out roasted Gulf oysters, charcuterie boards, salads, soups, classic pastas and desserts like cannolis, tiramisu and Nutella pizzas.

In addition to dining at its four locations in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Sarasota and Tampa International Airport, patrons can also purchase a variety of Bavaro’s beloved pasta sauces via Amazon. Each location offers the same exact menu with the exception of its Tampa International Airport restaurant, which features a handful of flatbreads, paninis and grab-andgo options.

Beacon—one of almost two dozen well-known rooftop bars in Tampa Bay—will not only offer craft cocktails and tasty views of Hillsborough Bay, but also Garrison and Sedon Channels and the Ybor Turning Basin.

The rooftop concept will also dish out a menu of booze-friendly shareables and small plates; a few expected dishes include housemade tartines topped with caviar, smoked salmon and crème fraiche, alongside artisanal charcuterie boards. And if you’re feeling a little hungrier, then you can always head to JW Marriott’s other culinary concepts, like its Driftlight Steakhouse, American bistro SiX and casual, streetside cafe Turntable.

Sprouts has been aggressively growing in Florida. If you’re keeping track, the new Uptown location will be the 15th Sprouts in the Tampa Bay region and store No. 44 in Florida. As of now, only California (137), and Arizona (45) have more locations.

The new Sprouts location will also be one of first tenants to debut in the yet-to-be-completed, $100 million Rithm at Uptown development. The massive space already features a 359-unit USF off-campus housing development called Hub Tampa, and it will soon be home to the USF Institute of Applied Engineering, Vu Studio, streaming agency Endorphinz and an extended stay Marriott hotel.

“Once complete, Rithm will be one of the largest innovation communities in the state with capacity for over 7 million square feet of development, including several thousand residential units,” says the company website.

Aldi acquires Winn-Dixie supermarkets, details plans to convert some Florida stores Florida’s second largest grocery chain now has a new owner. Last Wednesday, German discount grocer Aldi announced plans to acquire nearly

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400 Southeastern Grocers’ Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores across Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to a press release.

“Like ALDI, Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket have long histories and many loyal customers in the Southeast and we look forward to serving them in the years to come,” said Jason Hart, CEO, ALDI in a statement. “The time was right to build on our growth momentum and help residents in the Southeast save on their grocery bills. The transaction supports our long-term growth strategy across the United States, including plans to add 120 new stores nationwide this year to reach a total of more than 2,400 stores by year-end.”

The sale price was not disclosed, and the transaction isn’t expected to be finalized until the first half of 2024, says the company. The announcement also detailed plans to convert some Winn-Dixies and Harvey’s locations into Aldis.

“ALDI will operate Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores with the same level of care and focus on quality and service, as we also evaluate which locations will convert to the ALDI format to better support the neighborhoods we’ll now have the privilege of serving,” added Hart. “For those stores we do not convert, our intention is that these continue to operate as Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores.”

The company did not say exactly which locations may get converted to Aldis.

St. Pete’s Oyster Bar closes flagship Central Avenue location ahead of relocation

A 200-block favorite will soon move elsewhere in St. Pete, although we’re not yet sure exactly where. Located at 249 Central Ave. around downtown St. Pete’s bustling First Block, The Oyster Bar took to social media to announce its eventual relocation.

FOOD NEWS

“This merger agreement is a testament to our successful transformational journey and the tireless work of our dedicated associates who serve our communities,” said Anthony Hucker, President and CEO, Southeastern Grocers. “ALDI shares our vision to provide exceptional quality, service and value - and this unique opportunity will evolve our business to benefit our customers, associates and neighbors throughout the Southeast.”—CW

“Thank you for an amazing near-25 years on the block. Our new Oyster Bar location is to be announced, but this DTSP space will be POPPIN’ very soon,” The Oyster Bar wrote. “Our new POP UP BAR will be taking over this residence; stay tuned for more details to come.”

The bar and restaurant’s last day at its flagship location was Sunday, Aug. 20. The Oyster Bar’s opening date in its new space in The ‘Burg is still unknown.

The Oyster Bar is owned and operated by Crafty Hospitality Group, the same company that will host a variety of seasonal pop-up bars in its

former Central Avenue space. Designed by local creative director Frank Clemente, ILovetheBurg says that its first pop-up bar will open its doors on Friday, Sep. 1, boasting “end-of-summer” vibes. As fall comes around, the highly-themed concept will transform into a brand new pop-up bar at the beginning of each month, inspired by Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is unsure if this rotating pop-up concept will continue in 2024. Crafty Hospitality Group—lead by local restaurateur Josh Cameron—also runs the downtown St. Pete hotspot Crafty Squirrel and Australian-themed brewpub Where’s Jubes.

The Oyster bar has been located at its flagship location in downtown St. Pete for almost 25 years. The bustling seafood restaurant and bar is known for its $1 oyster happy hour special, bottomless brunches, and wide variety of craft cocktails.

For the latest information on The Oyster Bar’s imminent move and the seasonal pop-up bars that will replace it, head to its Instagram at @oysterbarstpete.

REVIEWS PROFILES MUSIC WEEK

Lean in Hovercar lets listeners into its ‘Killing Jar.’

Nikki Raven wasn’t going to wear a bulletproof vest to Hovercar’s Sarasota Pride show last summer because, as she explained with a laugh, “They don’t make ‘em in pink.”

Raven, guitarist for Tampa rock duo Hovercar, was discussing the circus, and danger, that unfolded after a right-wing publication took offense to the band’s 2022 video for “Expensive People.” In it, she and drummer Alton Plemmons are surrounded by cocaine and hundred dollar bills as the song skewers capitalism and satirizes money-driven lifestyles. The issue even made it to a Bradenton municipal meeting. “It was obviously powdered sugar, but this lady wrote a fucking hit piece about how Hovercar is not safe for children,” Plemmons told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

In reality, Hovercar’s music is the kind of stuff that can define someone’s coming-of-age. Plemmons and Raven, both parents with three kids between them, are disciples of Songs for the Deaf, the 2002 album by hardrock hero Queens Of the Stone Age. The sound on their new album— Killing Jar, released in July—could only be produced by kids who sat on the school bus with a Discman or iPod in their lap, listening to grunge and 90s-2000s rock from bands like Trauma Ray, Nirvana, Veruca Salt, My Bloody Valentine, Garbage and Hole. And it’s the kind of album that could save a kid’s life, too.

Killing Jar is the soundtrack for a year that saw Plemmons watch his partner almost die in emergency rooms, and the journey Raven took after coming out as a transwoman in 2022. Its seven tracks are colored in 25 minutes of trauma and sadness. A lyrics website— songsforinjectinghormones.com—lays bare Hovercar’s rage, opens the window for healing, and gives listeners a glimpse into the love that is a hallmark of a band born in Covid isolation, but meant for the whole world to hear.

On “Wooden Gun,” Hovercar exposes religion as a prop used to prey on people looking for hope. The title track is inspired, in part, by

Didi Jackson’s “Moon Jar,” a collection of poetry that reflects on grief and reminds Raven of how she dealt with the loss of her father, who passed last January. “And honestly, I grieve myself in some ways. I think we all do," she said.

Death and transition manifest themselves in the image of a thermal butterfly, which is central to Killing Jar. It’s a reference to the process of preserving butterflies, where a captor stuns the insect to prevent it from damaging its wings before placing it in insecticide until it is relaxed—aka dead—enough to mount for display.

just how most women in this world are viewed anyways, because the patriarchy upholds that standard for all of us,” she said, adding that she doesn’t necessarily want to be a flag or a record label’s sales pitch. “I just want to be us. I want to be happy. I want to make music that matters to us. I want to lift people up. I want to speak truth—no matter what that looks like.”

INTERVIEW

Hovercar

Sunday, Aug. 27, 8 p.m. No cover Gift Shop Tattooing. 2704 N Florida Ave., Tampa. linktr.ee/Hovercar

The Bay area’s had quite a few chances to get a glimpse of what that looks like, too. After a Halloween house show and Emo Night Tampa gig late last year, Hovercar became a soughtafter band. Last May the band opened for Grouplove at a sold-out Floridian Social in St.

an afterparty featuring music, vegan food and small-batch beer from Ignorant Ales Brewing. When it celebrates a record that perfectly captures the last year, Hovercar will be surrounded by family and friends (Gift ShopTattooing founder Sean Kerwin did a majority of the work on both Plemmons and Raven) but new faces will surely be there, too. Fans have come out of the woodwork for Hovercar, attracted to its big rock and roll sound, and genuine messaging that’s a foil to so much of the disingenuous pandering that’s crept into a lot of music that gets pushed into listeners’ ears. They hear Raven when she sings about being scared. They, too, know what it’s like to watch a loved one on a hospital bed. And they are also looking for a way to simply get to the next day.

Raven isn’t shy about not being a positive optimist. She doesn’t do affirmations and instead stands ready to fight and make sure Hovercar’s voice is heard at the same volume as voices in the mainstream. She said that at the aforementioned Sarasota Pride show, there may have been five people actually listening; the thought of something bad happening definitely crossed her mind. “You start thinking, ‘Damn, what am I doing?,” she added.

But after that show, a queer teen and their parent walked up to them to buy a shirt. It reminded Raven of the ‘90s and the tactility of music—how buying merch can be symbolic of believing in a band’s message. Plemmons said parents have thanked him for helping their kids who’re struggling to live in a state that basically tells them they don’t exist.

“They’ve been dealing with suicidal thoughts and what not,” he added. “But then a parent comes up and says these songs got their kid through that shit, and made them see that you can have kids, and be a somewhat successful adult.”

As a trans woman, Raven feels like her beauty is continuously marketed, sexualized, tokenized and fetishized.

“A lot of times we’re either resorted to those things only, and we just become objects. That’s

Pete. This weekend, Hovercar caps off an open house party at Gift Shop Tattooing in Tampa Heights. Flash tattooing, a print-your-ownt-shirt pop-up, and specialty beverages from Only Child Coffee make up the afternoon before

And yes, Raven is concerned for everyone’s safety, but she watches Plemmons’ back, and he watches hers. She calls Plemmons her brother, and is big on people finding family then clinging to it.

“Lean in to the people that you love,” she said. “And know that there is healing, and there is hope.”

“Know that there is healing, and there is hope.”

THU 26

Clutch w/Giovannie and the Hired Guns/ Mike Dillon Neil Fallon and friends—on the road supporting Clutch’s latest, COVIDinspired Sunrise on Slaughter Beach album—have been going all Grateful Dead on our asses, switching up the setlist every night of the tour. The last time the band came into town, “Gimme The Keys” was known as “Bubonic Blues,” and “In Walks Barbarella” was under the working title of “Talkbox.” Not impressed? In December of 2017, Giovannie and the Hired Guns—the Nickelback-esque country-rock outfit that co-headlines this show—had just barely come to fruition. Mike Dillon, fresh off a June set at the Tampa Hard Rock with Les Claypool and Sean Lennon, opens. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)

Los Cafres For a 25th anniversary tour in 2017, Argentine reggae band Los Cafres visited U.S. cities where it had yet to perform. Three decades into its career, the group led by Guillermo Bonetto is still revered by a devoted fan base that remembers Los Cafres as one of the first Spanish-language rootsreggae bands to almost make it big. (Avalon Event Center, Tampa)

FRI 25

Aurelio Voltaire Normally, Aurelio Voltaire is Halloween royalty, but last December, the 56-year-old Havana-born performer gave fans one hell of a Christmas gift. His new album recruited members of David Bowie’s many repertoires—as well as members of My Chemical Romance and Trans-Siberian Orchestra—to collaborate on a 20-song musical inspired by “Labyrinth,” the 1986 movie fantasy film in which the Starman portrayed Jareth the Goblin King. (Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa)

Matt Walden w/Deb Ruby/Maude The Fort Myers-based singer-songwriter’s latest seven-track release This Album Is About Heartbreak begins with Walden questioning whether or not he’s toxic over a slow guitar, and closes with him talking about an empathetic barista who tells him to stay strong. (Hooch and Hive, Tampa)

Pleasures w/Movie Props/ Rogerthomas Katherine Kelly is a legend in St. Pete's indie-rock scene, and a lot of the lore is built around her band, Pleasures, which is still the standard other local psychrock outfits try to live up to. The group plays a new album, Torture Triangle , in full at this free show, along with classics from the Pleasures catalog. (Hooch and Hive, Tampa)

TroyBoi The Ritz usually a monopoly on untz every Friday night, but Armature Works has

booked 35-year-old British DJ and producer Troy Henry to play the venue’s “Gathering” venue and wedding space. Henry, better known as TroyBoi, has brought his houseinspired trap to records by Billie Eilish, and is riding high on a recent collaboration with Justin Bieber. (Armature Works, Tampa)

SAT 26

Damon Fowler The Tampa-based Butch Trucks alum is preparing for a brief, very scattered—city-wise anyway—U.S. tour in late September. Before he heads for Colorado Springs, Pittsburgh, and beyond, Fowler returns home to the Skipperdome, where he celebrated his birthday in March, and will close out his year come Dec. 16. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)

Glass Chapel w/Draining Kiss/ Sleeping Pills/Offerings Thanks to the Jags, kickass journalism from The Tributary and an electorate that’s turned Jacksonville into a blip of blue hope, Duval is having a moment. Bold City should be proud of Jake Phillips, too. His band, Glass Chapel, plays goth-rock for fans of Cold Cave, Joy Division and Gary Numan. It’s on the road supporting a new single “Foreign Rain / Where Roses Go,” and arrives at this no-cover gig alongside Gainesville darkwave outfit Draining Kiss, plus local favorites Sleeping Pills and Offering which also play dancey, Castleready post-punk and pop. (The Hub, Tampa)

Historic Kenwood’s Play Music On The Porch Day Roser Park has Porchfest, and it’s not the only St. Petersburg neighborhood that lets musicians sing on stoops. This weekend Historic Kenwood gets up somewhat early to take part in worldwide “Play Music On The

Porch Day” which has a mission and purpose that is pretty self-explanatory. The full day of music kicks off at folkie stronghold Craftsman House where WMNF’s Florida Folk Show happens from 10 a.m.-noon before the music moves to six nearby porches hosting 22 different artists playing everything from Americana (Ernstine Black, Mercy McCoy), jazz standards (Blue Island Group), fingerstyle (Sam Shube) and more. There’s no cover, but that tip jar is there for a reason. (Kenwood Historic District, St. Petersburg)

Jack Jallo Forever: A Celebration of Life w/Illuminate Me/Spider Inside Her/ Madtown/Gillian Carter/more Jack Jallo was the kind of frontman and bandmate who embodied the spontaneous, joyous spirit of making music in the live setting. He was an even better friend who would drive across state lines just to spend time with someone or drive a fellow music lover home from a house show so he could share his love of the DIY scene with them, too. His encouragement, kind words and sweet text messages are undoubtedly still being remembered and read by those who knew him, even months after his death last summer. To celebrate his life—and support local food banks and mental health coalitions—Jallo’s friends and bandmates have organized a concert where anyone can donate $5 or cans of food to get in. One of Jallo’s last bands, trash-punk and hardcore outfit Illuminate Me, headlines the show supported by heavy hitters from Orlando (Gillian Carter), plus local favorite like emo band Spider Inside Her and metalcore group Madtown. (Orpheum, Tampa)

Lionel Richie w/Earth, Wind & Fire Hello, is it the Commodores you’re looking for? Because almost half of Lionel Richie’s

current setlist consists of the R&B jams that put him on the map. Co-headliner Earth, Wind, and Fire—still featuring original members Philip Bailey, Verdine White, and Ralph Johnson—continues to salute the late Maurice White on a nightly basis, while also knocking out pretty much every horned up hit you could ever want. Though I have to say, its version of “Got To Get You Into My Life” doesn’t compare to The Beatles’ original. (Amalie Arena, Tampa)

Rob Zombie w/Alice Cooper/Ministry/ Filter Heavy metal icon Rob Zombie brought his Freaks On Parade run to Tampa last summer alongside Mudvayne, Static-X, and Powerman 5000. He’s bringing the tour back on the road in 2023, but with a lineup including one of the guys that put the 58-year-old superbeast on the map in the first place: Alice Cooper. Coop helped Zombie out in creating his Grammy-nominated first solo effort “Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)” back in 1996. Coop—without whom, heavy metal as we know it would not exist—has made a point to stop in Tampa Bay just about every year in the last decade. Whether he was tour debuting “Be My Lover” at Ruth Eckerd Hall, or co-headlining with Ace Frehley two nights after the current lineup of Kiss over at the ol’ Gary, there’s no excuse as to why a Tampa resident has not seen the king of shock rock live yet. (Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa)

Rock and Roll Revival: The New Brutarians w/Gino & the Goons/Teen Cobra/Dave Reeder Adam Turkel is a veritable legend in Tampa Bay’s rock and pop-art scenes, and this weekend he celebrates the fifth anniversary of his band, The New Brutarians with a free show inside Bayboro Brewing’s nascent small-capacity venue. The rock and roller is joined by an all-star cast for the gig, including Car Bomb Driver’s Dave Reeder playing solo, plus band sets from Washington D.C. lo-fi rock duo Teen Cobra and St. Pete wildboys Gino and the Goons. (Bayboro Brewing Co., St. Petersburg)

SUN 27

Flo Rida Sunday morning will mark the third time in the last year that Mr. “Low” has brought one of his incredibly fan-interactive gigs to Tampatown. Last December, the 43-year-old rapper was a last-minute fill-in for Black Eyed Peas at 93.3 FLZ Jingle Ball, opening for The Backstreet Boys with a 25-minute set. In March, he did a much longer gig at Busch Gardens’ Food and Wine Festival, and this weekend, he takes on a new setting altogether, because who doesn’t want Flo Rida at their pool party? (Hard Rock Event Center Pool at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa)

Kristopher James w/Songbird Shella

With all the filming of shows being done at The Far Forest, we didn’t think it would be long before one of Tampa Bay’s most soulful voices would get booked. Kristopher James’ Gayeslash-McDonald-esque vocals are backed by orchestral elements on his latest “I Can Only Love You In a Song,” and his band will probably launch into it at some point during this phone-free “songs and stories” gig, opened by Songbird Shella and her self-described “velvety vocals.” (The Far Forest, Tampa)

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Ol’ Dirty Sundays: MC Serch w/DJ Casper/DJ Fader/DJ Sandman Michael Berrin, aka MC Serch of NYC hip-hop trio 3rd Bass, is the special guest for this edition of Ybor City’s best weekly party. Tampa’s godfather of hip-hop DJ Sandman mans the ones and twos alongside residents Casper and Fader. (Crowbar, Ybor City)

Paul Gavin & Mosaic: Celebrating Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers The Tampa Jazz Club is about to start its new season, and Paul Gavin—the artistic director and arranger who works in both Fort Myers and Lake Wales—will kick everything off with a tribute to late legendary drummer Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers. The ensemble served as the first major outfit that numerous jazz giants—such as Chick Corea, Donald Byrd, and Wayne Shorter—were a part of. Don’t be shocked if someone mentions ol’ Chick though, who lived in Clearwater for the latter portion of his life. The nonprofit Tampa Jazz Club has already confirmed 10 more shows as part of its 2023-24 season, and more information is at tampajazzclub. com. (Mainstage Theatre at Hillsborough Community College,Ybor City)

TUE 29

Grey Day 2023: $uicideBoy$ w/ Ghostmane/City Morgue/Sematary/ Ramirez If horrorcore rap is going to have a moment in the sun, $uicideboy$ will be the reason. New Orleans cousins Scott Arceneaux Jr. and Aristos Petrou have made druggy lyrics, trap beats and big bass into a commodity, and built a fanbase that grows bigger each time the band rolls into town. This time, the boys’ show is at Tampa’s second-largest venues, alongside genre-mates all playing a similarly gloomy, turnt up brand of pop. (Amalie Arena, Tampa)

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Live in Concert “Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse” broke all sorts of barriers upon its theatrical release in 2018, both in animation and music. “The score wasn’t written to be played live,” tour conductor Emily Marshall told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay during a recent phone call. In preparation for this tour—in which a 13-piece, all-female, mostly POC orchestra, and a DJ will perform the score live, as the film rolls above—she got plenty of input from original composer Daniel Pemberton on how to bring the film

to life with his hip-hop-meets-orchestral score. “We’ve just been talking about how to make it seem as full, big and theatrical as it can with less musicians, but still making the sound as exciting as we can,” she added. Read our full interview at cltampa.com/ music. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)

THU 31

Ghost w/Amon Amarth After testing the arena waters with a show at Yuengling Center last September, metal giant Ghost now has plans to play the biggest venue in town. Ghost’s “Re-Imperatour U.S.A. 2023” finds the Swedish theatrical rock band playing in support of its fifth studio album, Impera , which entered the U.S. charts at No. 1. (MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa)

Needtobreathe Hard Rock Event Center turns into a cave this month when Grammynominated pop band Needtobreathe which arrives in support of its ninth, and perhaps most ambitious, studio album, Caves. (Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa)

Did you know that there are tunnels under Seventh Avenue?

Lana Del Rey just announced 10 non-festival performances in the U.S., one of which is set to take place in Tampa this fall. Tickets to see Del Rey play Tampa’s Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on Monday, Sept. 25 go on sale this Friday, but tickets prices had yet to be announced at press time.

The 38-year-old alt-pop darling is currently on the heels of her new Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd album, a collection of melancholic, mostly piano-driven poetry, featuring guest spots—and even a few interludes—from the likes of Bleachers, Father John Misty, and Jon Batiste. Ms. “Don’t Call Me Angel” hasn’t been to Florida since a 2018 gig at Orlando’s Amway Center—when a Florida Man was arrested for alleged stalking and kidnapping threats against her—and shockingly enough, Del Rey’s stop at the ol’ Gary this fall will be her first time ever in Tampatown.—Josh

‘Magnolia’ rapper Playboi Carti adds Tampa date to fall tour

The Southern Magnolia is a native Floridian flower, and thousands of people will sing its praises in the Bay area this fall when Playboi Carti arrives to play his biggest local show to date. The 26-year-old rapper recently added three new Florida dates to his “Antagonist” tour, including one in Tampa.

Tickets to see Carti play Amalie Arena in Tampa on Wednesday, Oct. 25 go on sale Friday, Aug. 4 and start at $45.75. A press release says rappers Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang open Carti first headline tour since 2021 under the “Opium Collective” moniker.

Carti, real name Jordan Terrell Carter, is riding high off a feature on Travis Scott’s new album Utopia . The rapper who brought his hit 2017 single “Magnolia” to The Ritz Ybor

hasn’t released an album since 2020’s Red, which hit no. 1 on the Billboard 200. He recently told social media followers that he has “new shit on the way,” and at Miami’s recent Rolling Loud also promised fans a new album “ASAP.”—Ray Roa

Tim McGraw’s ‘Standing Room Only’ tour is coming to Tampa next year

Ten years after he graced the cover of Men’s Health, Tim McGraw is still the leanest country music stud on the radio, and he’s giving fans a chance to see the bod—and revel in his body of work—for a 2024 tour that comes to Tampa Bay in March.

Tickets to see McGraw play Amalie Arena in Tampa on Friday, March 14 go on sale Friday, Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. EDT and start at $35.75. Opening the tour is Carly Pearce.

A press release promises a huge production and McGraw’s biggest hits when the 56-year-old hits the road in support of his forthcoming 17th studio album, Standing Room Only (rest assured, seats will be available at the show).

See Josh’s weekly rundown of new concert announcements below.—RR

Mikey Lion w/Lee Reynolds/Brian

Busto/Illanoise Friday, Sept. 1. 7 p.m. $20 & up. Floridian Social, St. Petersburg

Joey Fatone & Friends Friday, Sept. 15. 8 p.m. $39.50 & up. Tampa Theatre, Tampa

D4VD (opening for SZA) Friday, Sept. 22. 8 p.m. $233 & up (resale only). Amalie Arena, Tampa

Greg Billings Band (Tom King Farewell) Friday, Oct. 13. 8 p.m. $25 & up. Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater

Changes: A Bowie Odyssey Saturday, Oct. 21. 7 p.m. $15. Floridian Social, St. Petersburg

Mustard Service w/Sitting On Stacy

Friday, Nov. 3. 6 p.m. $18. Orpheum, Tampa

Mariachi Sol De Mexico® de Jóse

Hernàndez Thursday, Nov. 16. 8 p.m. $25 & up. Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater

SunSquabi w/Jason Leech Fri, Dec. 1. 10 p.m. $20 & up. Floridian Social, St. Petersburg

the Mountain Goats w/Peter One Thu, Dec. 14. 7 p.m. $45. Floridian Social, St. Petersburg

Gino Vannelli Thursday, March 7. 8 p.m. $69 & up. Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater

Madonna Thursday, April 4. 8:30 p.m. $115 & up, resale only. Amalie Arena, Tampa

Dog days

Dear Oracle, I am very much in love with my long-term partner. He’s absolutely the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I truly believe he’s my soulmate. But we’ve been fighting so much for the past month! Typically we’re very good at communication, but for some reason, we seem to just be getting on each other’s nerves and lashing out. The fights aren’t really about “big things,” so I’m unsure where the hostility on both ends comes from. Do the cards have any insight?—Moody Blues

Cards: First Quarter, Queen of Swords (reversed), Strength, Ten of Cups (reversed)

Dear Moody, for the past month, we have been in what the ancient Greeks called “the dog days of summer” because Sirius, the dog star, is in the sky. In ”The Iliad,” Homer called Sirius the “brightest of all, but an evil portent, bringing heat and fevers to suffering humanity.” It was generally known as a time when people were in the foulest of moods, their weakest minds, and were real quick to murder each other because it was too damn hot.

In 2023, we are in the middle of the hottest summer on record, suffering under an unrelenting heat dome. Regardless of what’s happening with you two, know that this heat is not making things easier. Rising temperatures can lead to fiery tempers, even if you’re typically cool-headed.

If you haven’t talked to your part ner already about these fights, I think it would be a good idea, too. You can address it neutrally like you did here, saying you’ve noticed that you’ve been fighting more, and you don’t like it. They probably feel the same way (who wants to fight?), and together you can talk about being a little more conscious of how you speak to each other.

And then go to the pool, get ice cream, or go to the movies. See if getting physi cally cool helps chill those hot tempers. vBest of luck, my dear.

Dear Oracle, through an inheritance, I find myself able to potentially buy a house. I would like to get a place where I could add a tiny house to the backyard so my longtime roommate, who’s on dis ability, can have a place of their own. I have no idea how to start this process. Any advice?—Big Tiny Dreams

Cards: Page of Wands, The Fool, Two of Wands

ORACLE OF YBOR

Send

For the “why” of the fights, I drew the First Quarter moon card, and The Queen of Swords reversed. The First quarter is about actions and our choices, and it looks like you’re both choosing to be more critical of each other. While the Queen of Swords can have a clear view, she often lacks tact and can be brutal when it’s not necessary. These small fights might be about bothersome things that need to be addressed, but it looks like you’re both saying your needs with the sharpest of tongues, leading to fights.

So what to do about it? To get back to that happily-ever-after Ten of Cups, you need Strength. The Strength card is not about force: it’s about trust, resilience, and empathy. In my deck, it’s a woman walking with a bear, and they are equals. You and your partner (whom you love so much!) are equals and each other’s support system. You gotta remember that you two are a team and to bring some empathy into the communication. Not only will that help the fights, but you’ll also have a better shot of getting them to actually clean the kitchen, or remember the recycling, or whatever you’re fighting about because they won’t feel defensive.

Dear BTD, congratulations on your windfall and your potential new home. I love the youthful energy of this ques tion, which is very in line with The Fool. I know this is an exciting new journey for you, one of which you haven’t experi enced before. So first, here is some practical advice:

1.) You’re going to get a real estate agent, one you like and trust. They’re going to help you in the process of find ing a house, ideally one without an HOA, because 2.) you’re going to look into all the laws and regulations about having a tiny house (which is going to be an “accessory dwelling unit” or ADU) in your backyard and what that does to your taxes, your home insurance, and your electric/water bills. 3.) If you can afford it, look into hiring a tiny house builder who can build one to accommodate your roommate’s disability (if need be), or get ready to teach yourself how to build a tiny house.

I assume you’ve already spoken to your room mate, and they’re gung-ho with this plan. With the hopeful energy of the Two of Wands and the slightly naïve Page of Wands, I think you are going into this plan full of heart and have the best intentions. It’s a great plan A. However, it might serve you to also develop a plan B. If the tiny house part doesn’t work

Would you want them to help you look for a house? Would you take their opinion or needs into account when buying?

The Page of Wands is a bit of a free spirit, so I wonder if there would be any tension if you loved a house, but your roommate hated

to consider.

However, there is an unshakable optimism to these cards, and I don’t want to crush that. Have a professional help you with all the legal stuff, and best of luck with house hunting and possibly house building. Best of luck, my darling!

Millstones

I’m a man in his 40s and my partner is in their 30s and non-binary. We’ve been together for three years and officially living together for about a year. Things have been a little tumultuous during that time, due to issues with my kids, my kids’ mom, and my own fears about compatibility and commitment. She (my partner) is demanding “relationship milestones” that signify my commitment to her. Previous significant milestones, like becoming official, moving in together, her meeting my kids, etc., were “sullied” (and are therefore invalidated somehow) because they weren’t executed with enough “enthusiasm” or “careful planning.” I would very much like to give her the milestones she craves, but aside from popping the question—and I’m definitely not ready for that!—I’m struggling to come up with “milestones” that would be of sufficient significance. And when I ask for examples, all I get are ideas I’m not ready for, like getting married or getting a cat.—Moving In Lacked Emotional

Significance

satisfied. And there are some people out there who don’t wanna be satisfied, MILES, and I suspect your new partner is one of those people. If constantly finding fault and expressing disappointment means you’re always having to make things up to her, MILES, she’s never going to be satisfied with anything. Because her ability to point out the sullying detail gives her power over you.

SAVAGE LOVE

In fairness to your partner, MILES, there’s nothing unreasonable about wanting to be married after three years together. But life is messy and chaotic, and life with a divorced man with children from a previous relationship comes with more mess and more chaos, and an understandable reluctance to remarry. Consequently, a divorced man with kids isn’t an ideal partner for someone who requires perfectly executed grand romantic gestures to be made happy—assuming they can be made happy—and someone who requires perfectly executed grand romantic gestures isn’t an ideal partner for a divorced man with kids.

if discreetly meeting up with a lover or hiring a sex worker makes it possible for you to stay married and stay sane—if it makes it possible for you to be the partner your husband needs now—do what you need to do.

I have a sexting partner and we’re about to go from just texts to actually meeting up in real life. But in our text exchanges, we don’t discuss things like condoms, protection, personal hygiene, etc., as everything is strictly fantasy. How do I start incorporating real life concerns and questions into these fantasies?—Fantasies Erotic And Realities Serious

Instead of attempting to do the impossible— and incorporating condoms, protection, personal hygiene, etc., into fantasy text exchange is impossible—you should send your sexting partner a stand-alone, not-trying-to-be-sexy “concerns and logistics” message after your next sexting session. Let them know there are some practical matters you would like to discuss in advance of your first face-to-face meeting. Then you can bring up condoms, other protections, your expectations around personal hygiene, and anything else you want to discuss before that first meeting.

not doing right. I know a lot of guys are just looking for fun, but I don’t want to have to give up the dick just to get to know someone. What advice can you give me regarding finding guys who would be interested in getting to know me?

First and most importantly: the pronoun situation. You open by identifying your partner as non-binary but then go on to use she/her pronouns in reference to your partner throughout the rest of your letter. Since you’ve been seeing this person for three years—and since this nonbinary person doesn’t strike me as the kind of non-binary person who would let misgendering slide — I’m gonna assume your partner is one of those non-binary AFAB persons who uses she/ her pronouns. They’re out there, they’re totally valid, they like to keep us binaries on our toes. With that out of the way…

The person you’re dating—the person you’re living with—doesn’t sound like someone who is easily satisfied. Becoming official fell short of her expectations, meeting your kids wasn’t magical enough, there wasn’t a 21-gun salute or whatever she expected when you moved in together… there’s definitely a pattern here, MILES, and it’s a worrying one. Meaning, I have a hunch your marriage proposal, if and when you decide to propose, will be another disappointment. The setting won’t be romantic enough, the diamond won’t be big enough, the choreography for the flash mob won’t be flashy enough. Then something will go wrong at the wedding, forever sullying her memories of it, she’ll find a reason to be disappointed by the honeymoon, the cat won’t be the right color, and on and on and on.

Actual life experiences rarely live up to our idealized fantasies and someone who can’t focus on the good—someone who can’t take almost or close enough for an answer—will never be

P.S. Another hunch… if she’s the kind of person who talks about her “birthday week” or, God forbid, her “birthday month,” run. There’s no pleasing those people.

My husband has neurological memory problems. Not Alzheimer’s, but similar in some ways, and it does require me to do a fair amount for him. I have to remind him of every little thing, fix tons of “problems,” accompany him everywhere (because otherwise he gets lost), etc., etc., etc. The end result is, I feel more like his parent or his nurse or live-in tech support than his spouse. We love each other, but it’s not the same as it was, and never can be again. This is very frustrating for him to go through, but it’s also very frustrating for me. He’s the one with a memory problem, but I can’t even remember the last time we did anything more than hug or share a goodbye kiss. Probably not in at least 10 years or more. I’ve basically had to give up a huge part of myself, and I don’t know how to get that back. I feel starved. I feel dead inside. How can I bring myself back to life?—Frustrated

You’re his caretaker now, not his romantic partner, FAR, and you demonstrate your loyalty to your husband by staying, by being at his side whenever he leaves the house, by reminding him to take his meds, etc., etc., etc. As a caretaker, you’re under a tremendous amount of pressure and, if you’re an American, you live in a country that provides zero support for people taking care of chronically ill or disabled loved ones. So, you need to take care of yourself, FAR, and

Additionally, FEARS, if you’ve expressed interest in something during your sext exchanges that you don’t want to experience in real life not now, not ever—or if you’ve played along with something your sexting partner was fantasizing about that you’re not interested in doing with or for them, now’s the time to walk that shit back.

I know you usually get questions about sex, but I’ve got one about dating. I’m a 41-year-old cis gay man who lives in a large metropolitan area, but for some reason, I cannot establish a dating life. I have tried dating apps and sites, but the only men who seem to want to talk to me are the BBC chasers (I’m a tall Black man) or guys just looking to hook up. I’m not interested in hooking up, as I’m demisexual and I’m not really interested in someone who’s just after sex. What I want is to find a guy to get to know. I’ve been putting a lot of work into myself over the last few years. I’ve got a life coach and I’ve been seeing a therapist several times a month to help me work through some things from my past. But I can’t help but feel like there’s something I’m either missing or

There are definitely gay men on hookup apps who wanna take it slow and get to know someone first—I mean, you’re one of those men, right? That said, every gay couple I know—to say nothing of all the gay Burner polycules I know— are one-night stands that stuck. You obviously shouldn’t waste time on BBC chasers, if being objectified like that turns you off. But closing yourself off to guys who are looking for a hookup might be interfering with your search for a date, to say nothing of a partner. Now, you say you identify as demisexual, and I want to respect that, DID. But some people use “demi” to mean, “I experience no feelings of sexual attraction in the absence of an emotional connection,” while others use “demi” to mean, “I wanna take things slow.” If you fall into the former camp, you should take advice Ann Landers was giving her single readers in the 1960s: volunteer on political campaigns, join clubs, sign up for kickball leagues. Organized group activities—the fully-clothed kind—will give you a chance to get to know people you might wanna date.

But if you fall into the latter camp, DID, you take things slow and have the kind of onenight stands that get gay relationships off the ground. Tell the men you meet online that you wanna hookup, sure, but that you’re only interested in some light messing around, e.g., some mutual masturbation, maybe some oral, but not anything serious/ penetrative will have to wait until you’ve gotten to know them a little better. Guys who don’t like the sound of that will pass, but guys who are open to getting to know you—guys who are willing to work for that dick—will show up.

P.S. You can meet guys on apps and volunteer, join, kick balls, etc., at the same time. You don’t have to pick one. And if you spot a guy from your kickball league on Grindr one night, DID, there’s your opening.

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NOTE: The five theme answers in this puzzle