Weekend forecast: Sad Summer happiness

The Sad Summer Festival, which visits the Baycare Sound amphitheater Saturday, is a multi-band event that grew out of the Warped Tour, a cross-country musical caravan that lasted nearly 25 years.

The Maine and Mayday Parade headline an eight-hour cavalcade of punk, pop/punk, rock and emo bands.

Said the Maine’s lead singer John O’Callaghan in 2019, when the first SSF was launching: “The pressure our band are feeling is, what kind of experience are we delivering? Pat [Kirch, Maine drummer] said it a while ago: When you go to festivals these days – and it’s not a knock; it’s just the way that it is – the lineups generally range from all sorts of styles of music.

“I think we’re going for something the exact opposite. Not to say our bands don’t differentiate in sound, but I feel like it was very important to keep in mind the audience, the people that are actually going to show up. Maybe they don’t land necessarily at Pitchfork’s festival or Lollapalooza. It’s definitely derived from that Warped Tour crowd. I think the pressure on us is to deliver an experience that feels completely submersive, like you’re going to the festival, and it’s not just a Warped Tour experience.”

The bill also includes Bradenton’s We The Kings, plus the Wonder Years, Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, Hot Milk, Daisy Grenade and Diva Bleach.

(The tour was so named when one of the musicians reportedly remarked: “It’s going to be a sad summer when there’s no more Warped.”)

Gates open at 1; the general admission show starts at 2. Find tickets here.

O Som Do Jazz performs Saturday at the Museum of the American Arts & Crafts Movement. Publicity photo.

Jazz in town

Boys just want to have fun. La Lucha – John O’Leary (piano and synthesizer), Mark Feinman (drums, electronic drums) and Alejandro Arenas (bass, bass synthesizer) – have another of their “special” shows (meaning more than top-drawer jazz) Friday at freeFall Theatre. The all 1980s music performance includes swingin’ interpretation of everything from Mike Jackson to Madonna, from Boy George to George Michael. Guianna guests on vocals and guitar. Tickets are here.

Saturday in the Museum of the American Arts & Crafts Movement ballroom, it’s the bay area Brazilian-music band O Som Do Jazz. Fronted by singer Andrea Moraes Manson and musical-directed by composer and trombonist David Manson, the group plays samba, bossa nova, MPB and Baião. All three members of La Lucha are in the band, too. Find tickets here.

Miami-based pianist/composer Dr. Zachary Bartholomew is back at the Palladium Theater Side Door Cabaret Friday, with a release party and concert celebrating his new album, Balancing Act. Onstage with Dr. Zach for the show are trumpeter Benny Benack III, saxophonist David Fernandez, bassist Marty Quinn and drummer Rodolfo Zuniga. Tickets.

More concerts

J’Nelle sings at the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art Saturday. Facebook photo.

Music in Tampa is all over the spectrum tonight (Thursday, July 25) as Third Eye Blind and Yellowcard share the bill at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre (tickets), and none other than Donny Osmond sings at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center (tickets).

Saturday at 7 p.m., Trinidadian (by way of Tampa) singer/songwriter (and vocal coach) Janelle J’Nelle Richardson performs at the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art. Sample her music here, and find tickets here.

Kaleigh Baker, Matt Walker, Mark Cunningham and Sam Farmer are Someday Honey, a longtime favorite at the late and lamented Hideaway Café. They’re back together for a Saturday night show at the Palladium Side Door. Tickets are here.

On theater stages

The Rocky Horror Show continues, firing on all cylinders, at Jobsite Theatre. The madcap musical will be onstage through Aug. 9. Tickets.

It’s the penultimate weekend for the “fantasy fable” The Figs at American Stage, onstage through Aug. 4. Tickets.

Your weekend arts forecast appears every Thursday in the Catalyst. 

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