Weekend forecast: You can count on Slash

Hopefully everyone who had purchased tickets to see Lauryn Hill Friday has heard by now that the singer’s entire American tour was canceled. Tuesday. Three days before the show at Tampa’s Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Something like this changes plans, right? Dinner out, babysitter, maybe an Uber. Well, so much for that.

Hill has a reputation for canceling shows, and entire tours. When she does show up, she goes onstage late. A lot.

This was her third time disappointing fans in the bay area. In 2018, she canceled a show at Al Lang Field with just five days to go. And Friday’s cancellation was in fact a make-up date for a show originally scheduled for Amalie Arena last December.

Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.

Slash ‘n burn

Former Guns N Roses guitarist Slash fully intends to be at the Baycare Sound for Saturday’s concert. He told our friends at Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he was particularly happy to get the band Larkin Poe on the bill for his ongoing S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival tour.

“They’re one of those kinds of artists that are just mesmerizing, you know?” said of the band built around Georgia sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell. “Very soulful. I mean, all the artists that we put on this tour are really great, and I’m very happy and honored that they would come and do this.”

RELATED READING: The Catalyst interview: Larkin Poe (2022)

Also on Saturday’s marquee are “sacred steel” master Robert Randolph and blues singer and songwriter ZZ Ward.

S.E.R.P.E.N.T. stands for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance.

Slash (aka Saul Hudson) has just released Orgy of the Damned, his sixth album as a solo artist. The all-blues album features appearances by Chris Stapleton, Billy Gibbons, Demi Lovato, Iggy Pop, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson (a resident of Sarasota County), Paul Rodgers, Chris Robinson (Black Crowes) and others.

His band for this tour includes bassist Johnny Griparic, keyboardist Teddy “ZigZag” Andreadis, drummer Michael Jerome and singer/guitarist Tash Neal.

Find tickets here.

There are two concerts at Amalie Arena this weekend: Saturday brings the return of Freestyle Explosion Throwback Jam, with the headlining performers listed as Stevie B, Lisa Lisa and Exposé, plus six other acts. There is, however, an asterisk on the venue’s web page for this show, with a disclaimer: *ARTIST SCHEDULED TO APPEAR SUBJECT TO CHANGE. So there you go. Tickets.

Suicide Boys. Publicity photo.

At Amalie Sunday is the punk-rap duo Suicideboys (also spelled $uicideboy$), from New Orleans, on their annual “Grey Day” summertime trek. Also on the rap/hardcore bill are Denzel Curry, Pouya, HAARPER, Shakewell and Ekkstacy.

They were one of Spotify’s Top Groups of 2023, and one of SoundCloud’s Top 5 Most Streamed Artists. Tickets.

The Palladium Theater’s Side Door cabaret is very much alive with the sound of music. Tonight, bay area jazz saxophonists Kyle Shroeder, Mike Scaglione and Kenny Anderson perform the music of the late, great David Sanborn. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. performance are here.

Singer/songwriters Laura Reed and Kristopher James play the Side Door Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets.

In “Orange”: Kathryn Huettel, left, and Annalise Drab. Image: Stage Photography of Tampa.

On theater stages

At the Off-Central, the remarkable dark comedy Orange enters its final weekend. Aditi Kapil’s play is the story of the 17-year-old Indian-American girl Leela, who is on the autism spectrum, visiting California for a family event and whisked away for a wild and sometimes unsettling adventure with her (slightly) older cousin. Read more here.

Fable opens at freeFall Theatre Friday; Doug DeVita’s imagining of the real-life rivalry between sisters June Havoc and Gypsy Rose Lee; the former is an actress while the latter’s career as an exotic dancer would be chronicled in the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy. How much of that iconic show was truth, and how much was made up? Info and tickets are here.

Actress Liz Power (June) will be our guest on Friday’s Arts Alive! podcast.

You knew it would come to this: The Rocky Horror Show ends its record-breaking Jobsite Theater run with shows tonight and Friday. Find all you need to know – and maybe more – here.

It’s ArtWalk weekend

The August Second Saturday ArtWalk, during which 40 galleries and studios open their doors for you to come in, hang out and look around, is Saturday 5 to 9 p.m. Here’s the map for the August edition of the self-guided tour.

Your weekend arts forecast appears every Thursday in the Catalyst. 

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