Weekend spotlight: And the calendar starts to fill up

What with all the stage entertainment options this weekend, it’s almost as if the prune-dry dog days of August had never happened.

The big show is, of course, Bruno Mars’ two-night Romantic Tour stop at Raymond James Stadium, Saturday and Sunday. A good number of reserved seats are still available for both shows (7 p.m. each day). Check this link for tickets.

Tonight (Thursday, Sept. 10) delivers country music’s Luke Bryan to the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre (tickets are here) and Ann Wilson, lead singer of Heart, and her band Tripsitter to the Capitol Theatre (tickets are here).

The Catalyst spoke with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer this week; here’s that interview.

Stroking

The Strokes play Benchmark International Arena Saturday. The New York rockers released their Rick Rubin-produced seventh album, Reality Awaits, in July. Showtime is 7 p.m.; tickets are at this link.

FYI, all shows on the Strokes’ upcoming tour of the U.K. (September/October) are sold out.

1990s rapper (and Florida resident Robert “Vanilla Ice” Van Winkle is paret of Friday’s concert package at Ferg’s Pavilion. Publicity photo.

Vintage rap

Close your eyes and it could be ‘90s hip hop radio all over again. That’s the hope at Ferg’s Pavilion, where Friday’s lineup includes Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc, Montell Jordan and 2 Live Crew (founder and “visionary” Luke Campbell is no longer with the famously controversial Miami rap act).

This is how we do it: Tickets can be found at this link. The show begins at 7 p.m.

Other concerts

Friday’s Snow Strippers show at Jannus Live is sold out.

The genre-jumping Mexican band Grupo Frontera plays the Yuengling Center, on the University of South Florida Tampa campus, Friday. The group’s collaboration with Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny, “Un x100to,” was a Top Five hit in 2023. Tickets for Friday’s concert can be found here.

Kehlani is at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre Friday. Publicity photo.

Friday: Kehlani at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre. The R&B/hip hop vocalist is a two-time Grammy winner who appeared on America’s Got Talent in 2011 as a member of the group Poplyfe. She has become somewhat controversial for anti-Israel statements. Tickets.

Saturday at the BayCare Sound (3:15 p.m. start time). The EDM “MorFlow Fest,” with Mersiv and support acts Caspa, Wreckno, Super Future, Seth David, Zen Selekta, FloZone and RJ WLKR.  Tickets.

The Mavericks perform Saturday at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Since lead singer and songwriter Raul Malo passed away last year, this is a “Mavericks & Friends” show, with guest vocalists joining the surviving musicians to perform Malo’s songs. Read more and find tickets at this link.

Arranger and conductor Steve Hackman’s Taylor Swift: The Symphony Era, consisting of some of the pop singer’s best-known songs performed by a rock band, guest vocalists, The Florida Orchestra and the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, is onstage Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert are at this link.

On theater stages

Sept. 10-20 Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a comedy by Christopher Durang, opens the season tonight at the Off-Central Players in St. Petersburg. It runs through Sept. 209; showtimes and tickets are at this link.

Stageworks Theatre Act 2 series continues (at 3 p.m.) with a Glee-inspired mashup cabaret, which you can read about (and buy tickets for) here.

The state-of-the-art New Tampa Performing Arts Center opened in 2023. Photo provided.

New Tampa Arts Fest 

The New Tampa Performing Arts Center, at 8550 Hunters Village Road, Tampa has its 2026 Arts Fest Friday through Sunday. It’s by way of introduction to the 20,000-square-foot performing arts venue, built in 2023 with state-of-the-art sound, lights and auditorium.

Everything’s free this weekend, from theater to dance to music to comedy. There’s stuff for children, and backstage tours, too; see the entire weekend lineup at this link.

Coming soon

Sept. 16 Modest Mouse at the BayCare Sound

Sept. 17 Robin Trower at Jannus Live

Sept. 17 Empire of the Sun at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre

Sept. 17 Hispanic Heritage Month: Opening Celebration at the Dali Museum

Sept. 18 & 19 The Florida Orchestra Pirates of the Caribbean/The Curse of the Black Pearl in Concert at the Mahaffey Theater

Sept. 19 John Fogarty, Steve Winwood at the BayCare Sound

Sept. 19 Free Museum Day

Sept. 20 Benise at New Tampa Performing Arts Center

Sept. 22 W.A.S.P. at Ruth Eckerd Hall

Sept. 23 TLC, Salt N Pepa, En Vogue at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre

Sept. 23 Michael Franti Trio at Jannus Live

Sept. 24 Wu Tang at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre

Sept 24 Little Big Town at the Mahaffey Theater

Sept. 25 Tim McGraw at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre

Sept. 25 Rise Against at the BayCare Sound

Sept. 25 Winger at Ferg’s Pavilion

Your Weekend Spotlight appears every Thursday in the Catalyst’s CREATE section. 

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