Members of the Tampa Bay music scene

I’m a regular in a Reddit subgroup that represents the entirety of the Tampa Bay area, /r/tampabay.  Most of the citizens of the cities in the Bay area aren’t members of that group, they’re in the singular cities like /r/tampa, /r/stpetersnurgFL, or not in a city subgroup as all (hey, power to the people – it’s not like everyone goes on Reddit to talk about local life).

Anyway, a couple of months ago on the less-populous /r/tampabay subreddit, a new-resident sounded a disdain for the lack of original musicians in the Tampa Bay area:

So, I’m starting to think there just doesn’t exist any kind of local music scene here at all, unless you consider septuagenarians playing jurassic-rock covers a “scene”. Please tell me I’m wrong. The only show that I’ve gone to in a year and a half was when I flew back to Ohio to visit. This is depressing.

This opens up a question of where in the Bay area they were looking for performances and when – it’s not like it’d happen every day of the week. It’s also not like you can expect original music by local band members to be available at a golf resort or at a bar/pub/club/tavern deep in suburbia.  Oh, it likely happens but you’re more likely to get cover acts in small time locales like that.

Lack of local music scene, though? No… That’s not the case.

You have to know where to g to find them performing (St. Petersburg’s Central Avenue and Ybor City in Tampa for starters) and knowing who they are and who is another aspect. Wouldn’t it help to know members of the local scene and perhaps hear a sample of their work before going to see them live?

The 2017 Best of the Bay reader poll is out now (voting is open until late August) and one area that just so happens to address some of the whom of the local scene is in the Arts & Entertainment section of the Best of the Bay ballot. Below is a list of the nominees for Best Local Band. I’ve taken the liberty to link where and when I can to their web sites so you can find more information about them and perhaps sample their songs. Not all the local acts I know of are on this list, while some other voting categories cover other genres and musical aspects.  Whatever – these are the 2017 Best of the Bay nominees for Best Local Band:

(Note: Some of the below listed groups are also listed under “Best Cover Bands” on the 2017 Best of the Bay Arts and Entertainment page. Because that list includes artists with original content such as Four Star Riot , cover bands are removed on a case-by-case basis)

Here are some groups/performers of note that did not make the “Best Local Band” list and who are to be found on the Tampa Bay music scene:

There you go, a taste of the local scene.  And it’s a hell of a lot fuller when you’re actually out there sampling it on Central Avenue in St. Pete or somewhere in Tampa.

Of course not all original acts are listed here (and many cover acts are still on the list).  I’d encourage other artists / band reps to use comments if you want to make sure your own act is listed.

July 29, 2017 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Music. & Lyrics, Tampa Bay 4 Comments »

4 Comments to Members of the Tampa Bay music scene

  1. Nick St. Hilaire says:
    July 30, 2017 at 7:28 PM

    Off the top of my head:

    Seafang
    Geri X
    Rancid Polecats
    Permanent Makeup
    Wolf face
    Jacqui and the Dropouts
    Boney Fiend
    Funeral Daiseys
    Doll Parts
    Little Sheba and the Shamans
    Zanesville

    • John Fontana says:
      July 30, 2017 at 7:38 PM

      Thanks Nick. For the sake of saying so, hasn’t Geri X gone national? One of her songs had made it on Music Tampa Bay’s Top 40, I looked her up and there was an article saying she’s based out of Atlanta now and had come back for a performance and la-de-da. (Also – it was impossible to find an online version of the song that she was listed under on MTB).

  2. Kevin says:
    August 2, 2017 at 3:24 PM

    Thank you for compiling all of the info here. Great help. I am looking for local bands for Ribfest in St Pete for November so this is an excellent resource. I appreciate all of the links. We do have a lot of talent in the bay area. Well done…