LYLE LOVETT
With John Hiatt
Details: Tonight at 8. Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $55-$75. (727) 791-7400.
No band, no backup, no nonsense. Okay, some nonsense. The often spontaneous and witty Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt, two veteran singer-songwriters, will rejoin forces to swap stories and songs during this intimate "unplugged" performance. Lovett sprang up fully formed in 1986 with a Randy Newman-meets-Townes Van Zandt style, one full of wry tales and black humor. Hiatt, a Hoosier who knows his way around a hook, has managed to fly somewhat under the radar despite writing hit singles for Bonnie Raitt, Three Dog Night and others. Together, these guys don't just sing songs. They live them.
Carole Liparoto, Times correspondent
Black Lips
With the People's Temple
Details: Friday 8 p.m. Orpheum, 1915 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $10-$12. (813) 248-9500.
Not to be confused with the Black Kids, Flaming Lips or Black Keys, Atlanta garage group Black Lips have a reputation for wild antics, both onstage and off. We're talking casual nakedness, onstage vomiting and urination, guitar-smashing, plenty of drugs … the usual. Spin magazine is a huge fan, which is how the band ended up on the cover last year, aiming a flaming guitar at the camera. Though their fuzzy Mod sound owes more to the Kinks and Combat Rock-era Clash than Green Day or Blink-182, Black Lips are still a perfect fit to headline the Skatepark of Tampa's biggest annual party, Tampa Pro 2012.
SBTRKT
With Spies on Bikes, Sidedraft
Details: Saturday 8 p.m. Orpheum, 1915 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $16-$20. (813) 248-9500.
Things you need to know: (1.) It's pronounced "subtract." (2.) He's a British DJ-producer named Aaron Jerome, but he prefers to work anonymously, wearing an elaborate native tribal mask during shows and in all promotional photos. (3.) He's a favorite of artists like Drake, Little Dragon and Radiohead, who asked him to remix their single Lotus Flower. (4.) His music is slinky, soulful and free of the lunatic bombast that tends to dominate the electronic dance music world these days. You're much more likely to hear moody songs like Trials of the Past or Never Never in an upscale fashion boutique than a college brostep night at your local vodkatorium — which makes his unexpected appearance in Ybor City all the cooler.
Diana Krall
Details: Wednesday 8 p.m. Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $72-$135. (727) 791-7400.
We would have loved to have seen Mrs. Elvis Costello on Valentine's Day, the date she was originally booked at Ruth Eckerd Hall. But Krall postponed that gig when she was invited to perform with Paul McCartney at the Grammy Awards. Even we can't blame her for that. The smoky-voiced jazz chanteuse worked closely with McCartney on his new album of jazz standards, Kisses on the Bottom, arranging much of the music and playing piano on all but one of the tracks.
Hot Chelle Rae
With Electric Touch, Cady Groves
Details: Sunday 7 p.m. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $16-$19. (727) 895-3045.
Radio Disney mainstays Hot Chelle Rae are no strangers to the Tampa Bay music scene, having opened for We the Kings at the State Theatre and the Script at Ruth Eckerd Hall. But ever so gradually, the Nashville pop group has attained national fame on their own, thanks to the so-dumb-it's-brilliant smash single Tonight Tonight and its even-dumber-yet-even-more-brilliant followup, I Like It Like That. So omnipresent were these singles in 2011 that the group was invited to perform with Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.
Little Big Town
Details: Friday. Doors open at 7 p.m. Dallas Bull, 3322 U.S. 301 N, Tampa. $20-$25. (813) 987-2855.
Little Big Town predates fellow coed country groups Lady Antebellum and the Band Perry by a few years, though they never quite reached the same heights of success. Puzzling, since their folksy harmonies (Kiss Goodbye), pop-rock leanings (Boondocks, Everything Changes) and multi-vocalist approach have led many to call them Nashville's Fleetwood Mac. Enjoy this chance to see them in close quarters, before they tour amphitheaters this summer with good friends Rascal Flatts. Expect the Bull to be absolutely packed for this one.
The Naked and Famous
With Now Now, Vacationer
Details: Wednesday 7 p.m. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $18. (727) 895-3045.
Much like Shrek the Sheep and Flight of the Conchords, the Naked and Famous have burst forth from tiny New Zealand to win fans the world over. The indie-rock outfit's debut album, Passive Me, Aggressive You, produced one of the most irresistible singles of the 2010s, Young Blood, a synth-packed power-pop anthem in the vein of MGMT and Passion Pit.
Times staff writer Jay Cridlin can be reached at jcridlin@tampabay.com.
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