m The Persuasions
Details: Friday 6:30 p.m. The Craftsman House, 2955 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $33 and up. (727) 323-2787.
Hey, Gleeks and Sing-Off fans, thought you might be interested. Deans of street corner singing the Persuasions, among the longest-lived a cappella groups in America, are playing an intimate St. Pete gig this week. (Rockapella and Boyz II Men cite the group as a major influence.) Since the '60s, they've covered artists as varied as Frank Zappa, the Grateful Dead and Sam Cooke. At this show, they'll add Bob Dylan to the repertoire.
m Joshua Radin
With Anya Marina, Andrew Allen
Details: Tuesday 6 p.m. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $19.50. (727) 895-3045.
If not for a shared wall in his apartment building, Joshua Radin's hushed vocal style and courteous acoustic playing (some call it "whisper rock") may have never come to be. Today this sleepy, lovelorn strummer is up there with the Hotel Café crop of top singer-songwriters. He returns to town not long after an opening gig for the Script last fall.
Pelican Pop Fest
Details: Friday and Saturday 7 p.m. The Local 662, 662 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. And Fubar, 658 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $7 for a two-day pass.
Featuring Mogul Street Reserve, the Equines, Easybreezy, Friends of Giants, Gentlemen Please (Fri. at the Local 662). Holiday, Futureman, Signals from Satellites, Fancy Rat, the Wanderer (Fri. at Fubar). Automatic Loveletter, Davy and the Gods, Faux Furs, the Future Now, Sleepy Vikings (Sat. at the Local 662). The Age of Pisces, Escape Tonight, Dead Sound, Adam Randall, Callaterra (Sat. at Fubar).
More proof that St. Pete's 600 block is making a comeback: Pelican Pop Fest is bringing more quality local acts than any festival we can remember in recent years. Ninety-pound fireball (and Clearwater native) Juliet Simms (pictured here) and Automatic Loveletter headline Saturday night at the Local 662. Simms' range — from kitty cat croon to Joplinesque wail — is complemented by brother Tommy's striking ax work. Gentlemen Please offers rock randomness with skewed rhythms and gauzy effects, while Mogul Street Reserve looks poised to become Tampa Bay's new prog rock representation.
Wolfgang Gartner
With Afrobeta, Riotgear
Details: Friday 9 p.m. Ritz Ybor, 1503 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $22-$25. (813) 247-2555.
In 2010, DJs Deadmau5, David Guetta and Wolfgang Gartner crept up the arena-electronica ranks, commanding crowds of 50,000-plus at Coachella, Lollapalooza and the Ultra Music Festival. Gartner is a 2011 Grammy nominee with an arsenal of spooky tech-house and some playful electro. If you like Deadmau5 or Justice, check out Gartner, who's billing this string of tour dates "The Road to Ultra." To that end, there will be Ultra Music Festival ticket and merch giveaways Friday.
The Sunshine Factory
With Sons of Hippies, Young Egypt
Details: Friday 9 p.m. New World Brewery, 1313 E Eighth Ave., Ybor City. $7. (813) 248-4969.
Shoegaze out of Mobile, Ala.? Stranger things have happened, we suppose. The Sunshine Factory is a simple trio with killer cacophony and dreams of drizzly London nights. The group specializes in drone tones with psych-pop sprinkles a la My Bloody Valentine, the Jesus and Mary Chain or nu-gazing crew the Black Angels.
Times correspondent Carole Liparoto can be reached at carole.liparoto@gmail.com.
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