Wild Splash >>
Details: 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Coachman Park, 301 Drew St., Clearwater. $22. wild941.com/wildsplash.
Featuring Lil Kee and Javon Black, Roscoe Dash, Real and Chance, Yo Gotti, Trina, New Boyz, B.O.B., Damian Marley, Plies and Fella
After a stint at Ford Amphitheatre, Wild 94.1's annual concert returns to the oceanside setting at Coachman Park, where it belongs. It's a spring break party after all. Local R&B/rap representatives Lil Kee and Javon Black kick off the show. Other performers include Yo Gotti (Women Lie, Men Lie), "baddest chick" Trina (Single Again) and Fort Myers "goon" Plies (Awesome) in the headlining slot. But don't miss funky Southerner B.O.B. (especially if you own a copy of Outkast's Stankonia) or latest festival addition Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley. Marley's Welcome to Jamrock, the monster track in which he describes the poverty and political violence plaguing Jamaica, was recently dubbed the best reggae song of the decade by the New York Times. One more thing to keep in mind: This year's concert may have moved back to Coachman Park, but Wild 94.1's official pre- and after-parties are staying in Tampa. They'll be at Club Skye in Ybor City.
Bruce Katz
Details: 10 p.m. Friday. Ace's Lounge, 4343 Palma Sola Blvd., Bradenton. $8-$12. (941) 795-3886.
Customarily, even the greatest keyboard and organ players are overshadowed by guitarists and singers. (Exceptions to the rule might be Deep Purple's Jon Lord and Yes' Rick Wakeman.) Well, these guys deserve love too. Keys dynamo Bruce Katz, a player described by Gregg Allman as a keyboard "heavy," blurs the lines of blues, rock, gospel, soul, jazz and Americana. An associate professor at Berklee College of Music and a Blues Music Award nominee, Katz has toured with Gregg Allman and Friends, the Allman Brothers and John Hammond, to name a few.
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Details: 8 p.m. Sunday. Ritz Ybor, 1503 Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $25. (813) 247-2555.
After meeting in a thrash metal band, Mexican guitarists (and Metallica worshipers) Rodrigo and Gabriela took a seemingly illogical next step. They moved to Ireland to play acoustic world music. Today their expert sophomore album 11:11 remains at the top of the World Music charts after 20 weeks. (Just goes to show you what we know about music logic.) This guitar duo slaps, picks and strums extremely meticulously and sometimes adds in-between snarky banter. Maybe if the X-Files' Mulder and Scully were guitar virtuosos, this is what they'd sound like.
Times correspondent Carole Liparoto can be reached at carole.liparoto@gmail.com.
Damian Marley
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