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SoundCheck: Cassadee Pope among top live music picks

 
Cassadee Pope performs at the Dallas Bull in Tampa on Thursday (Aug. 21).
Cassadee Pope performs at the Dallas Bull in Tampa on Thursday (Aug. 21).
Published Aug. 19, 2014

Cassadee Pope

Details: Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Dallas Bull, 3322 U.S. 301 N, Tampa. $10-$15. (813) 987-2855.

Didn't get enough of Cassadee Pope when she opened up for Tim McGraw last month? Well, the West Palm Beach-born singer-songwriter is back in town to play much closer quarters. Pope kicked off her music career in 2008 as the frontwoman for pop-punk outfit Hey Monday, but the 24-year-old completely embraced her country side after becoming the first female winner of NBC's The Voice (Blake Shelton was her mentor, after all). The move has paid off for Pope, as evidenced by her CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year. Her hit Wasting All These Years made her the first country female since Taylor Swift in 2006 to have a debut single certified platinum by the RIAA, and she shows no signs of slowing down, so this is definitely one of those "I saw her when …" kind of shows.

Crocodiles

With Jaill, Florida Night Heat

Details: Friday 9 p.m. Crowbar, 1812 N 17th St., Ybor City. $10-$13. (813) 241-8600.

It's stoner rock for a long, lively night out, and its unforgiving of anyone who can't keep up. San Diego's Crocodiles have released four albums in the last half-decade and every one of them finds the band adding more layers to their feedback-drenched lo-fi sound, resulting in tracks that are dance-ready (Mirrors), brooding (Hung Up on a Flower) and strangely perfect for late-night seaside strolls in the middle of a thunderstorm (Cockroach, My Surfing Lucifer). Milwaukee Sub Pop-signees Jaill ditch Crocodiles' fuzzed-out attack in favor of an assault that's a bit more energetic (Everyone's Hip), Weezer-riffic (Waste a Lot of Things) and straightforward (Everyone's A B----).

Rahim Samad Album Release Party

With ?nowledge , Logic

Details: Friday 10 p.m. The Bricks, 1327 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. Free. (813) 247-1785.

Bred in the five boroughs and representing Tampa all day, Rahim Samad is a model for the transplanted artist who remembers his origins but believes he can create fresh, more fruitful roots in his new home. His 2008 video for John Horse — complete with images of the Tampa Theatre, Sound Exchange and the overgrown bush of the urban backcountry — is a perfect example of that. On Friday the outspoken emcee shares the work he has been doing on the soundtrack for Travel Properly, a feature-length drama based in the bay area. He'll be joined by two more of the scene's best lyricists, and if Samad's new clip for Have Discipline is any indication, his attack and message are as potent as ever.

Southern Darkness Fest

With Pelican, Phobia, Black Tusk, Scrog, Weekend Nachos, Bongrippers, A Storm of Light, ASG, Coke Bust, Magrudergrind, Lord Mantis, Primate, Centuries, Set and Setting, Cosm, Mouth of the Architect, more

Details: Saturday 4 p.m. Orpheum (1915 E Seventh Ave.), Ritz Ybor (1503 E Seventh Ave.) and Crowbar (1812 N 17th St.), Ybor City. $35-$45. southerndarknessfest.com.

By now it should be no secret that Tampa is widely considered to be the death metal capital of the world. Therefore, it makes sense that the city would host the first annual Southern Darkness Fest, a locally born one-day aural attack that brings some of the Sunshine State's best dark and heavy music to play along with some of metal's biggest names. There's not a whole lot of actual death metal on the bill, but the names on the poster (Pelican, Black Tusk, Maruta, Mouth of the Architect) represent some of the most promising acts in metal subgenres like sludge and grindcore. The festival will take over three of Ybor's best venues, and promoters seem to be laser-focused on making sure everything goes perfectly for attendees so that Southern Darkness can become a no-brainer music festival destination for fans across the continent.

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Under The Covers

With All on Black, Paranoids, Yoshi Gishi, A Gentlemen Army, Devil Gone Public, Fox Wedding, Slade and the Wasters, Danny Smooth, Notorious SAD, Geek Stink Band, Micah Poison

Details: Saturday 7 p.m. Fubar and the Local 662, 600 block of Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. $5-$10.

Last year's Under the Covers mini-fest found a couple of handfuls of local bands tackling the best of punk and emo (the Saves the Day, Jimmy Eat World, Piebald and Further Seems Forever sets were nearly spot on), and while the event's promoter, Craig Adams, has bolted for the left coast, he did leave the party in the hands of another St. Pete promoter, Kat Lynes of Katomic Productions. She has run with the idea, and this year's festivities include 11 acts attempting to revive the best of '90s alternative. There are a few icons of the genre being represented (U2, Smashing Pumpkins, Silverchair, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana), but Bradenton's A Gentlemen Army is adding some home-state flavor to the mix by committing a set to tunes by beloved Gainesville outfit Hot Water Music. Set times allow concertgoers to walk between the two venues (which share a wall).

Tampa Urban Music Festival

With Anthony Hamilton, Lyfe Jennings, Mali Music, Jazmine Sullivan, Kevin Simpson

Details: Saturday 8 p.m. USF Sun Dome, 4202 E Fowler Ave., Tampa. $35-$75. (813) 974-3004.

Anthony Hamilton is becoming a familiar face around the bay area. The 43-year-old singer-songwriter was in town last May for downtown Tampa's two-day Funk Fest, and he returns on Saturday to headline the one-night-only Tampa Urban Music Festival. Hamilton spent the '90s in label limbo before singing backup for D'Angelo and Tupac, and while he completed a trio of albums in that time, it was a 2003 LP Comin' From Where I'm From that thrust his Southern soul croon into the consciousness of R&B lovers across the globe. He has parlayed his success into Grammy-winning collaborations with Al Green as well as a few nominations of his own. At the Sun Dome, he'll be flanked by some of the genre's brightest stars, including embattled, impassioned songwriter Lyfe Jennings.

Cash Cash

With Docco, Pedro M, DJ Gemini

Details: Sunday noon. Hogan's Beach, 7700 W Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa. $15-$25. (813) 281-8900.

Thanks to Hogan's Beach, Tampa EDM fans have an official place to escape from nightclubs. The Courtney Campbell hot spot has steadily increased its legitimacy as a concert venue over the past year and recently landed an October appearance by Skrillex, but there's no rest for the weary in Hulksville. Fans may remember Cash Cash as the New Jersey-based production trio that reopened Sunset Music Festival after thunderstorms temporarily cut the party short, and the boys — brothers Jean Paul and Alex Makhlouf, plus Samuel Frisch — take to the sand in hopes of reviving some of that magic. Their hit Take Me Home still dominates Top 40 radio, and while the group's persona makes them come off kind of like a corporate America version of Swedish House Mafia, other songs like Satellites and the Johnny Rzeznik-featuring Lightning have enough untz-untz-untz and big melodies to keep the party going all night long.

Linda Nash Stevenson Benefit

With John Lamb, Nate Najar, Ray Riscoglia, La Lucha, Stolen Idols, Glenn Stevenson

Details: Monday 7:30 p.m. Palladium, 253 Fifth Ave. N, St. Petersburg. $20. (727) 822-3590.

On Monday, a handful of local musicians (including rising jazz star Nate Najar) are banding together in the hopes of raising funds for local musician and acupuncturist Linda Nash Stevenson. The mother of three is hoping to gain access to an expensive hepatitis C treatment, and while an online crowdfunding drive is gaining steam, Stevenson's neighbors and friends are doing everything they can to keep their comrade on Earth. You don't often get a chance to go out on the town on a Monday night, and your karma points couldn't get any higher if you made it out to this one.

Times correspondent Ray Roa can be reached at suburban apologist.com.