If you're staying close to home this Labor Day weekend, Tampa Bay's live music scene is offering a surprisingly varied lineup — spanning acoustic folk, fingerstyle guitar, big-band jazz, funk, and straight-up 90s nu metal nostalgia.
Friday kicks things off at two very different venues. Over in St. Petersburg, The Ale and the Witch hosts a free indoor acoustic set starting at 7:30 p.m. with Rich Whiteley on guitar and vocals, Jack Pieroth on upright bass, and Fil Pate on mandolin. Meanwhile, guitarist Alexandr Misko — who has collaborated with film composer Hans Zimmer and is celebrated for his cinematic fingerstyle approach — takes the stage at Troll Music in Venice at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for that one run $32.
Saturday brings two very different moods. The Independent in Tampa hosts a free First Saturday Jazz concert from 8 to 10 p.m. featuring the Joe Breidenstein Trio, led by the world-renowned trumpeter known for bold improvisation. Then across town at the Orpheum, Nookie: A NuMetal Night spins the hits of Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Slipknot starting at 8 p.m. — tickets are $18 and parking is free.
Sunday rounds out the weekend on a mellow-but-funky note. The Munro Street Players bring their fusion of funk, jam, rock, and R&B to Cage Brewing in St. Petersburg at 3 p.m. (free), and later that evening the USF Faculty Jazz Ensemble performs Birth of the Cool at New World Brewery in Tampa at 6 p.m. — a reimagined take on Miles Davis' landmark album, timed to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday. Tickets are $18.
This roundup was originally reported by WUSF.
