Events Today
Sunset Music Festival
Sat., May 25, noon-midnightDJ/Electronica, Dancing
Sunset Events and Disco Donnie are behind the massive Sunset Music Festival, which features some of the most popular EDM artists around (mega house producer David Guetta, electro-house and dubstep favorite Steve Aoki, and London purveyors of electro house, moombahton and drumstep, Knife Party, among others) practicing their synthetic craft in an arena setting, along with buzzing up-and-comers like glitchy Danish duo Pegboard Nerds. More info, tickets and the like at sunset smftampa.com. Also with Alvin Risk, Carnage, Brass Knuckles, Danny Avila, Dillon Francis, Flosstradamus, HeRobust, Krewella, Le Castle Vania
$89 GA/$149 VIP
The Girlie Show: BigTop Burlesque
Sat., May 25Comedy
See burlesque with a circus twist as eight international performers join with "Big Momma" and her Dixie Land Band. Wacky acts and lavish costumes take you back in time. There's even a bearded lady and, of course, classic stripteases.
Floor show is $25, high roller is $40, and VIP, $50. Tickets at brownpapertickets.com. Fees apply.
Great White Shark
Sat., May 25, 9 a.m.
813-987-6000Film
Explore the Great White’s role in the oceanic ecosystems since the dawn of dinosaurs in a film that takes audiences to key shark aggregation points around the world, from New Zealand’s Stewart Island, where a newly discovered healthy population of Great Whites have had little contact with man, to Mexico’s Guadalupe Island, where Great Whites troll crystal clear waters and researchers conduct critical tagging operations to monitor movement and behavior. The film also travels to South Africa, famous for its breaching sharks, to illustrate the awesome strength of this hunter using slow-motion 3D photography.
$5.25-$11.95
97X Backyard BBQ
Sat., May 25, 12 p.m.Rock/Pop, Metal, Hip hop/Rap, DJ/Electronica, Punk/Ska, Indie rock
You could argue that 97X listeners were at least partially responsible for choosing the lineup at Backyard BBQ this year based on the alt rock radio station’s ‘You Control the Music’ format; several of these artists have been voted to the top of the daily 97X playlist regularly since the format changed in January. Morose prog-alt-post hardcore ragers Coheed & Cambria headline, with synth-and-rap-rocking Ohio group Twenty One Pilots warming up the stage beforehand. Another highlight: The Features, a personal favorite from Tennessee delivering Krauty-groovin' post punk and strutting indie rock lightly dosed in psychedelia that’s been all over the airwaves via upbeat single, "This Disorder.” Tickets to BBQ are free, but you’ve gotta pick them up at a participating outlets listed on 97xonline.com. Check out the complete schedule and more info about the bands in this week’s insert. Also performing: New Politics, The Virginmarys, and The Unlikely Candidates.
Free
Tampa Bay Margarita Festival
Sat., May 25, 2-10 p.m.Festivals/Events, Culinary Events
Cinco de Mayo may be long gone, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up the tequila. Celebrate the agave-deriven spirit and perform your best rendition of the famed Pee Wee Herman dance at downtown Tampa’s scenic patch of grass by the river. Skinny Girl, gold, fruit flavors —whatever your preference — organizers of the inaugural Tampa Bay Margarita Festival say that drinks will be made with fresh ingredients and quality brands, like Madhava Agave Nectar. Top shelf margaritas run from $6 to $8, craft margaritas are $5, and a souvenir glass can be yours for $12. Get thirsty playing beach volleyball and other games, or sway to live music by Tribal Style, Southern Train and other local acts. Food by Lime Fresh Mexican Grill; fireworks at 9:45 p.m. —Mina Abgoon and JG
$15 in advance (through Thurs., May 24); $20 at the gate; VIP advance is $85; VIP at door, $100. General admission does not include food and drinks; 21 and older only.
24th annual Abilities Wine Tasting & Auction
Sat., May 25, 7 p.m.Culinary Events, Beer & Wine Events, Festivals/Events, Memorial Day
Indulge for a great cause at an annual favorite featuring premium wines, restaurant fare and auction items. Presented by Raymond James and selected as a three-time, top-five finalist for WEDU's Be More Awards Special Event of the Year, Abilities’ is Florida’s longest-running and most prosperous one-night tasting, netting $3.54-million to date. Participants Salt Rock Grill, Island Way Grill, Parkshore Grill, 400 Beach Drive, O’Bistro, Ricky P’s New Orleans Bistro, Vincenzo’s Grill, Casa Vinicola Zonin, Stacole, Big Crush, Premier Beverage Company, Southern Wine & Spirits and much more. The late great Jacquin Sanders of the Tampa Bay Times said of the organization: ""Abilities is a place where people confront their own devastating handicaps and refuse to be devastated." —Julie Garisto
$50 in advance; $75 after May 13; and $85 at the door. Tickets for the VIP Reception include entry to the Grand Tasting and cost $100 in advance; $150 after May 13; and $175 at the door.
Silver Anniversary Scholarship Gala with Danny Glover
Sat., May 25, 7-10 p.m.Festivals/Events, Memorial Day
Celebrate young students who beat the odds and achieve excellence with superstar Danny Glover. Yes, the actor, filmmaker, humanitarian and self-professed child of the Civil Rights era will be in Tampa live and in person. The Tampa Black History Committee landed the living legend and co-star of the TV series Touch (with Kiefer Sutherland), the Lethal Weapon franchise and Color Purple, inviting him to be the keynote speaker at this scholarship award ceremony in Tampa. And why wouldn't he? It's a great cause. At the event, the Black History Committee will host a dinner and present scholarships to hard-working high school graduates before they head off to college.
$750 per table; $75 per person
Johnny Rawls
Sat., May 25, 8 p.m.Blues, Soul/R&B
Seasoned soulful bluesman Johnny Rawls first started playing guitar at age 12, opening for the likes of B.B. King and Bobby Bland when he was a member of the O.V. Wright Band for more than a dozen years, and spent a number of years recording his own 45 rpm singles for his label, Touch Records, before finally releasing a full-length debut more than two decades deep into his career. Today, Rawls has 14 studio LPs under his belt; the latest was 2012’s Soul Survivor.
$10/$13
Early Forms, Empire Cinema, Diealps!, Hunter:Gatherer
Sat., May 25, 9 p.m.Indie rock, Punk/Ska
It’s a four-pack of superior indie music hitting hard at Fubar. Among the performers are Early Forms, the melody-and-grunge rock project of Vinnie Cosentino (Palantine), Alastair St. Hill (Gentlemen Please), John Smith and Andy Stern (Feral Babies); dark-tinged alt rock/post punk outfit Empire Cinema; and upbeat, vintage-waltzing pop rockers DieAlps! $3
Geri X, Sons Of Hippies, Kill Mama, Lonewolf
Sat., May 25, 9 p.m.Indie rock, Singer/Songwriter, Blues, Folk
Local brooding beauty and stalwart darling of the scene Geri X leads a lineup at New World with a set of her intelligent, often forlorn alt folk n’ blues and sees support from propulsive, Katherine Kelly-fronted electro-tripadelic rockers Sons of Hippies (also labelmates on Cleopatra Records), grunge-fuzz two-piece Kill Mama, and one-man banjo-driven harmonica-blowing blues-roots band, Lonewolf. $7
The Florida Orchestra Final Season Masterworks: The Rite of Spring
Fri., May 24, 8 p.m., at the Straz Center in Tampa; Sat., May 25, 8 p.m., at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg.Classical Music
Guest conductor Tito Munoz caps of a diverse 2013-14 roster by leading Stravinsky's Rite of Spring on its 100th anniversary and Debussy’s La Mer, "a sonic storm and ode to the sea." The concert opens with Messiaen’s symphonic meditation Le offrandes oubliées (The Forgotten Offerings). As with all evening Masterworks programs, a pre-concert talk delves into the music and composers one hour before curtain.
Sunshine & Bullets
Sat., May 25Rock/Pop, Metal, Indie rock
with 2nd Day Broadcast, Blaine The Mono,Shuga Mojo and Stonegrey
