Pony Bradshaw to headline Tampa Oyster Fest this winter

There are a lot of narratives currently circulating about what rural America looks like. James Bradshaw’s version of North Georgia is one we’d revisit over and over again.

The Coosa and Hiawassee Rivers flow through the heart of the 43-year-old’s latest album, Thus Spoke the Fool, released last month. Recorded in an old Athens, Georgia church, the 10-track outing from the former newspaper man finds Bradshaw’s once bluegrass-centric sound adding more texture to mountain music that ignores cliches in favor of pointed storytelling that sheds light on a region often overlooked by the rest of the country.

One single from Fool, “The Long Man,” honors the Cherokee people and the land they once inhabited, land where Bradshaw has resided with his family for nearly two decades.

“To the Cherokee, the Long Man is a 'personification of the river, whose head lays in the mountains and feet stretch to the sea,'” Bradshaw—an Arkansas, Texas native who lived nomadically until settling in Georgia—wrote in a press release. “Some folks believe in the legend, passed down through generations, which tells the story of a spectral figure who wanders and watches over the rivers and mountains of Cherokee land.”

There’s also a little dry humping and beating off happening on the actually-beautiful cut, "Young Eudora.”
Bradshaw—who performs as Pony Bradshaw—brings all that history and storytelling to a popular fundraiser in the Palm River-Clair Mel neighborhood this winter.

The event is essentially an outdoor party where seemingly every oyster in Florida ends up either in a cooler or on in-ground fire pits for a full-day of food and drink fundraiser for Frameworks, a nonprofit that helps parents and children work on their emotional intelligence. Perennial Oyster Fest favorite Applebutter Express is also on the bill along with Fil Pate Trio, one of the best instrumental bands in Tampa Bay.

And yes, the Buccaneers game is always on.

Tickets for Tampa Oyster Fest happening Sunday, Dec. 8 happening on the grounds of Tabellas at Delaney Creek are on sale now and start at $150. Entry include open bar, raw bar, oysters galore (shooters, steamed, chargrilled), low country boil, the concert, and more.

A $500 VIP option includes early admittance (noon), plus champagne, lounge with hors d’oeuvres, celebrity bartenders, a concierge, a set from fingerstyle guitarist Shaun Hopper and more.
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter