At 93 years young, Willie Nelson is, to borrow a phrase, on the road again.
The country music icon will be at the BayCare Sound Sunday with the Family, which is what he’s called his touring band since the early 1970s. Although Nelson has outlived most of the original members of the group, the great harmonica player Mickey Raphael is still part of the Family.
Singer Lily Meola, who’ll open Sunday’s concert, is also on the bill for the annual Willie Nelson July 4 Picnic in Austin, Texas. Also playing that big-deal occasion: Billy Strings, Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell and others.
Sunday’s Clearwater concert begins at 7 p.m. Find tickets at this link.
Band or brand?
As always, the following is offered as a public service.
From 1975, Foghat’s “Slow Ride” is a blues/rock classic. There’s no question about its lasting impact.
Regarding Foghat, playing tonight at Ferg’s Entertainment Complex. This is a re-charged “legacy” version of the great 1970s boogie-rock band, featuring exactly one member from the days of “Slow Ride,” “I Just Want to Make Love to You” and “Fool For the City”: Drummer Roger Earl.
Foghat was comprised of British players who found success when they came to America, signed to Bearsville Records, the New York label founded by Bob Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman. Foghat’s twin engines were singer/shouter “Lonesome” Dave Peverett and slide guitar maestro Rod Price. The former died in 2000, the latter five years later.
Today, founding bassist Tony Stephens plays in a Foghat tribute band called Slow Ride. Roger Earl, for all intents and purposes, has a tribute act, too. The difference is that the drummer owns the name and the logo.
The lead guitarist in Earl’s version of Foghat, Bryan Bassett, was a member of Wild Cherry (“Play That Funky Music”) who was hired in the late 1980s to play in a Peverett-led, post-success version of Foghat. It’s a long story.
Tonight’s bill also includes Nazareth, the Scottish band that scored a platinum album with 1975’s Hair of the Dog. The single “Love Hurts” became a radio staple. Distinctive lead singer Dan McCafferty died in 2022; founding bassist Pete Agnew is the sole original member in the contemporary edition of Nazareth.
Tonight’s concert starts at 7; tickets are here.
Band or brand 2
Guitarist Neal Schon’s blistering fretwork has been a key element of the Journey sound since the band started in the mid 1970s. Journey’s “Final Frontier Tour” brings Schon and company to Benchmark International Arena Friday. He is the sole original member of the band.
Schon and keyboard player Jonathan Cain, who signed on in 1980, co-own the name, trademark and logo. This means that they can legally perform as “Journey,” even though hit-era singer Steve Perry is nowhere to be found. There’s a lot of bad blood under the bridge there.
Most recently Cain, whose wife is a “spiritual advisor” to the current President of the United States, has taken public flak from his bandmate for performing the Perry-era “Don’t Stop Believin’” at Mar-a-Lago.
Cain has announced this will be his last tour as a member of Journey.
Tickets are at this link.
More concerts
Singer/songwriter Jason Mraz (interviewed Wednesday in the Catalyst) has a solo acoustic show Saturday at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Find tickets here.
The Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre opens its 2026 concert season with a Saturday performance from rapper/singer Pitbull. Tickets are at this link.
Saturday at the Capitol Theatre, it’s the return of Our House: The Music of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Guitarist Steve Postell was David Crosby’s musical director for the last decade of the musician’s life, while Jeff Pevar played guitar, sang and co-wrote with Crosby in the band CPR, as well as working with Graham Nash and the late Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh. So this group has a pedigree; it also includes Kipp Lennon and Teresa James. Find tickets here.
On theater stages
Actor Blake Smallen takes on the role of the Thane of Lochaber from Shakespeare’s MacBeth in I, Banquo, performed Saturday through Monday (May 16-18) in the Shimberg Playhouse, Tampa. This is, of course, the very Straz Center stage where Jobsite’s production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is currently being performed. Here’s the calendar to tell you which show has the stage, and when. And how to purchase tickets.
The Catalyst spoke with the Danny cast for this story.
Roxanne Fay’s latest one-woman show is Dream Child: The Trial of Alice in Wonderland, in which she embodies the inspiration for the works of Lewis Carroll, one Alice Liddell. It’s onstage Friday, Saturday and Sunday at PowerStories’ new theater, 4237 West El Prado Blvd., Tampa. Ticket link.
Taylor Mac’s dark comedy HIR, about a severely dysfunctional family, begins a two-weekend run tonight at The Studio@620. Find showtimes and tickets here. Director Stephen Riordan joins us on Friday’s Arts Alive! podcast to discuss the play.
Que el amor nos haga (Until Love Makes Us), a play written and directed by Dora Arreola, is presented (in Spanish with English supertitles) Friday (8:15 p.m.) and Saturday (3 p.m.) at Stageworks Theatre. It’s a story of three immigrants from Mexico hoping to reunite in the United States; with live music, dance and video projections. Tickets are at this link.
At freeFall Theatre, And Then They Came For Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank is back tonight, and closes its monthlong run with Sunday’s matinee. Find showtimes and tickets here.
Sunday 12-6 p.m. at the Shanna & Bryan Glazer JCC, 522 N Howard Ave, Tampa: It’s ThinkTank’s 6th Annual TYA Playwrights Festival Showcase. There will be readings of three brand-new plays for young audiences. Find tickets here.
The Broadway tour of the musical SIX concludes its week-long stay at Morsani Hall, in the Straz Center, with Sunday’s matinee performance. For all remaining showtimes and tickets, visit this link.
Where’s the orchestra?
Wednesday's Mahaffey Theater event (7:30 p.m.) began with a relaxed conversation between Florida Orchestra Music Director Michael Francis and Dr. Naakesh Dewan, Vice President of Behavioral Health for Florida Blue, exploring the ways how music can support emotional well-being, reduce stress and play a meaningful role in overall wellness.
This was followed by Francis’ deep dive into Brahms’ Symphony No. 4, described by TFO as “a deeply personal journey of struggle, reflection, resilience and, ultimately, acceptance.” Then, a full performance of the work.
Admission is pay what you can.
Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 is the centerpiece of this weekend’s concert, Friday, 8 p.m. at the Straz Center’s Ferguson Hall; Saturday at 8 p.m., Mahaffey Theater; and 2 p.m. Sunday at Ruth Eckerd Hall.
Tickets for all concerts, which will also include Dvořák’s Violin Concerto (featuring concertmaster Jeffrey Multer) and Augusta Holmès’ tone poem Irlande, are available at this link.
Coming up next
May 20 Bill Wharton The Sauce Boss at the Palladium Side Door Cabaret
May 21 Sam Barber at the BayCare Sound
May 21 Josh Gates at Ruth Eckerd Hall
May 21 Forever Young/Bob Dylan Birthday Bash with Have Gun Will Travel, Grant Peeples, The Currys, Bad Dog Mama at the Palladium Theater
May 22 Fred Astaire Fantasy: Night at the Museum (dance) at the Palladium Theater
May 22 Jim Breuer at the Capitol Theatre
May 22 Electric Callboy at Yuengling Center
May 22 Paul Gilbert at Central Park Performing Arts Center
May 23 & 24 Tampa Bay Barbecue Festival w/Rodney Atkins, Blackberry Smoke at Vinoy Park
May 24 Triumph at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 24 Shankh & Friends – A Global Music Project at New Tampa Performing Arts Center
May 24 After Bridge at Seminole Hard Rock Event Center
May 24 The Wilson Van at Ferg’s
May 26 Dave Matthews Band at Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 29 Happy Together Tour at Ruth Eckerd Hall
See the full list of announced May events here.
Your Weekend Spotlight appears every Thursday in the Catalyst’s CREATE section.
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