{"id":138808,"date":"2026-01-31T14:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/138808\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T14:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:52:10","slug":"looking-forward-the-month-of-february-in-the-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/138808\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking forward: The month of February in the arts"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was Christmas week when Barry Manilow announced he was taking all the January concert dates off his calendar; the remainder of his \u201cFarewell Tour\u201d would have to wait while the 82-year-old pop legend underwent surgery for lung cancer. \u201cIronically,\u201d Manilow said the time, \u201cI feel great and have no symptoms. I\u2019m thankful that my doctors were proactive and ran tests that typically wouldn\u2019t be done. They caught it very, very early.\u201d<\/p>\n

A January concert at Tampa\u2019s Benchmark Arena was among those postponed.<\/p>\n

Apparently the news is all good for Mr. Copacabana, as the Benchmark date has been rescheduled for Feb. 27. In fact, it\u2019s the very first show on the post-health scare leg of the tour.<\/p>\n

Comedian Kathy Griffin is back at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts Feb. 13, her second appearance there since her career went down in flames because of a joke that backfired \u2013 she published a photo of herself brandishing the \u201csevered head\u201d of Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

In a 2024 interview with the Catalyst, Griffin was still bitter: \u201cI was in the middle of a 50-city tour; the second 25 cities got canceled because of bomb threats and death threats to me that were so intense that every theater just pulled the show. I wasn\u2019t able to travel. I wasn\u2019t able to make a living. It\u2019s never happened in the history of comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other welcome returns this month include blues guitar master Robert Cray, TV\u2019s Jay Leno, Boy George & Culture Club, prog guitarist Steve Hackett, vocalist Andrea Bocelli, the electronic music artist INZO, Seals & Crofts 2, Amy Grant, Pat Travers, Grand Funk Railroad founder Mark Farner, Styx and Cheap Trick, Rascal Flatts, Don Was, Kathleen Edwards and St. Paul & the Broken Bones.<\/p>\n

Add to that a concert by Broadway and opera star Audra McDonald, with The Florida Orchestra, and February\u2019s looking like a month worth looking forward to.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Audra McDonald<\/p>\n

The February calendar<\/p>\n

All dates are subject to change.<\/p>\n

Feb. 1 The Florida Orchestra \u201cEl Amor Brujo\u201d at USF St. Pete Student Center Ballroom.<\/p>\n

Feb. 1 Los Lonely Boys at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 1 & 3 St. Pete Opera \u201cJulius Caesar in Egypt\u201d at the Palladium Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 3 & 4 Riverdance at Ruth Eckerd Hall.<\/p>\n

Feb. 4 Wood Bros. at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 5 NeedToBreathe at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center.<\/p>\n

Feb. 5 Kathleen Edwards at Skipper\u2019s Smokehouse.<\/p>\n

Feb. 5 Matthew Morrison at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 5 Baroque Unbound\/Immersive Opera with Nathan Felix at the Museum of Fine Arts.<\/p>\n

Feb. 5 The Florida Orchestra \u201cInside Bruckner\u2019s Symphony No. 46\u201d at the Mahaffey Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 6 Pavlo at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n

Feb. 6-8 Shen Yun at the Mahaffey Theater.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Shen Yun<\/p>\n

Feb. 6 Desoto Tiger\u2019s Testimony at the Palladium Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 6 LAB Theater Project The Trail to Oregon!, runs through Feb. 22.<\/p>\n

Feb. 6 & 7 The Florida Orchestra Beethoven\u2019s Triple Concerto at Straz Center, Morsani Hall.<\/p>\n

Feb. 7 Mark Farner at Ferg\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Feb. 11 Jane Monheit at the Central Park Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n

Feb. 11 Chamber Music Series at the Palladium Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 11 Young Original at freeFall Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 12 Seals & Crofts 2 at the Central Park Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n

Feb. 12 Digable Planets at Jannus Live.<\/p>\n

Feb. 12 Don Was at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 12 American Stage Fairyland: A MidWinter Night\u2019s Dream at Boyd Hill Nature Park through March 8.<\/p>\n

Feb. 13 Rascal Flatts at Benchmark Arena.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathy Griffin<\/p>\n

Feb. 13 Kathy Griffin at Ferguson Hall, Straz Center.<\/p>\n

Feb. 13 Tampa Bay Symphony at New Tampa Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n

Feb. 13 Backtrack Blues Band at the Palladium Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 14 Whitney James at the Side Door Cabaret.<\/p>\n

Feb. 14 INZO at the Baycare Sound.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

INZO<\/p>\n

Feb. 14 Gipsy Kings at Ruth Eckerd Hall.<\/p>\n

Feb. 14 Keb\u2019 Mo at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 14 The Florida Orchestra \u201cThe Envelope Please\u201d at the Mahaffey Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 15 Tampa Bay Symphony at the Straz Center, Ferguson Hall.<\/p>\n

Feb. 15 Afro Opera at the Side Door Cabaret.<\/p>\n

Feb. 17 Tampa Bay Symphony at the St. Petersburg Coliseum.<\/p>\n

Feb. 17 Robert Cray Band at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 17 Andrea Bocelli at Benchmark Arena.<\/p>\n

Feb. 17 Helios Jazz Orchestra at the Side Door Cabaret.<\/p>\n

Feb. 18 Boy George & Culture Club at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center.<\/p>\n

Feb. 18 Ariella & Nicolaas at the Side Door Cabaret.<\/p>\n

Feb. 19 Willy Porter at the Side Door Cabaret.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Maddie & Tae<\/p>\n

Feb. 19 Maddie & Tae at Jannus Live.<\/p>\n

Feb. 19 & 20 Outlaws at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 20 David Foster & Katherine McPhee at the Mahaffey Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 21 Allyson Briggs & Judy Carmichael with Nate Najar at the Palladium Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 21 The Florida Orchestra Bruch\u2019s Violin Concerto No. 1 at Mahaffey Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 21 Fantasia at Benchmark Arena.<\/p>\n

Feb. 21 Pat Travers at Skipper\u2019s Smokehouse.<\/p>\n

Feb. 21 Dirty Dancing in Concert at Ruth Eckerd Hall.<\/p>\n

Feb. 21-22 Jon Lehrer Dance Company at New Tampa Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n

Feb. 22 Il Divo at the Mahaffey Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 22 Amy Grant at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 21 The Florida Orchestra Bruch\u2019s Violin Concerto No. 1 at Ruth Eckerd Hall.<\/p>\n

Feb. 22 One City Chorus at the Palladium Theater.<\/p>\n

Feb. 23 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 24 Trombone Shorty at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center.<\/p>\n

Feb. 24 Garrison Keillor at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 25 Mafalda Minnozzi at the Side Door Cabaret.<\/p>\n

Feb. 26 St. Paul & the Broken Bones at Jannus Live.<\/p>\n

Feb. 26 Steve Hackett at Ruth Eckerd Hall.<\/p>\n

Feb. 27 Styx and Cheap Trick at the Baycare Sound.<\/p>\n

Feb. 27 Jay Leno at Ruth Eckerd Hall.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jay Leno<\/p>\n

Feb. 27 Vodkanauts at freeFall Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 27 Spyro Gyra at the Capitol Theatre.<\/p>\n

Feb. 27 Barry Manilow at Benchmark Arena.<\/p>\n

Feb. 28 Righteous Brothers at Ruth Eckerd Hall.<\/p>\n

Feb. 28 The Florida Orchestra with Audra McDonald at the Straz Center, Morsani Hall.<\/p>\n

Websites<\/p>\n

American Stage<\/a><\/p>\n

Benchmark Arena<\/a><\/p>\n

Capitol Theatre<\/a><\/p>\n

Central Park Performing Arts Center<\/a><\/p>\n

The Florida Orchestra<\/a><\/p>\n

freeFall Theatre<\/a><\/p>\n

Jannus Live<\/a><\/p>\n

Jobsite Theater<\/a><\/p>\n

LAB Theater Project<\/a><\/p>\n

Mahaffey Theater<\/a><\/p>\n

Museum of Fine Arts<\/a><\/p>\n

New Tampa Performing Arts Center<\/a><\/p>\n

Palladium Theater\/Side Door Cabaret<\/a><\/p>\n

Ruth Eckerd Hall\/BayCareSound<\/a><\/p>\n

Safety Harbor Art & Music Center<\/a><\/p>\n

Seminole Hard Rock Event Center<\/a><\/p>\n

Skipper\u2019s Smokehouse<\/a><\/p>\n

The Studio@620<\/a><\/p>\n

Stageworks Theatre<\/a><\/p>\n

St. Pete Opera<\/a><\/p>\n

Straz Center<\/a><\/p>\n

Add us to your mailing list \u2013 send all press releases and event info to\u00a0bill@stpetecatalyst.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also submit your events to the\u00a0Catalyst\u00a0calendar, by clicking\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was Christmas week when Barry Manilow announced he was taking all the January concert dates off his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-138808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}