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Concert calendar<\/p>\n
Georgia roots singer\/songwriter EG Kight and her Trio are onstage at the Palladium Theater\u2019s Side Door Cabaret tonight, with a set by blues co-traveler Greg Nagy. Find tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tonight at the Capitol Theatre: A solo show from Blue October\u2019s Justin Furstenfeld. He\u2019s published a memoir, I Laugh at Myself (named after a Blue October song). Tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tonight at Ruth Eckerd Hall: 1980s pop singer Billy Ocean (\u201cCaribbean Queen\u201d). Tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are no original members in Little River Band, performing Friday (7 p.m.) at the BayCare Sound amphitheater in Clearwater. Bassist Wayne Nelson joined the Australian pop phenomenon in 1980, making him the longest-tenured musician today (he sang the band\u2019s final hits, \u201cThe Night Owls\u201d and \u201cTake it Easy on Me\u201d). Opening the show is Lords of 52nd Street, a frequent visitor to these parts. This is several key members of Billy Joel\u2019s band from the groundbreaking 1970s and \u201880s, with former St. Pete resident Dan Orlando on piano and vocals. Tickets are at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n Americana duo Shovels & Rope performs Friday at Skipper\u2019s Smokehouse (Tampa). Tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michelle Shocked\u2019s performance at the Jack Kerouac House is sold out. Publicity photo.<\/p>\n Controversial singer\/songwriter Michelle Shocked, whose Short Sharp Shocked and The Texas Campfire Tapes were must-haves for 1980s alt-folk fans, is back on the road after more than a decade away. She\u2019s performing Friday at the Jack Kerouac House in St. Petersburg, sharing a bill with Cintra Wilson. The show is sold out.<\/p>\n The world\u2019s favorite multi-lingual classy cocktail orchestra, Pink Martini, returns for its semi-annual show at the Mahaffey Theater Friday. The vocalist for this go-round is Storm Large (founding lead singer China Forbes is \u201con sabbatical\u201d until 2027). Tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Australian guitar whiz Taj Farrant and his band play the Capitol Theatre Saturday. Tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the BayCare Sound Saturday: Rock vocalist (and reality TV guy) Bret Michaels, with an opening slot from Tesla. Showtime is 7 p.m., and tickets are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Palladium Theatre\u2019s Boogie Woogie Blues Piano Stomp concert is back Saturday, with Victor Wainwright, Liz Pennock & Dr. Blues, Rob Rio and Henri Herbert. That\u2019s 88 keys of groove, multiplied, at 8 p.m., and tickets are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n To dance<\/p>\n A touring production of the classic ballet Sleeping Beauty is onstage tonight (Thursday, March 5) at St. Petersburg\u2019s Mahaffey Theater. Tickets for the two-act ballet are at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 11th annual Beacon Dance concert, featuring original choreography and performances from a curated cross-section of Tampa Bay professional artists, is presented Friday at the Palladium Theater in St. Pete. Check out the program and purchase tickets at this link<\/a>. Dancer\/choreographers Helen French and Lauren Slone, founders of Beacon, guest on Friday\u2019s Arts Alive! podcast, along with the Palladium\u2019s Paul Wilborn.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Festivals<\/p>\n The St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society (SPIFFS)\u00a0will be at England Brothers Park in Pinellas Park Saturday (10 a.m.-6 p.m.) for its 50th annual Folk Fair. It\u2019s a celebration of folk art, music and dance from around the world (plus global games, food and beverages), with a full day of performances. Advance tickets are available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Gasparilla International Film Festival weekend in Tampa, through Sunday. Check the website<\/a> for screenings and other events on the schedule.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Through Sunday at the Straz Center (Jaeb Theatre), the BATSU! comedy troupe brings the hilarity and manic pacing of Japanese game shows to the stage. Publicity photo.<\/p>\n Comedy<\/p>\n Based on outlandish game shows on Japanese TV, the off-the-charts wacky show BATSU! is onstage nightly through Sunday afternoon at the Straz Center (Jaeb Theatre) in Tampa. Info, showtimes and tickets are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater: Comic (and trained opera singer) Matteo Lane, recognized by The Advocate as one of the country\u2019s \u201cLGBT Icons, Innovators, and Disruptors,\u201d at the Mahaffey Theater. Find tickets here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The classics <\/p>\n The Florida Orchestra has nothing on the calendar this weekend.<\/p>\n Tonight (March 5) in the Marly Music Room and the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg: Classical guitarist Ren\u00e9 Izquierdo. The 7-8 p.m. performance bears the title Baroque Resonance, and tickets are available at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tenor Johnnie Felder, accompanied by Timothy Belk, piano, will perform African American spirituals Sunday at 3 p.m. at Peace Memorial Church in Clearwater. It\u2019s the last concert on the church\u2019s current season calendar. All information is at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On theater stages<\/p>\n It\u2019s the final weekend for the American Stage production of Fairyland: A Midwinter Night\u2019s Dream at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. All shows are sold out.<\/p>\n Powerstories Theatre\u2019s 6th annual Voices of Women Theatre Festival, with a different show nightly, runs tonight through Sunday afternoon at HCC Black Box Studio, 1411 E. 11th Ave., Tampa. Titles include How To Rob the Art Institute of Chicago, The Tragic Ecstasy of Girlhood and All My Mothers (Saturday\u2019s showcase of short plays is sold out). For details about the plays, and the playwrights, and the other aspects of the festival (including ticket purchases) click this link.<\/a><\/p>\n The history-based musical Himself and Nora says goodbye after this weekend at freeFall Theatre. Showtimes and tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n New at the Off-Central this weekend, and running through March 15, is The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey. It\u2019s a drama, with moments of levity, about a pair of Canadian brothers running a farm, the stories they tell and the secrets they keep. Ami Salee directs; find showtimes and tickets at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n My Name is Asher Lev, making its debut this weekend at Stageworks Theatre, is based on the novel by Chaim Potok about a young Jewish boy whose artistic inclinations (he\u2019s a gifted painter) cause conflicts within his Hasidic family. It will run through March 22; showtimes and tickets are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Your Weekend Spotlight<\/a>\u00a0appears every Thursday in the\u00a0Catalyst\u2019s CREATE section.\u00a0<\/p>\n Please add us to your mailing list \u2013 send all press releases and event info to\u00a0bill@stpetecatalyst.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Michelle-Shocked-226x300.jpg\")
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