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Music

Hot ticket: A slice of country for every taste

By wire services
Published May 5, 2005

Kenny Chesney, the reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of theYear, brings his Somewhere in the Sun tour to the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa on Friday.

"Between the last tour and this tour, he has had a lot more publicity andexposure," said L.J. Smith, director of programming for WCOS-FM 97.5 in Columbia, S.C., where Chesney played a soldout show last week. "He's the hottest male (country) artist outside of Tim McGraw."

The Tampa show also is sold out.

Having that Redneck Woman, Gretchen Wilson, along on the tour - and Uncle Kracker, too - certainly didn't hurt sales, either.

"Some people would say that's why (Chesney) is selling out," Smith said. "The people who want the redneck, gut-wrenching songs will see her. (The people) more into the pop-hat acts will see him. ... It offers country fans a little bit of everything."

The show at the St. Pete Times Forum starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday. (813) 301-2500.

A little Americana, a bit of jam band will be the order of the evening when rootsy folk-rockers Donna the Buffalo and acoustic groove makers Jazz Mandolin Project team up for concerts Friday and Saturday at Jannus Landing. It's a rare two-night run for the historic downtown St. Petersburg courtyard venue.

Donna, organized 18 years ago in upstate New York, is a sextet built around the singing and songwriting of fiddler, guitarist and accordion player Tara Nevins and guitarist Jeb Puryear. The band's twang-edged clear harmonies, layered instrumental textures and intuitive musical interplay have consistently impressed fans and critics. The group, touring in support of the typically tuneful and ambling Life's a Ride CD, is immensely popular in the Tampa Bay area, thanks to a long-running gig at WMNF's annual New Year's Eve party, and regular multishow engagements at the fall and spring festivals held at the Spirit of the Suwannee campground in Live Oak.

The Jazz Mandolin Project, founded by Vermont-based mandolin player Jamie Masefield in 1993, began life at a Burlington coffeehouse as a steadily evolving collective (Phish drummer Jon Fishman played in one incarnation). The group's current lineup includes bassist Scott Ritchie, trumpeter-keyboardist Mad Dog and drummer Sean Dixon. The Deep Forbidden Lake, the JMP's sixth studio disc, was released Tuesday.

Donna the Buffalo and the Jazz Mandolin Project play at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Jannus Landing, 16 Second St. N, St. Petersburg. $20. (727) 896-2276.

- PHILIP BOOTH, Times correspondent

Associate conductor Susan Haig, above with the Florida Orchestra in a concert at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, leads the orchestra in a pair of free outdoor concerts. Today, the orchestra plays at 7 p.m. in the football stadium of Middleton High School, 4801 22nd St., Tampa. Sunday, the performance is at 7:45 p.m. at Coachman Park, 101 Drew St., Clearwater. The program is the same for both concerts, including Rossini (overture to The Barber of Seville), Beethoven, Tchaikovsky (1812 Overture), Duke Ellington, John Williams (Star Wars theme), excerpts from Fiddler on the Roof and a Beach Boys medley.

- JOHN FLEMING, Times performing arts critic

Canadian chanteuse Sarah McLachlan has commanded a solid following since her ethereal 1988 debut Touch. Her lilting soprano is one of the industry's most recognizable and piercing voices. But even people who aren't McLachlan fans will probably know about her because of Lilith Fair, a mid '90s summer festival that spotlighted female singer-songwriters. McLachlan founded the festival to showcase and celebrate female voices not always played on the radio.

But life post-Lilith Fair has proven even more eventful for McLachlan. After taking an extended hiatus from her career to spend time with her family and to give birth to a daughter, McLachlan returned with Afterglow in late 2003. All the ingredients are there: lush arrangements, McLachlan's lovely voice and piano playing and a social conscience on songs such as World on Fire. McLachlan comes with her band to the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa this week for a rare Florida performance. With her voice still in tiptop shape after recovering from a recent bout of laryngitis, the only question now is: Will her intimate-sounding material translate as emotionally in such a large space?

And atmospheric pop fans should come early to catch an opening set by the Perishers, a lovely band from Sweden that plays sweet, folk-inspired pop and not angsty nu metal like its name might suggest.

Sarah McLachlan performs with the Perishers at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. $43.25-$63.25. (813) 301-2500.

[Last modified May 3, 2005, 14:10:06]