One of the great perks of living in the Tampa Bay area is that there’s always something to do. It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is – or even whether it’s day or night – this is a place where entertainment is right on your doorstep 24/7.
The downside of having so many entertainment options is that we can sometimes find ourselves spoiled for choice. With so many things to choose from, how do we decide where to spend our money? There’s such a thing as being paralyzed by indecision – because we have so many options to pick from, we find ourselves unable to make a choice, and so we ultimately choose nothing at all.
Nobody wants to miss out on the best shows coming to town, and so we’ve put together this brief overview of what’s on offer during the month of October. There should be something here for everybody, including some performances by global headline attractions!
October 4th – Keith Urban, Hard Rock Event Center
You probably already know that the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has been investing heavily in refurbishments and improvements in recent months. Like any casino, it’s found its business model under threat from the surging popularity of mobile slots. Because casino enthusiasts can play mobile slots on website like Late Casino from the comfort of their own homes – or just about anywhere else they like – they have less reason to head out to the casino. What a mobile slots website can’t offer you, though, is a headline act like Keith Urban to go and watch.
It’s cost $720m to make the venue fit for the modern age, and some of that money has been spent on the brand new Hard Rock Event Center. We imagine that a good chunk was also spent on convincing Keith Urban to play there on its opening weekend. Urban is one of the last great Nashville names, and will be bringing his A-game to make sure that the opening night is one to remember. The primary market for the event is sold out, but the secondary market still has tickets if you’re willing to pay an inflated price.
October 9th – Twenty One Pilots, Amalie Arena
The first time Twenty One Pilots played in Tampa Bay, hardly anybody knew their name. They’ve returned to the area several times since, and each time they’ve been a slightly bigger deal. They still might not be a headline act on the level of Keith Urban, but there’s no doubt that they’re viewed as a band who are on the up. This year in particular, they’ve dominated the rock charts.
Calling Twenty One Pilots an out-and-out rock band probably isn’t accurate; they prefer the term alt-pop. What many people don’t realize about them is that rather than there being twenty-one people involved in the band, there are only two. How do they manage to make so much noise between them?
October 17th – 20th – Clearwater Jazz Holiday, Coachman Park
If your tastes are a little more retro than Keith Urban and Twenty One Pilots, Clearwater Jazz Holiday might be more your kind of scene. The event isn’t exactly a secret – it’s been running in Tampa Bay for many years – but 2019 looks set to be a vintage year for the popular event.
Among the list of great names from the past who have been confirmed for the bill are Chicago and Boyz II Men. The latter act is definitely men as opposed to boys these days, but they’ve lost nothing of their sound over time. Tickets for this event are a mere $20 a day, which strikes us as a bargain. You can even get a discount ticket which covers the which covers all four days if you want to see everything the festival has to offer.
October 19th – ZZ Top, MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater
We couldn’t let legendary rock act ZZ Top come to town without mentioning them, and giving them the respect they deserve. If you’re one of our younger readers, you might not be familiar with them. We’ll bet your parents or your grandparents are – and possibly even both!
2019 is a special year for ZZ Top; they’re celebrating 50 years in the music business. Who knows how many more tours they have ahead of them? We should be grateful that they’re making a stop so close to home; so if rock and roll is your thing, don’t miss out. Tickets are just under $30 ahead, and you also get to see Cheap Trick as a support act.
October 24th – Post Malone, Amalie Arena
Even if you’ve never heard Post Malone’s music, we’d be amazed if you haven’t heard the name before. For the past few years, Post Malone has been absolutely everywhere. There’s a recent fashion for rappers to have crazy hair and facial tattoos. We’re not going to say that Post Malone started the trend because we don’t want to cause arguments, but he’s definitely one of its most visible practitioners.
There’s much more to Post Malone than his distinctive appearance though, as any of his fans will already know. He’s in the hottest form of his life when it comes to his music, and there may never be a better time to see him than right now. Unfortunately, a star this size doesn’t come cheaply. You’ll need to pay $80 to get into the Amalie Arena on the night – but that’s the going rate for musical A-Listers.
October 28th – Bring Me The Horizon, Cuban Club
Bring Me The Horizon are a band who will be familiar to two sets of people. The first set is music fans who just straight-up love modern metal music. The second set is fans of professional wrestling. Bring Me The Horizon have been providing the soundtrack to multiple WWE events for the past 24 months, and have picked up a lot of fans in the process.
This band is all about noise, and so they won’t be for everybody. If you like your music loud, though, this is a great chance to see some of the masters of the craft on this side of the pond – they spend most of their time at home in the UK. The Cuban Club is an out-there choice of venue, but we imagine that it will only add to the experience.
That’s our take on what October has to offer, but there’s plenty more going on, too. Keep checking back at the site – we update you on entertainment news regularly!