Pat Metheny plays Mahaffey in St. Petersburg

   Pat Metheny's one of those artists that almost everyone seems to like, or at least appreciate. He has the chops and the creativity to appeal to music connoisseurs, and the amiable attitude and melodic sense to appeal to casual music fan. He also treads the border between rock and jazz so skillfully that adherents of both camps enjoy his music.

Metheny (left) and the Unity Group

   The celebrated guitarist will bring his Unity Group to the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg at 7 p.m. Feb.9.
   Tickets go on sale next week, on at noon Sept, 27. They'll run you $45, $55 or $65.
   Metheny's Unity Group includes Chris Potter, Ben Williams, Antonio Sanchez and Giulio Carmassi. They'll be releasing a new album in February, right around the time of the Mahaffey concert.
   You can get tickets by calling 727-893-7832, by visiting www.themahaffey.com, or by stopping in to the Mahaffey Theater Box Office.

Drummer Billy Cobham plays St. Petersburg Friday

   Oct. 1 will mark the 40th anniversary of Billy Cobham's legendary debut album "Spectrum." Cobham's marking the occasion with an American tour he's calling "Spectrum 40." 
   The tour kicks off Friday at the Palladium in St. Petersburg.
   In 1973, Cobham was already a major force in jazz fusion, having played with Miles Davis and having been a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and he's been recording ever since. But "Spectrum" is still considered his seminal recording. It helped define the fusion genre, and Cobham's innovative drumming style on that album has influenced drummers ever since.

"Spectrum" album cover

   He can't reassemble the band from that album since guitarist Tommy Bolin died in 1976. (In a recent Skype interview from his home in Switzerland, Cobham called Bolin "B.B. King in a young man's skin.") But he's put together a band of long-time musical collaborators, including bassist Ric Fierabracci, guitarist Dean Brown and keyboardist Gary Husband.
   The concert will include four or five pieces from "Spectrum," plus other selections from Cobham's career.
   In the interview, Cobham said that he's eschewing cities like New York on this tour, opting instead for places like St. Petersburg, Albuquerque, N.M. and Akron, Ohio. "The real America," he said.
   He came into St. Petersburg early, and on Thursday he conducted clinics with music students from local high schools and colleges. At one point, when he asked if anybody had any questions, a music teacher asked, "Do you have any albums out?"
   Friday's show, which is presented by the Mahaffey Theater even though it's at the Palladium, starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30, $40 and $50. Call 727-892-5767 or go to www.themahaffey.com for tickets and information.
   The Palladium is at 253 Fifth Ave. N., St Petersburg. Call
727-822-3590 or go to www.mypalladium.org  for venue information.

School orchestras perform at Bradenton's McKechnie Field

   A few hundred of the best young musicians from around Manatee County will gather at McKechnie Field next month.
   Orchestras from two high schools and five junior high schools will perform a "Concert in the Park" on Oct. 19. The seven orchestras comprise more than 400 students.
   The high school orchestras come from Manatee and Braden River high schools. The Braden River, Haile, King, Lee and Nolan middle school orchestras are also on the bill.
   For the student musicians, the concert, sponsored by the Bradenton Marauders and the Pittsburgh Pirates, is a chance to stretch their musical abilities and to play in a setting that's unusual for orchestral music,
    “It’s an exciting opportunity to blend orchestral music and baseball,” said David Pope, the director of orchestras at Manatee High School. “We will present a variety of non-traditional orchestra music in a very non-traditional orchestra atmosphere.”
    The show will feature music that fits the setting, including such ballpark favorites as “YMCA” and “The Final Countdown,” plus more traditional orchestra pieces. 
   Gates open at 5 p.m., and the music begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 per family, and they're available at any of the participating schools. There will also be tickets available at the gate. The money will go to the Manatee County Schools Orchestra Program, to help the schools purchase new music and cover the cost of acquiring and maintaining instruments.   
   For information, call Pope at 941-714-7300, ext. 2186.

Rick Ross plays St. Peterburg's Mahaffey Theater

   Rick Ross, the Grammy-nominated rapper and hip-hop magnate, is heading out on an eight-city tour, and St. Petersburg is one of the stops.

Rick Ross

   He'll be at the Mahaffey Theater at 8 p.m. Nov. 22.
   Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday (Sept. 20) at 10 a.m. online and charge by phone and 11 a.m. at The Mahaffey Theater Box Office.
   Ross will team up with the famed 1500 or Nothin’ Band, a five-piece band that has also toured with Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco, T.I., The Game and Faith Evans,
   “It’s never been done like this,” Ross said in a press release. “We’ll be performing everything from 'Tears of Joy' to 'Aston Martin Music,' all with a live band." 
   Tickets run $42, $52 and $72. You can get them online at www.themahaffey.com,  by phone at 727-893-7832 or in person at the Mahaffey Theater Box Office. Box office hours are 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and at least 90 minutes prior to any ticketed event.

Radio City Christmas comes to Tampa's Straz

   Tickets go on sale this Sunday, Sept. 15, for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, which is coming to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa Dec.12-29.
   It truly is a spectacular show, and no matter how many time you've seen them on TV, the Rockettes are amazing to see live.
   There's a lot of stuff that's aimed at kids, but just as much that the grown-ups will enjoy.
   This year's edition has some new scenes and new technological stuff, including a 50-foot LED screen.
   The tour is only coming to four cities, so it's pretty cool that Tampa is one of them.
   It'll be in Morsani Hall at the Straz, and tickets will run you anywhere from $20 to $105.
   The performance schedule is complicated. Here it is:

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12.
1 and 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13.
2, 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14.
1, 4 and 7:30 p.m.Sunday, Dec. 15.
7:30 p.m.Tuesday, Dec. 17.
2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19.
1, 5 and 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20.
11 a.m. and 2, 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21.
1, 4 and 7:30 p.m.Sunday, Dec. 22.
3:30 and 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23.
1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 24.
3:30 and 7 p.m.Thursday, Dec. 26.
Noon and 3:30 and 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27.
Noon and 3:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 28.
1 and 4 p.m Sunday, Dec. 29.

Call 813-229-7827or go to www.strazcenter.org

New company offers Shakespeare scenes in Bradenton

   A new local theater company called the Red Rose Parlour Theatre will offer an original show called "Willy Nilly" at the community room of the South Manatee County Branch, 6081 26th St., Bradenton, at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept, 13. 

Rafael Petlock of Red Rose

   It's an hour-long show with scenes from Shakespeare ("Much Ado About Nothing," "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "Richard III") interspersed with dance, song and voluntary audience participation. It's aimed for ages 14 and up and it's free.
   Seva Anthony of Red Rose Parlour Theatre said she plans to bring shows to to local community centers and even people's homes. You can find out more about the company at www.redroseparlourtheatre.com. 
   For information about Friday's show at the library, call 941-755-3892

9/11 play "The Guys" in Sarasota

   It's no surprise that a local theater company is offering Anne Nelson's play "The Guys" on Sept. 11. It's almost become a theater tradition to stage the show, about a New York fire fighter commemorating his fallen comrades, this time of year.
   Fortunately, the play is quite good. It's worth seeing, and worth seeing multiple times.
   The Players Theatre is marking the the 12th anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., by staging a reading "The Guys" for one performance only, at 7:30 p.m. Sept.11.
   The play has only two characters, a firefighter and a writer whom he has hired to help him compose eulogies for his colleagues who died in the World Trade Center that day. He relates their stories, one by one.
   It's an unusual and moving work, even after all the stories of bravery and horror we've heard about Sept. 11.
   Nelson wrote the play in only nine days, and it premiered in New York just weeks after the 9/11. Such famed actors as Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Anthony LaPaglia, Sigourney Weaver and Susan Sarandon have appeared in significant productions. LaPaglia and and Weaver starred in the 2002 movie version.
   The Players Theatre production is a reading, not a full staging, but "The Guys" is the kind of play that can be effective in that format.
   It's directed by Pam Wiley, with readers Allan Kollar and Ann Gundersheimer.
   Tickets are $10. Some of the money from ticket sales will go to the Sarasota Fire Fighters Benevolent Fund. Call 941-365-2494 or go to www.theplayers.org.