Biggest concerts, comedians coming to Tampa Bay, Sarasota in April, May, June
Between April helping bring snowbird and tourist season to a close with a stacked lineup of events, and the start of summer blockbuster tour season, some of the top names in music and stand-up comedy will be visiting the Tampa Bay area over the next three months.
It all begins this week when one of the biggest pop stars of the past 40 years visits Amalie Arena on her tour celebrating a four-decade career of hits while, later in April, Raymond James Stadium features the kickoff show for a country superstar's tour and a music festival making its debut at the venue.
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MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre will reopen its doors for a slew of shows starting in May, which will also see the return of one of the biggest names in comedy — playing a far more intimate than usual venue — and the most-streamed musician in the world for three of the past four years on Spotify. And as we officially enter summer in June, the blockbuster shows will keep on coming, including a rapper with multiple No. 1 hits to her name visiting while on her Hot Girl Summer Tour.
To help keep track of it all, here are our choices for the biggest concerts and comedy shows visiting the Tampa Bay area including Sarasota-Manatee in April, May and June. Event details are subject to change.
Madonna
April 4; Amalie Arena, Tampa; amaliearena.com
The pop star visits Tampa on The Celebration Tour, a retrospective concert featuring some of her best-known songs over four decades of releasing music. For Madonna, that includes No. 1 hits such as "Like a Virgin," "Papa Don't Preach," "Like a Prayer," "Vogue," "Justify My Love," "Take a Bow" and "Music."
Kevin James
April 7; Seminole Hard Rock Event Center, Tampa; seminolehardrocktampa.com
He may be best known for his roles in the sitcoms "The King of Queens" and "Kevin Can Wait," or in films including the "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" and "Grown Ups" movies, but Kevin James started out as a comic and still performs stand-up, releasing the special "Irregardless" earlier this year.
Billy Strings
April 12-13; Yuengling Center, Tampa; yuenglingcenter.com
As his back-to-back nights of shows headlining Tampa arena Yuengling Center would suggest, Billy Strings has become a star in bluegrass and beyond, earning three Grammy nominations this year alone, including for his collaborations with Willie Nelson and Dierks Bentley. He won a Best Bluegrass Album Grammy for "Home" in 2021.
Alan Walker
April 13; Sailor Circus Arena, Sarasota; circusartswonderball.com
The second annual electronic dance music concert fundraiser Wonderball, benefiting Sarasota's Circus Arts Conservatory youth education programs, features Alan Walker, who's been named to DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs list every year since 2016 (landing at No. 11 last year) and shared bills with acts including Rihanna and Justin Bieber.
Leanne Morgan
April 13-14; Tampa Theatre, Tampa; tampatheatre.org
Though Leanne Morgan may be relatively new to the national stand-up comedy scene (her current tour is called Just Getting Started), she's already highly successful, releasing the Netflix special "I'm Every Woman" last year and selling out venues. She'll perform four shows at Tampa Theatre, which were set for January before being rescheduled.
Ron White
April 18; Seminole Hard Rock Event Center
Though he first became known to many people from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour with Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall, Ron White has became a stand-up star in his own right, with specials including 2003's gold-selling "Drunk in Public" and 2018's "If You Quit Listening, I'll Shut Up" on Netflix.
Kenny Chesney
April 20; Raymond James Stadium, Tampa; raymondjamesstadium.com
The country singer will kick off his Sun Goes Down Tour with a return visit to Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, which also comes after the release of his newest album "Born" earlier this year. He'll be joined by Zac Brown Band — an act that's headlined amphitheaters here before themselves — Megan Moroney and Uncle Kracker.
Heart
April 26; Amalie Arena
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group featuring sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, who received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award last year, is known for songs such as "Magic Man," "Barracuda," "Crazy on You," "These Days" and "Alone." They'll be joined by fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Cheap Trick ("I Want You to Want Me," "Surrender," "The Flame"), whose lead singer Robin Zander is a longtime Pinellas County resident.
Breakaway Music Festival
April 26-27; Raymond James Stadium
While Sunset Music Festival, the annual Memorial Day weekend electronic music festival at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, won't take place this year, another festival showcasing the same genre at the same venue will. Zedd, the DJ known for such inescapable hits as "Stay" with Alessia Cara and the Song of the Year Grammy-nominated "The Middle" with Maren Morris and Grey, will headline along with Illenium, Kaskade and Florida's own Sofi Tukker.
Indigo Girls
May 3; Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater; rutheckerdhall.com
The folk duo were introduced to a new generation when their 1989 song "Closer to Fine" appeared in last year's biggest box-office hit, "Barbie." This year will see the release of two movies centered on them: the documentary "It's Only Life After All," which appeared along with the pair themselves at last year's Sarasota Film Festival, and the musical "Glitter & Doom."
Brooks & Dunn
May 4; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa; midflorida.com/about-us/amphitheatre
The '90s and '00s country music hitmakers continue their reunion that started in the 2010s, including the 2019 album "Reboot," which features the duo performing some of their biggest hits joined by contemporary country musicians such as "Brand New Man" with Luke Combs.
David Spade
May 4; Ruth Eckerd Hall
First rising to fame as a "Saturday Night Live" cast member, Spade now co-hosts the podcasts "Fly on the Wall" and "Superfly" with his former "SNL" costar Dana Carvey and remains on TV hosting the Fox game show "Snake Oil," in addition to continuing to perform stand-up.
Diana Ross
May 9; The BayCare Sound, Clearwater; rutheckerdhall.com/baycare-sound
The Supremes lead singer turned successful solo star's numerous career accolades include two Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards (the latter just last year as a member of the Supremes), a Special Tony Award, an Oscar nomination for her role in "Lady Sings the Blues" and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
AJR
May 9; Amalie Arena
The pop-rock trio comprising brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met has worked their way up from playing mid-size venues to headlining Yuengling Center, MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre and now Amalie Arena. This tour supports the release of the group's latest album, last year's "The Maybe Man."
Chris Stapleton
May 10; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
Playing MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre just a few months ago for a Veteran's Day concert also featuring rockers Imagine Dragons and R&B singer H.E.R., country singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton returns to the venue, this time joined by Grace Potter (who also headlines Tampa Bay Blues Festival in April) and Nikki Lane.
We Them One's Comedy Tour
May 11; Amalie Arena
The comedy tour is hosted by Mike Epps, who this year has already released his latest stand-up special "Ready to Sell Out" on Netflix and co-starred in the movies "Madame Web" and "The Underdoggs." He's joined by Deray Davis, DC Young Fly, Chico Bean, Karlous Miller, Mojo Brookzz and Lil Duval, from his namesake Florida county.
Hozier
May 11; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
The Irish singer-songwriter rose to fame with his Song of the Year Grammy-nominated No. 2 hit "Take Me to Church," which became the opening track on his 2014 self-titled debut album, and continues to release music including last year's full-length "Unreal Unearth" and this year's accompanying EP "Unheard."
Roy Wood Jr.
May 11; Tampa Theatre
The stand-up comedian, Florida A&M University graduate and former correspondent on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" has also appeared in films including "Confess, Fletch" and series such as Steven Soderbergh's "Command Z."
Amon Amarth
May 18; Yuengling Center
While the metal band hails all the way from Sweden, they'll be joined at this Tampa show with acts from much closer by: Cannibal Corpse and Obituary, two of the best-known groups in Tampa's storied history of death metal. Texas' Frozen Soul rounds out the bill.
Kevin Hart
May 18-19; David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa; strazcenter.org
One of the biggest names in comedy today, who's headlined Amalie Arena before, Kevin Hart will play the much more intimate Straz Center in his next visit to Tampa as he tests out "brand new material." Hart was this year's recipient of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize and co-stars in this summer's upcoming movie "Borderlands."
Bad Bunny
May 21; Amalie Arena
Shortly after co-hosting the famed Met Gala in May, Bad Bunny will visit Tampa on his Most Wanted Tour. It's an apt tour name for the Puerto Rican rapper/singer, who was Spotify's most-streamed artist in the world from 2020 to 2022 and whose last three albums have all topped the Billboard 200.
Dave Matthews Band
May 22; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
The jam rock group makes their semi-regular summer appearance at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre after releasing its latest album "Walk Around the Moon" last year, which was preceded by seven consecutive albums of theirs that topped the Billboard 200.
Mike Birbiglia
May 29; The Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg; themahaffey.com
The stand-up comedian and actor whose latest special "The Old Man & The Pool" premiered on Netflix last year, and who you may have also recently seen in the music video for pop superstar Taylor Swift's song "Anti-Hero," will come to St. Pete with his latest show "Please Stop the Ride."
Niall Horan
May 31; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
Rising to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction alongside Harry Styles, among others, Niall Horan has since also pursued a solo career that includes last year's No. 2 album "The Show" and serving as a coach on the NBC singing competition series "The Voice."
Kane Brown
May 31-June 1; Amalie Arena
The country music crossover success — his 2018 album "Experiment" topped the Billboard 200, and he's collaborated with fellow country musicians as well as artists such as R&B singer Khalid and DJ Marshmello — will play two nights at Amalie Arena on his In the Air Tour.
Tyler Childers
June 5; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
The country/bluegrass musician's 2023 album "Rustin' in the Rain" reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and earned five Grammy nominations: Best Country Album, Best Americana Performance for his cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and Best Country Song, Solo Performance and Music Video for "In Your Love."
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
June 6; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
The rapper and one-time St. Lucie County resident, who scored a No. 1 album with 2018's "Hoodie SZN" and is set to release the new album "Better Off Alone" later this year, will perform along with fellow rappers NLE Choppa, Dess Dior, and Luh Tyler from Tallahassee.
Megan Thee Stallion
June 8; Amalie Arena
The Grammy-winning rapper with the No. 1 hits "Savage Remix" with Beyoncé, "WAP" with Cardi B and this year's solo single "HISS" visits Tampa on her Hot Girl Summer Tour. She'll be joined by fellow rapper GloRilla, whose hits include the Grammy-nominated "F.N.F. (Let's Go)" and "Tomorrow 2," also with Cardi B.
Ali Siddiq
June 8, Tampa Theatre
Many fans discovered Ali Siddiq through his segments on the Comedy Central storytelling series "This is Not Happening," later releasing his one-hour, jail-set special "It's Bigger Than These Bars" on the same channel, but Siddiq has posted his more recent "The Domino Effect" specials on his YouTube page, earning millions of views.
Justin Timberlake
June 14; Amalie Arena
The pop star has been busy lately, releasing his latest solo album "Everything I Thought It Was" in March and reuniting recently with his former group — the Orlando-formed boy band NSYNC — after a hiatus lasting more than 20 years, releasing the single "Better Place" last year for the film "Trolls Band Together."
21 Savage
June 14; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
The Atlanta-by-way-of-Britain rapper tours after releasing his latest No. 1 album, "American Dream," earlier this year. He previously released the 2022 collaborative album "Her Loss" with Drake, with the two rap stars embarking on co-headlining concerts afterwards.
Santana and Counting Crows
June 16; Amalie Arena
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band Santana, led by guitar hero Carlos Santana, co-headlines with "Mr. Jones" pop rockers Counting Crows. If that seems like an unlikely double-bill, remember Santana made a career comeback with 1999's Album of the Year Grammy-winning, 15-times-platinum "Supernatural," featuring many of Counting Crows' contemporaries such as Rob Thomas and Dave Matthews.
Melanie Martinez
June 18; Amalie Arena
The season three "The Voice" contestant turned pop star embarks on the Trilogy Tour, where she'll perform hits from her three Top 10 albums — 2015's "Cry Baby," 2019's "K—12" and last year's "Portals" — joined by the band Beach Bunny and singer Sofia Isella.
Alanis Morissette
June 19; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
Alanis Morissette, whose 1995 album "Jagged Little Pill" became one of the best-selling records of all time (and a Broadway musical), performs with another pioneering woman in rock: Joan Jett, who played in proto-punk band the Runaways before starting a solo career with hits such as her rendition of "I Love Rock 'n Roll" and "Bad Reputation."
Red Hot Chili Peppers
June 21; MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group has ranked among the genre's most successful acts for decades, including this one, with their 2022 albums "Unlimited Love" and "Return of the Dream Canteen" landing at No. 1 and 3 on the Billboard 200, respectively. Joining them will be rapper and fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (as a member of N.W.A.) Ice Cube.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Biggest Tampa Bay concerts comedy shows April May June 2024