The wonderful Whitney James is in the Side Door tonight celebrating the cooler weather with a selection of tunes she’s calling “Fall In Love With Jazz.”   I was going to tell you about it, but I asked Whitney to write a few thoughts down and when I got her[…]

We’re so proud to be part of SPF18, the showcase of St. Pete’s finest performers.   Tonight we’re hosting the American Stage Improv Festival, which features a stellar lineup of artists including my heroes, Hawk and Wayne, performers from Florida Studio Theater, The Box, and headliners Improv Boston.  That show[…]

Tuesday night is the final performance of St. Petersburg Opera’s latest hit, Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Tampa Bay Times critic Andrew Meacham praised this season opening production.   There are still some tickets remaining for Tuesday’s 7:30 performance. Call the Palladium box office at 727-822-3590 or follow this link for on-line[…]

We’re blessed to have pianist Rebecca Penneys calling our area home. She is an internationally known concert artist and was a long-time professor of piano at the famed Eastman School of Music.   She is the founder and continues to lead the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, a training ground for[…]

Our friends at the Florida Holocaust Museum are in the middle of an exciting new exhibition called Bill Graham and the Rock and Roll Revolution. Graham escaped the Holocaust as a child, but lost his mother at Auschwitz. Graham went on to become the greatest promoter in rock history, known[…]

Our Friday night stand-up comedy show in the Side Door features none other than Brute Force, the King of Fuh. And for a guy who first emerged in the 1960s as a songwriter and singer, he’s on a complete roll in 2018!   The hottest album release in the world[…]

Got to sit down with Nate Najar last week for a good conversation.  He was  fresh off the airplane from shows in England and France all in conjunction with the release of his new album of French tunes – Under Paris Skies. The local release party is this Thursday, Oct.[…]

Just visited with Nate Najar who is fresh off the airplane from shows in England and France all in conjunction with the release of his new album of French tunes – Under Paris Skies. The local release party is in the Side Door on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m.[…]

OK, I’m not in the demographic for Buffy The Vampire Slayer. But that didn’t stop me from LOVING last year’s Buffyfest. And I’m so excited about the  even bigger return of Buffyfest in 2018 that I might have to go out and drive a stake through someone’s vampire heart.  […]

 One great thing about the growth of this area – especially in the arts – is the talented folks who are choosing St. Pete and the Tampa Bay area as their home base.,   One of the best is Phil Magallanes, an incredible pianist and arranger. He’s brought his Phil’s[…]

Our 2018 staging of Webb’s City – The Musical has a lot going for it. For one, the show is going up without the threat of a killer hurricane bearing down on our city. (Remember Irma?)  And most of the cast members from last year’s production are back.   When[…]

Doc Webb not only created the first “superstore” in America, he put St. Petersburg on the national map and inspired one of my favorite musicals.   This weekend the Palladium is bringing back Webb’s City – The Musical. We’ve got lots of folks coming who have seen this show before[…]

For the past 10 years the Palladium has enjoyed a successful partnership with Tampa Bay’s public television station, WEDU. First with Dick Lobo at the helm, and when he retired, his successor  Susan Howarth continued the relationship without missing a beat.   She went out of her way to befriend[…]

Lauren Mitchell has long been a favorite down here. And it has been fun to watch her career advance – due not only to her great voice and stage presence – but the way she has built her musical dream one album and one tour at a time. Nobody works[…]

We love being the place where Tampa Bay’s best bands and artists release their new material. One of our favorite jazz groups, La Lucha, will release their new album, “Pa’ Lante” in the Side Door on Friday, Sept. 14 at 8.   You can get tickets and information by calling[…]

Part of the fun of my job is finding talented young performers and making them part of the Palladium family. A few years ago, one of those youngsters was a guy right out of the University of South Florida named Selwyn Birchwood.   We loved him from the start –[…]

Your favorite local venue has become one of the busiest places in Tampa Bay over the past 10 years. The Palladium at SPC now produces a season of shows that run virtually non-stop from late September to mid-June.   And we don’t really rest in the summer, we just produce[…]

Wanted to share some photos of our Cannonball and Nancy jazz concert last Thursday. The concert featured Jack Wilkins and an all-star band in the Side Door. It was part of our Summer of Soul series. Cannonball and Nat Adderley, both Tampa-born and Florida-raised, certainly fit that bill.   Larry[…]

Michael Murillo is one of the funniest guys I know. And he proves it on stage regularly, opening for Amy Schumer and Tig Notaro, and delivering a very funny set in a Side Door stand-up night at the Palladium last year.  Michael produces “Girls Night Out,” a night of comedy[…]

Latimore, I learned from John Capouya’s book, Florida Soul, doesn’t play where he lives, and since he lives in Riverview, that means the Blues Hall of Famer and veteran soul man doesn’t play in Tampa Bay. Except this Saturday night, when Latimore and his band take the stage in the[…]

The first blues act we brought to the Side Door has proven to be one of our all-time favorites – Damon Fowler. When Damon and his trio play here, the Side Door transforms into a laid-back Sugar Shack and the band and the audience  have some down-home Florida fun.  […]

Our Summer of Soul theme is a celebration of John Capouya’s new book, Florida Soul, which chronicles the history of soul pioneers from the Sunshine State. One name that shows up a lot in John’s book is Cannonball Adderley. Perhaps the greatest jazz player – along with his brother Nat[…]

I love it when one of our Side Door shows is picked as a “must see show this weekend” alongside such big entertainment offerings as Imagine Dragons and Disney’s The Lion King.    TBN newspaper group  did just that singling out tonight’s Love Letters concert featuring Jamie Perlow on vocals[…]

What a magical weekend at the Palladium with Nate Najar’s Bossa Nova Guitars last Friday  and Saturday night’s soul-tastic evening with Little Jake and the Soul Searchers. Both nights were sold-out and everyone was happy they came out.   Nate and Phill Fest have performed here together in the past,[…]

  Somehow, I hadn’t heard Jamie Perlow sing until the night she fronted The Florida Bjorkestra,  in a concert of Bjork’s unforgettable music.  Now, I can’t get enough of Jamie’s powerful, evocative voice and her commanding stage presence. If you haven’t heard her sing with  The Florida Bjorkestra, or the[…]

As we planned out Summer of Soul program I knew we needed to give our patrons a “religious experience.” So of course, I had to call Rev. Billy C. Wirtz.  He’s the Master of The 88 Key Disaster, King of the Atomic Boogie, the paino man who can make you[…]

Just a quick update on Saturday’s show featuring Little Jake Mitchell and his large band, The Soul Searchers. I just found out St. Pete’s own Frankie Gearing, another veteran of the classic soul era, will join Little Jake for several songs during the Side Door show Saturday night.   Both[…]

Wow.  I knew I liked our great summer lineup for soul, jazz and comedy – a series we’re calling the Summer of Soul – but it’s great to know our audiences agree with me.   Last weekends shows were both sold out. Jeremy Carter brought a killer band and great[…]

Little Jake Mitchell couldn’t help himself, he was always going to be a singer.   Born in Tampa, he was discovered  when a man heard him singing in the background of a telephone call and had to know “that singer.”   Henry Urso, a Tampa businessman, immediately got him down[…]

We’re kicking off our Summer of Soul series this weekend with two “must-see” shows in our intimate Side Door Cabaret.   Saturday night we’ve got a powerful R&B double-bill featuring The Dukes of Juke and the big horn band, Blue Dice. I’ll be writing about that show later this week.[…]

I’m very happy that the Palladium is one of the venues chosen for the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival. The Piano Ambassadors cxoncert, featuring two stellar young artists,happens Sunday at 2 p.m. I can’t think of a better way to spend a steaming hot July afternoon than in the cool comfort[…]

You’ve got three more chances to see St. Petersburg Opera’s delightful production of The Music Man at the Palladium. I saw the show with a very happy crowd on Tuesday night and it’s been playing to full houses all weekend.   Final shows are Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. You can[…]

I don’t know how many rap music fans will be in the audience for the upcoming run of The Music Man, but maybe they should be.   The Meredith Willson show, being produced at the Palladium by St. Petersburg Opera, earns some street cred for the being the first Broadway[…]

I’m so excited to have G. David Howard headlining our Saturday night comedy show. It’s the first time at the Side Door for this local and national legend who owns the title: “Funniest Man Alive.”   The show, which is selling fast, got a big thumbs up from the Tampa[…]

We’ve got a very special jazz concert coming up for Father’s Day in the Side Door this Sunday. Our own Nate Najar is back with two of the best side men in the business – clarinetist Dan Levinson, and bassist Tommy Cecil. Nate’s calling this his “Swing Trio” and I[…]

Is anybody funnier than G. David Howard? Not according to his loyal fans and the Guiness Book of World Records.   G. David, who has been the top comic in the Tampa Bay area since before lots of his audiences were born, was named Funniest Man Alive by Guiness after[…]

Last night the graduation for St. Petersburg’s MYcroSchool, which happened in the Palladium’s Hough Hall, was featured as the closing story on ABC Nightly News.   You can see the piece by clicking on this link.   You can read more details about this touching story in this report from[…]

We had so much fun last fall with the kickoff party for John Capouya’s book, Florida Soul, that we decided we’d make our summer season one big soul party in the Side Door Cabaret.   We’re calling it “Summer of Soul,” and our focus, like John’s book, is on some[…]

OK, occasionally Palladium Paul slips away from his desk and returns to doing some performing.   And I’m really excited about what I’m doing this Friday, June 8. I’m one of four storytellers chosen to share a revealing personal story for the RISK podcast, during a live show.   What’s[…]

I was in WUSF Radio studios taping an arts podcast on a stormy afternoon last week when I noticed Mike Cornette, WUSF’s jazz director on the other side of the glass.   After I finished my podcast, he hopped into the interviewer chair and we chatted a bit about our[…]

We’ve got a very special jazz concert coming up in the Side Door on June 17th. Our own Nate Najar is back with two of the best side men in the business – clarinetist Dan Levinson, and bassist Tommy Cecil. Nate’s calling this his “Swing Trio” and I can guarantee[…]

Our new development manager, Monica Kile, and her family are the main feature in this week’s issue of Creative Loafing.   It’s the first public sharing of what Monica and Jon’s friends all know – that Jon’s genetic condition is life-threatening and that the family of four has vowed to[…]

Back in my days as a reporter I was lucky enough to spend time with lots of talented people, like Maya Angelou, Frank Zappa, Nat Adderly and dozens more. One of my favorite afternoons was spent at Kitty Daniel’s Tampa house talking about music.   After we talked, she played[…]

The editors at Tampa Bay Magazine have again named The Palladium at SPC to their “Best of 2018” list.   The “Best” list is included in the current May-June edition and it honors the Palladium as the “Best Community Performing Arts Center.” Here’s what they said:   “A part of[…]

Hard to believe we are coming to the end of another wonderful Palladium Chamber Players season. The final concert, featuring Jeffrey Multer and the Mile-End Trio, is Wednesday, May 9 at 7:30.   Marika Bournaki, piano,  and Julian Schwarz, cello, wowed our January audience and this program, with works by[…]

I got to New Orleans just before Jazz Fest and saw the posters for the annual WWOZ Piano Night show, which happens at the House of Blues between the two festival weekends.   I was thrilled to see a name that all our Palladium audiences are familiar with – Bob[…]

Our Side Door cabaret has become the go-to spot for book launch parties this year and we’ve got a great one this Sunday at 4 p.m. Author Bill DeYoung is celebrating his new book, Phil Gernhard, Record Man (University Press of Florida), by bringing one of the Gernhard’s hitmakers, The[…]

I made sure I flew home from an extra-long weekend of food and music in New Orleans in time for tonight’s concert by the Palladium Chamber Players (Wednesday, April 25). It’s an all-Schubert program and there are still some fine seats available.   For tickets and information call our box[…]

My pal, the rock ‘n roll troubadour, Ronny Elliott takes the mic in the Palladium’s Side Door for a show that celebrates “the magnetic seabreeze that brings hepcats” to our humid hunk of Florida coastline. Ronny didn’t have to ride the breeze, he was Tampa-born (he saw Elvis at the[…]

There is so much to tell you about Sunday’s Madonna/George Michael show “Something Sacred” featuring the 18-piece Florida Bjorkestra and a special choir from One City Chorus.   If you haven’t seen a Bjorkestra show, what are you waiting for? Both Creative Loafing and TB Times are raving. Here’s what[…]