By Patty Ewald Tampa Bay Times CJ Harding was an 8-year-old girl when she met Elvis. It was in Savannah, Ga., in June 1956 — six months after he recorded Heartbreak Hotel and Blue Suede Shoes, six months before his first film, Love Me Tender, premiered and a mere three[…]

This will be a short post since I’m still recovering from all the shows this past weekend. It started Thursday night when the St. Pete Jazz Festival took up residence in the Side Door and packed the place for O Som Do Jazz. Friday night’s Blues at the Crossroads show[…]

So much happening both here at the Palladium and at other hot spots, I needed to do a little collection of short subjects. Let’s start with: BOOGIE WOOGIE BLUES PIANO STOMP: Saturday night’s show has sold almost 700 tickets. The Palladium only holds 850 people, so if you don’t have[…]

Tampa Bay Times Performing Arts Writer John Fleming featured Jeff Multer and our new Palladium Chamber Players in Sunday’s Latitudes section. The article advances the concert this Wednesday night at the Palladium. To read the entire article visit: http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/stage/florida-orchestra-concertmaster-returns-to-his-chamber-music-roots/1274856 Here’s an excerpt: Florida Orchestra concertmaster Jeffrey Multer returns to chamber[…]

We’ve got a great weekend of blues coming up. Saturday, Feb. 23, is our fourth annual boogie woogie blues piano stomp. More on that in a future blogpost, but today I want to talk about Friday, Feb. 22, when we feature Blues At The Crossroads, a tribute to Muddy Waters[…]

Chris MacDonald’s introduction to the King of Rock and Roll, came from watching old Elvis movies on TV with his Mom, who was a fan. “Elvis was cool in those movies – he beat up the bad guys and had cute girls in bikinis chasing him – it looked like[…]

Running the Palladium means I don’t get out to that many other venues but last Sunday I carved out some time to see The Piano Lesson at American Stage. It’s the latest installment of the August Wilson Cycle – a collection of plays reflecting aspects of African-American life during each[…]

You can read John Fleming’s review of St. Petersburg Opera’s Tosca by following this link or checking out the excerpt below. Tosca has one more performance tonight at 7:30. For tickets visit www.mypalladium.org or call 727 822-3590. Here’s the link to the full review: http://www.tampabay.com/features/performingarts/review-local-voices-soar-in-tosca/1273707 Review: Local voices soar in[…]

If you want a full-contact, no-holds barred opera experience, then this weekend’s production of Tosca, by the St. Petersburg Opera is a must-see. Tosca, one of Puccini’s masterpieces, litters the stage with dead bodies – during an evening of torture, sexual blackmail, revenge, murder, suicide and, unforgettable music. Director A.J.[…]

It’s just been six months since she was last on the Side Door stage, but Lauren Mitchell has spent that time producing a new CD, adding a new rhythm section and giving her stage-show more dynamics. Lauren has always been effective in her uptempo numbers but Friday night her ballads[…]

We’re thrilled to have Lauren Mitchell back at the Palladium celebrating the release of her debut CD – Please Come Home. Tickets are going fast and the show will definitely be sold out in advance of Friday’s night’s concert in the Side Door. The December issue of Mayhem Magazine features[…]

We had three great shows in the Side Door last weekend – Nicki Parrott and Rossano Sportiello on Thursday; Roy Book Binder and Paul Geremia on Friday; and Whitney James and her great band on Saturday night. Whitney, who lives in our area but sings in jazz clubs around the[…]

BayPop writer Eric Snider reviewed Thursday night’s Side Door show, which featured New York jazz artists Nicki Parrott and Rossano Sportiello and Eddie Metz Jr. Read the review below or click on this link to visit the BayPop site: http://www.baypop.com/ Jazz Artist Parrott Charms the Side Door at the Palladium[…]

We had to put up the SOLD OUT sign on Friday and Saturday night last weekend. Damon Fowler, our Side Door favorite, brought his incredible new band, Southern Hospitality, to the nightclub stage. I was there Friday for what I think was the best show I’ve ever seen in the[…]

You can read the full story below or click to read it at the BayPop site: http://www.baypop.com/a-new-day-at-the-palladium/ A NEW DAY AT THE PALLADIUM By Eric Snider Jan. 9, 2013 For years, the Palladium Theater on the fringes of downtown St. Petersburg served as a venue for local performing arts groups[…]

Palladium audiences already love Damon Fowler – and this weekend they get to hear Damon’s newest project – Southern Hospitality – a collaboration between Damon, Florida guitarist J.P. Soars and Memphis keyboardist Victor Wainwright. The five-piece band will be appearing two nights in our intimate Side Door Cabaret and tickets[…]

The Palladium’s Side Door Cabaret, winner of a Creative Loafing “Best of the Bay” award last fall, features a full-slate of great music this month. If you’ve been to a Side Door show, I’m sure we’ll see you sometime this month. If you haven’t, now is your chance to check[…]

Working at the Palladium has some real advantages for a music lover like myself. This week, my treat has been listening to the rehearsals for Seasonal Sparkle, the St. Petersburg Opera holiday production. Yesterday, I got to hear the St. Petersburg Opera orchestra rehearse under the baton of Maestro Mark[…]

We’ve got some great holiday traditions at the Palladium – like Black Nativity and the St. Petersburg Ballet’s Nutcracker – but for our jazz audience, December always means the Nate Najar Holiday Show. Our favorite jazz guitarist – who lives in St. Pete when he’s not on the road –  has been[…]

Still a relative newcomer on the blues and R&B scene, Lauren Mitchell is fast becoming a star. She sold out her summer show at the Side Door and will return on Jan. 25 to celebrate the release of her brand new CD – Please Come Home. The December issue of[…]

Radio Theatre Project, a partnership between WMNF Radio and the Studio at 620, will be presenting the holiday classic – It’s a Wonderful Life – during their holiday gala at the Palladium on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. The company presents new plays and classic radio plays during their regular[…]

Tampa  Bay Times took note of the big names set to play the Palladium in the coming months. Here’s what they said: Keb’ Mo’ is one of the best blues artists touring today. Los Lobos’ David Hilalgo and Cesar Rosas are icons of Chicano rock. So it is no surprise[…]

It’s non-stop music this weekend at the Palladium. It’s so much music, that we’re starting the weekend early with a great boogie woogie piano show on Thursday. Just pick a night and a genre and you’ll find something to enjoy. Thursday night it’s two of the country’s best boogie woogie[…]

I’m such of fan of Connie Evingson – she’s beautiful, she is a great singer – but she’s also a brave performer, who follows her musical passions. She’s  explored Gypsy jazz, done full albums of music by Peggy Lee and Dave Frishberg, and now she’s showcasing the rhythms of bossa nova. “I[…]

Creative Loafing Theater Critic Mark Leib loved the American Stage production of Wit, currently running through this Sunday on the Palladium main-stage. He gives the show a five-star rating – the highest he offers. He joins other critics, like John Fleming in raving about this show. Tickets are available through[…]

Everybody’s favorite Left-Neck singer/songwriter, Grant Peeples, is bringing his Bob Dylan tribute show to our area for the first time. Grant and five other bands will be doing more than two hours worth of Bob tunes at the Palladium on Friday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m.   These shows – Bob Night: All Bob Dylan,[…]

If you love cabaret shows, as I do, you’ll enjoy this story on the state of art form from Sunday’s New York Times by Stephen Holden. It is also a good overview of the best artists at work today. Selling tickets for cabaret shows remains a challenge, as we learned last season at[…]

I wanted to share this note from the Suncoast Jazz Classic about the passing of our good friend Mat Domber. I’ll be writing more about Mat and his support for jazz and the Palladium’s jazz programming later this week.      Classic & Jazz World Saddened By Loss Of Mat Domber  […]

How does he do it? Paul Wilborn is one amazing guy. He manages to book a whole summer of incredible performers and bands in the intimate Side Door Cabaret. Creative Loafing is so impressed they give the Side Door a “Best of the Bay” Award. And now he proves that[…]

We’ve got something very special this Friday in the Side Door – St. Petersbug Opera is presenting a night Broadway songs by the principal singers in their upcoming production of Sweeney Todd. Tickets are available through SPO. Here’s an excerpt from the SPO’s newsletter about the show: What’s your favorite[…]

Regulars know the Side Door Cabaret is the top music listening room in the area. Great sound, low lights, a bar, cabaret tables and an audience that comes to listen. Now, the world knows about the Side Door as well. The Side Door is a Best of the Bay winner in[…]

The Palladium’s new season kicked off with a syncopated dose of Brazilian jazz, courtesy of La Lucha and a great Nate Najar quartet featuring John Lamb, Jeff Rupert and the great D.C. drummer, Chuck Redd. The show celebrated the 50th anniversary of Jazz Samba– the Grammy winning album by Charlie Byrd[…]

New Orleans bandleader Trombone Shorty, former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts and blues whiz Jonny Lang lead the bill for the 2013 Tampa Bay Blues Festival. Tab Benoit, Curtis Salgado, Lucky Peterson, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers and the Royal Southern Brotherhood featuring Mike Zito, Devon Allman and[…]

Here’s a Ruth Eckerd Hall press release regarding the Jeff Garlin show:  September 13, 2012, Clearwater, FL – It was announced today by artist management that Jeff Garlin has been confirmed to star in a major motion picture and therefore is forced to cancel several concert appearances including his date at[…]

This past Wednesday, the blues-infused rock of the one and only bluesmaster Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his band rocked Hough Hall, brought to our stage by good folks at The Mahaffey Foundation.By the time the band was halfway through its set, they had most of the house on their feet.[…]

I’m headed out for distant destinations, far from Florida’s summer, a certain convention, and the craziness of running an historic and very busy theater. Some of my  buddies will be keeping this blog going a bit while I’m gone. I’ll be back just in time for our big season kickoff[…]

If you weren’t at the Palladium Friday afternoon for the taping of the PBS news program  Wasington Week with Gwen Ifill, then check out the Palladium facebook page for a collection of great photos. Our beautiful theater looked great in her close-up on national TV. Thanks to all the Washington[…]

To get yourself ready for Damon Fowler’s rockin’ return to the  Palladium’s Side Door Cabaret this Friday (Aug. 24), and Saturday (Aug. 25), check out this 2011 interview from BluesWax Magazine. For tickets and more info on the Side Door shows, visit www.mypalladium.org. BluesWax Sittin’ In With Damon Fowler By[…]

 Show No. 1 – Billy Seward and Soulfonic, Friday, Aug. 17, 8 p.m.  Horn-driven R & B by a great performer. Here’s what WMNF’s bluesman Larry Lisk said about Billy and the band: “One of the most easily identifiable sounds of the 60’s, Motown notwithstanding, was the horn driven Stax sound coming out of[…]

Steve Vai, an undisputed guitar god, will play close-up and personal in the Palladium’s imtimate Hough Hall this Thursday night. There may be one or two tickets remaining, but the show is essentially sold-out. To get you prepared, check out this article from Premier Guitar magazine called “Interview: Steve Vai –[…]

During the ’90s, before I left Tampa for Ann Arbor, Berlin and Los Angeles (a long story), my favorite bay area band was Halcyon. Deb Hunseder and Steph Callahan’s harmonies, their original songs and great covers, quickly built a strong local following. It didn’t hurt that they also had big personalities that[…]

Gypsy Star, a colorful and seductive flamenco and gypsy ensemble, kicks off our August Side Door shows on Saturday night, Aug. 4. Great musicians, singers and even a dancer, are highlights of Gypsy Star’s unique show. After months of trying, I was able to book my favorite female duo, Halcyon,[…]

Lauren Mitchell played her first Side Door Blues show last week, bringing in a great band, her big voice and stage presence and a very tight pair of leopard skin slacks. What more could you ask for in a show? She and the band will be back soon. In case you[…]

Today’s Tampa Bay Times featured a great interview with Gwen Ifill, host of Washington Week on PBS. The show is being recorded at the Palladium on Aug. 24, in advance of the Republican Convention. The story says, in part: NewsHour co-anchor Gwen Ifill‘s mind is on Florida and St. Petersburg,[…]

Hedda Lettuce, the beloved “Queen of Green,” dropped in from New York on Wednesday night to share her now-infamous talkback presentation of “Mommie Dearest.” The show was a benefit for the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and the place was packed. “Mommie Dearest,” with Hedda’s quips and commentary,[…]

Did you make it for at least one of the shows on our Blues Blowout Weekend? I’m still recovering from three nights of fun. St. Pete Blues Allstars – sold out. Backtrack Blues Band CD release party – sold out. Chris Thomas King, impeccable bluesman and star of O Brother Where[…]