A new year also means a new start to the concert and comedy tour calendar, as many performers who took time off for the holidays head back on the road, and our greater Tampa Bay area already looks to have an impressive start to 2025.
We start with some big names in comedy, including Jim Gaffigan headlining Tampa’s Amalie Arena on Saturday, and comic legends and current TV co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short visiting Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall on Jan. 10. You’ll also find iconic singers and groups, including two that were recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Multiple annual music festivals will make their return, including Sarasota’s Thunder by the Bay Music & Motorcycle Festival and Plant City’s Florida Strawberry Festival, featuring a typically eclectic concert lineup that includes a country music star who the festival said broke a record for opening day ticket sales. And speaking of Sarasota, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall reopens after months of canceled or postponed dates due to damage from Hurricane Milton, making up for lost time with an array of shows.
Presented in chronological order, here are the biggest concerts and comedy shows set to visit the greater Tampa Bay area in January, February and March 2025. Event details are subject to change.
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Saturday, Jan. 4; Amalie Arena, Tampa; amaliearena.com
The stand-up comedian who just earned his eighth Best Comedy Album Grammy nomination for “The Prisoner” — and released his latest special “The Skinny” on Hulu in November, so don’t be surprised if that earns him another nomination come the next Grammys — performs on his Barely Alive tour. Gaffigan also recently appeared on “Saturday Night Live” playing Kamala Harris’ vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
Jan. 10; Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater; rutheckerdhall.com
The two Martins have built successful comedy careers both separately and together, including co-starring in the 1986 comedy movie “Three Amigos” with Chevy Chase, and more recently with Selena Gomez on the hit Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” which just concluded its fourth season and was renewed for a fifth.
Jan. 26; Seminole Hard Rock Event Center, Tampa; casino.hardrock.com/tampa/entertainment/hard-rock-event-center
Mike Epps already has another Tampa date on the calendar — he’s set to host the We Them Ones Comedy Tour, featuring fellow comedians including Kountry Wayne and Lil Duval, visiting Amalie Arena on May 10 — but first you can catch him at this show. It’s indicative of Epps’ busy schedule, which also includes recent appearances in the movies “Madame Web” and “The Underdoggs” and the series “I’m a Virgo,” plus the 2024 Netflix special “Ready to Sell Out.”
Feb. 8; Amalie Arena
The R&B singer was among last year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, among other accolades including nine Grammys, an Emmy for her Super Bowl halftime show performance, and two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song for 2017’s “Mudbound” — becoming the first person nominated for acting and songwriting Oscars in the same year. Fellow R&B stars Ne-Yo and Mario will also perform.
Feb. 8; The Sound, Clearwater; rutheckerdhall.com/baycare-sound
After recently co-headlining Tampa’s MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre with fellow theatrical goth-rocker Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper will play another outdoor venue in the area at Clearwater’s The Sound. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted, Grammy-nominated Cooper released his latest album “Road” in 2023, the same year he hit the road on tour and visited Tampa.
Feb. 13; Amalie Arena
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Italian tenor and classical crossover star will perform a concert of “soaring arias, crossover hits and famed love songs,” presented by Tampa’s Straz Center and featuring Opera Tampa Chorus members. Want even more Bocelli? Andrea’s son and fellow singer Matteo Bocelli will perform March 10 at Straz Center and March 12 at Sarasota’s Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.
Feb. 14-16; Sarasota County Fairgrounds, Sarasota; thunderbythebay.org
The annual festival will return with a greatest-hits lineup of sorts of musical headliners, all of whom have played the event before: Blue Oyster Cult of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” fame, still featuring co-founder Buck Dharma and longtime member Eric Bloom; Homer Simpson’s favorite band Grand Funk Railroad, still featuring the “bong-rattling bass” of Mel Schacher and the “competent drum work” of Don Brewer; and country rocker Creed Fisher.
Feb. 14-16; Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, Tampa; gasparillamusic.com
Taking place the same weekend as Thunder by the Bay will be Tampa’s Gasparilla Music Festival, which moved to Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park last year and will be held there again. While the 2025 lineup hadn’t been announced by press time, it’s typically a genre-spanning list, with 2024 headliners including electronic group Louis the Child, alternative rockers Young the Giant, and the rap duo of Killer Mike and Big Boi, replacing Lake Street Dive.
Feb. 15; Amalie Arena
Already one of the largest stars in stand-up comedy, Katt Williams had a big 2024 that included a much-talked-about appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast “Club Shay Shay,” getting name-dropped on Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss track “Meet the Grahams,” and releasing the live Netflix special “Woke Foke.” His previous Netflix special, 2018’s “Great America,” was filmed at Jacksonville’s Florida Theatre and discusses the city at length.
Feb. 15; The Sound
The iconic outlaw country musician remains busy as ever at 91 years old. Last year, he was one of the musical guests on fellow Texan Beyoncé’s country album “Cowboy Carter,” and in 2023, he was the subject of the Emmy-nominated documentary miniseries “Willie Nelson & Family,” celebrated his 90th birthday by performing at the Hollywood Bowl, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Feb. 16; Amalie Arena
Jo Koy might’ve had a misstep when it came to his generally poorly received hosting duties at last year’s Golden Globe Awards, but it hasn’t seemed to stop his stride much, releasing his latest Netflix special “Live from Brooklyn” the same year and continuing to play big venues such as Amalie Arena. The comedian also recently had his first major film vehicle with 2022’s holiday comedy “Easter Sunday.”
Feb. 22; Amalie Arena
The country singer and soon-to-be coach on NBC’s popular singing competition series “The Voice” reached a few other milestones recently: her 2024 album “Patterns” became her first Billboard Country Albums chart-topping album and, at No. 4, her highest position on the Billboard 200 to date. This will also be her first headlining arena tour, which comes to Tampa with Maisie Peters and MaRynn Taylor.
Feb. 22; Tampa Theatre, Tampa; tampatheatre.org
While she first rose to fame in the late 2000s and early 2010s on television, appearing on multiple Comedy Central roasts, co-creating the comedy “2 Broke Girls” and creating and starring in the sitcom “Whitney,” Whitney Cummings has been performing stand-up throughout those years. She also now hosts the podcast Good for You, and did recently serve as the host for Max’s “Friends”-themed game show “Fast Friends.”
Feb. 26; Seminole Hard Rock Event Center, Tampa
After playing the 20,000-plus-capacity Amalie Arena in 2022, two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Rod Stewart (both for his solo work and stint in the band Faces) returns to Tampa to play the much more intimate, 1,500-seat Hard Rock Event Center. The show takes place shortly before the start of his One Last Time tour — which Stewart said won’t be his retirement from music, but will be from big tours — so this may be among the last chances to see him live.
Feb. 27-March 9; Florida Strawberry Festival Grounds, Plant City; flstrawberryfestival.com
The annual festival returns with another eclectic lineup of musical entertainment, ranging from country (Jon Pardi, Bailey Zimmerman) to rock (John Fogerty, Lynyrd Skynyrd) to rap/R&B (Boyz II Men, Nelly.) However, the biggest name is country singer, “The Voice” coach and sitcom star Reba McEntire, who set a record for opening day ticket sales to a Florida Strawberry Festival concert, according to the festival. McEntire, along with Post Malone, recently paid tribute to longtime Sarasota County resident and Allman Brothers Band cofounder Dickey Betts when the two sang the Betts-penned “Ramblin’ Man” at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards ceremony, shortly after Betts’ death in April.
March 5; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota; vanwezel.org; March 9, Seminole Hard Rock Event Center
The R&B/soul singer’s many accolades include seven Grammys — three with Gladys Knight & the Pips, four as a solo artist — induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and inclusion in the Grammy Hall of Fame for the Pips’ renditions of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Midnight Train to Georgia.” More recently, she received Kennedy Center Honors in 2022, alongside fellow musicians Amy Grant, Tania León and U2.
March 7; Amalie Arena
After briefly been hired, then fired, as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member, Shane Gillis found success on his own through stand-up specials including 2023’s “Beautiful Dogs,” his Netflix show “Tires” that is returning for a second season, and making his belated debut on “SNL” as a host. Further proof of his rising fame is that, rather than a comedy club or theater, he’ll be playing an arena when he visits Tampa.
March 8; Ruth Eckerd Hall; March 11; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
The comedian known for his rants fueled on righteous outrage is embarking on his supposed final tour, Goodbye Yeller Brick Road, a funny and fitting play on Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Black is a two-time Best Comedy Album Grammy winner who has also appeared on “The Daily Show” in his “Back in Black” segments, and in Pixar’s 2015 Oscar-winning film “Inside Out” and last year’s hit sequel voicing the literal embodiment of anger.
March 12; Seminole Hard Rock Event Center; March 13; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted Texas trio rose to fame in the ’70s with albums including “Tres Hombres” and “Fandango!” and songs such as “Tush” and “La Grange,” then in the ’80s with their diamond-selling album “Eliminator” and its single and music video “Legs.” The band was also known for their beard, sunglasses and hat-clad appearance and the same lineup for 51 years until Dusty Hill’s death in 2021, with longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis stepping in.
Mar. 13; Seminole Hard Rock Event Center
Blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Gary Clark Jr. visits Tampa after releasing his latest album last year, “JPEG RAW,” featuring guest musicians including Stevie Wonder and George Clinton. It’s the follow-up to his 2019 album “This Land,” which won a Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy, along with Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for its searing title track.
March 14; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
The stand-up comedians, former late-night television hosts, and onetime Rolling Stone cover co-stars Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall will team up for a show at Van Wezel. In recent years, Jay Leno has continued to perform stand-up (including at Van Wezel in 2014, the night after his final episode hosting “The Tonight Show”), while Arsenio Hall again appeared alongside Eddie Murphy in the 2021 movie “Coming 2 America,” the sequel to 1988’s “Coming to America.”
March 15; The Sound
Another inductee at the latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, Foreigner comes to The Sound with a catalog of hits including “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Double Vision” and “I Want to Know What Love Is.” Keep in mind, though, that Mick Jones is the only original member still actively involved with the group today, and even then, he doesn’t appear at every live show anymore.
March 15; Capitol Theatre, Clearwater; rutheckerdhall.com
Fun fact: Comedian Dan Whitney used to play Larry the Cable Guy on the Tampa Bay radio program “The Ron and Ron Show,” and Les McCurdy, the owner of McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre in Sarasota, suggested Whitney do a stand-up set as the character. From there on, he became a founding member of the wildly successful Blue Collar Comedy Tour and starred in films including Pixar’s “Cars” franchise. He returns to the Tampa Bay area for a show at Capitol Theatre.
March 22; Innisbrook Resort, Palm Harbor; valsparchampionship.com
The annual golf tournament Valspar Championship held at Palm Harbor’s Innisbrook Resort also features a concert. This year’s performer will be country music star Jordan Davis, who has multiple No. 1 country airplay hits to his name including “Singles You Up,” “Slow Dance in a Parking Lot,” “What Spins My World Around,” “Tucson Too Late” and the Luke Bryan collaboration “Buy Dirt,” which also won the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year.
March 28; Ruth Eckerd Hall
Phish aren’t exactly frequent visitors to the Tampa Bay area — phish.net has the USF Sun Dome in 1995 listed as their last show there — but founding lead vocalist/guitarist Trey Anastasio has visited there a couple of times since then. Anastasio, who was named the 53rd greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone, returns to the area on an extended solo acoustic tour, his first since 2019.
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
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