By Nanette Wiser
CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK’S DAY Tampa Bay celebrates St. Paddy’s Day with green beer, Irish dancers, kilts & fiddling. Perhaps one of the best local bands is Paddy O’Furniture who celebrate a good jig all year round. On March 8 they’ll play at Dunedin Brewery, then March 14 at Tampa’s River O’Green. It’s a jolly good time featuring Kerry O’Reilly (guitar, vocals), Sean O’Rourke (accordion, whistles, banjo, vocals), Victoria Henderson (bass, vocals), Matt Mayes (fiddle, percussion, vocals) and Andy Crippen (mandolin, bouzouki, vocals). During St. Paddy season, they add a bagpipe player McLaren Mahan, and when needed, drummer Tommy Fesenden. This summer, the band will make their second tour of Ireland!
St. Patrick’s Day 2026 in St. Petersburg features the 4th Annual Paddy Fest at Williams Park (March 13-15), featuring live music, a 90-foot obstacle course, and Irish cuisine. Key events include the Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern Third Street Block Party on March 17 and multiple city-wide bar crawls on March 14 and 17. Experience three days of world-class Irish music, dance, and entertainment at Paddy Fest St. Pete 2026 featuring musicians Derek Warfield & The Young Wolfe Tones, The Byrne Brothers, Seven Nations, The Gobshites, The Bawdy Boys and additional performances by Dunedin Pipe Band, Suncoast United Pipes and Drums of Dunedin, St. Pete Irish Dance, Scariff Irish Dancers, Brendan Nolan, Chad McDonald, John Kelly & Sons, Cory Van Valin, Cage O’Hanlon, and more.
You can find more entertainment on March 17 11am-10pm at Clearwater’s’ O’Keefe’s Tavern for nonstop Irish vibes, great drinks, and high-energy bands and bagpipers, lawns games and more. St. Paddy’s Day on Corey Avenue is March 14, 11am-10pm at the free, family-friendly event and enjoy music from 11am-1pm | Sandy Bottom Boys; 1:30-3:30pm | The Beach Rats; 4:30-6:30pm | Horny Toads; 7:30-10 | Big Brother plus a live DJ during the green-beer fueled music breaks.
THE DOWNTOWN CONCIERGE St. Petersburg is music city! There’s always something happening at the new Green Light Lounge + Kitchen Saturday night jazz stage (Boho Sideshow, The Jazz Librarians, James Suggs and Jeremy Carter have played there), along the Beach Drive scene at Flute & Dram, where the music starts at happy hour through the evening, Tuesdays at the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art and The Imagine Museum’s monthly performance events (March 17 St. Paddy’s Music & Fest; March 24 Dance Social w/Pankaj Gupta). Ruby’s Elixir has music seven days a week, and if you love to dance, this hotspot will be your jam. Regulars include Hot tonic, Hiram Hazley + Le Jazz Band, Ella Jet, The Family Funk, Kirk Adams & Co., Tony Castellano, Shawn Brown and others. Want dinner and a show? Check out The Mahaffey Theater, Palladium, Bryan Hughes & The Crew at Floridian Social Sundays and for disco, Good Night John Boy.
BLUES ME AWAY On March 14, Sean Chambers & the Savoy Rhythm Section bring their powerhouse blend of Florida blues and British blues-rock to the Palladium Side Door. Don’t miss this electrifying trio keeping the spirit of Savoy Brown alive! “Chambers has style all his own, unequaled by no other Blues artist.” Rick Davis – Crossroads Blues Society
Florida-born Sean Chambers began his career in the Blues back in 1998 when he toured with the legendary Hubert Sumlin as his guitarist and band leader until 2003. During Sean’s tenure with Sumlin, Britain’s own Guitarist magazine named Chambers as “One of the top 50 blues guitarists of the last century.” Chambers has recorded eight studio albums, the latest being, That’s What I’m Talkin About, a tribute to his mentor, the late great Hubert Sumlin.
JUST LIKE A ROLLING STONE May 21 at The Palladium honors the one and only poet and troubadour and is sure to sell out early. Forever Young: Bob Dylan’s 85th Birthday Bash is a special tribute evening honoring Dylan’s remarkable legacy with live performances spanning the many eras of his legendary career – from folk anthems and protest songs to electric rock and timeless ballads. Featuring performances by Have Gun Will Travel, Grant Peeples, The Currys, and Bad Dog Mama, this multi-artist showcase brings together some of the region’s most compelling singer-songwriters and bands for a night of music that is reflective, rebellious, and forever young.