The 28th Annual WMNF Tropical Heatwave

Saturday May 16 5:00PM Add to Calendar
Cuban Club [map]

Click here for all the Heatwave details, including band info, schedules, vendors, directions etc.

THE ON-LINE SALES HAVE BEEN TURNED OFF, as of 1pm on Saturday ~ phone sales will continue until 2pm ONLY

Adult ticket $30 Adv/$35 Door ~ Youth ticket $10 (ages 12- 20) ONLY AVAILABLE BY PHONE, in the lobby during business hours or AT THE DOOR... If you have other plans for Saturday evening, come for the LATE NIGHT TICKET: $15 after 10:40pm when you can still see twelve bands.

ALL Heatwave tickets purchased after 6pm on 5/4/09 shall be AT WILL-CALL at the event. The table opens at 4pm!

TROPICAL HEATWAVE: An extraordinary evening of eclectic and exciting entertainment. The event of the year and annual rite of spring for lovers of eclectic music. One night of uninhibited fun and amazing music. Six stages. 32 bands chosen for their ability to entertain live audiences. It all happens in the area of Ybor City around the Cuban Club. This year's lineup could be the best ever:

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet - the best known Cajun band in the world. Bandleader Michael Doucet is often credited as the key figure in popularizing Cajun music.' In their live show, the Grammy winners present the best of Cajun musical traditions, filling dance floors and exciting festival audiences everywhere.

Chuck Prophet and Mission Express - longtime WMNF favorite whose music has come to encompasses a dizzying array of styles - an affection for sweeping pop-soul and funky spaced-out blues, roots rock, wry humor.

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue - Trombone Shorty's set at the 2007 Tropical Heatwave was a revelation: a young artist, a consummate entertainer who we will be hearing for decades to come. He has earned rave reviews both for his jazz artistry and as leader of a blazing funk/rock/hip-hop band Orleans Avenue. USA Today wrote: 'A superstar on New Orleans crowded stage, Trombone Shorty is emerging from the tall shadow of Louis Armstrong, earning comparisms with the late legend's showmanship, technical skills and charisma.'

Michael Burks – Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Michael 'Iron Man' Burks stands tall as a major contemporary blues figure. With a nickname earned by his hours-long, intensely physical performances, fearsome guitar attack, tough, smoky vocals and the thousands of miles logged behind the wheel of his touring van, Burks is a modern blues hero. Nobody in today's blues world successfully bridges searing electric guitar blues with unbridled rock and roll energy like Burks. The Chicago Sun-Times recently said Burks is 'poised on the brink of major stardom.'

Sara Borges and the Broken Singles - Inspired by a plethora of American music, from the classic country of Bob Willis and Wanda Jackson to the modern Boston and L.A. punk scenes, Sarah Borges and The Broken Singles blend steel guitar and hard-driving rhythms into an infectious brand of roots-rock. In previous appearances at WMNF's Birthday Bash and Rockabilly Ruckus, Borges showed she is a terrific crowd pleaser.

Bonerama - When Bonerama struts onstage with its four-trombone frontline, you can guess it's not quite like any rock 'n' roll band you've seen. When they tear into some vintage New Orleans funk, there's no questioning from which city these guys hail. And when those 'bones start ripping into Hendrix and Led Zeppelin licks, all stylistic bets are off. Even in a city that doesn't play by the rules, New Orleans' Bonerama is something different. They're not a traditional brass band, but they've got brass to spare—even with no trumpets or saxes in sight. They can evoke vintage funk, classic rock and free improvisation in the same set; maybe even the same song.

Eilen Jewell Band - Jewell's heart-achingly hushed style and intimate grasp of roots music's wild graces were revealed in her first two CDs. Set to a swaying, irrepressible groove, the subdued emotion in her soft soprano feels like music straining beneath skin. We eagerly await her new album where her elegantly unflinching songwriting combines with a rustic, pre-Beatles swagger that encapsulates vintage R&B, Midwestern garage rock, Chicago blues, and early rock and rockabilly, while maintaining the haunting, folk-inspired purity that first made her an artist to watch.


Big Sam's Funky Nation - Presiding over his Funky Nation is Big Sam, formerly the trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who blows the funk out of his trombone and refuses to let the audience sit still. Between solos and trombone riffs, Big Sam second-lines (a uniquely New Orleans style of street-dance) and gets the crowd going both in movement and in replies to his call-and-response MC-style. A talented group of jazz-trained musicians makes up the Funky Nation, bringing with them the improv-style associated with jazz and the horn-heavy front section that's the hallmark of big band funk. Theirs, and Big Sam's, exuberant dancing and playing, afford them a rare opportunity to let loose. Big Sam's Funky Nation has undeniable personality, as well as masterful chops.

Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa - Soul Beat Africa, coming directly from Uganda, have been bringing their energetic and highly visual show to audiences across Europe and Africa for several years, and this is their first North American tour. These musicians represent the new vanguard of Ugandan performers, gifted instrumentalists steeped in the music of their homeland, but with ears opened to the sounds of the world at large. Driving poly-rhythms underlay transcendent melodies. Traditional African instruments – koras, kalimbas, adungus, endongos, ngonis, drums – blend with guitars and keyboards, drawing on influences from around the globe. This is a new groove for a new world.

Blair Carman and the Belleview Boys - 'The best thing to happen to honkytonk and rockabilly piano playing since Jerry Lee Lewis.' - a phrase that's been used to describe the wild piano pounding rock-n-roll talent of this young man from Cincinnati Ohio. Take the 1957 hands of Jerry Lee Lewis and the 1957 look of Elvis Presley and the raw energy of those two artists and what do you get? A piano pumpin', thumpin rockabilly kid named Blair Carman. Blair started playing and performing when he was just a child and is a real Rockabilly enthusiast who strives to keep his music authentic. From the honky tonkin' songs of Hank Williams, to the rock-n-rollin' hits of Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, a Blair Carman show is guaranteed to leave you wanting more.

Modern Skirts - The Athens alternative indie pop quartet is on a rise to success, accelerated by the release of the new All Of Us In Our Night. Music fans all over the world are learning who this band is and are loving what they're hearing. So are industry insiders and some world-famous friends. Mike Mills of R.E.M. and David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker produced tracks on the new CD. Lead singer and principle songwriter Jay Gulley's knack for crafting an undeniably catchy melody keeps our ears glued. Everybody sings, and the harmony-vocal arrangements are sophisticated, sweet, and effortlessly discharged….did we mention they have great stage presence?

David Dondero - Few songwriters have experienced and expressed the sinking depths and uplifting optimism of humanity like David Dondero, and his ability to shine a light on the human condition (his own included) is inspiring. Dondero is best known for his narrative tales of America. Having spent most of his life on the road, Dave uses his staggering lyrical talent to paint tales of life in the US of A through clever word play and sarcastic humor about some of life's most sensitive subjects.

James Intveld - James Intveld got his start in the same LA clubs that birthed the careers of Dwight Yoakam, the Blasters and X. The soulful singer and stunningly talented multi-instrumentalist returns for his second Heatwave. Though Intveld's voice might be most familiar coming out of the mouth of Johnny Depp (that's Intveld's dulcet twang when Depp sings in Cry Baby), he should also be known to any followers of contemporary, indie country music. He appeared on the second volume of the classic Town South of Bakersfield compilations, played guitar for the Blasters, and has released three rich and varied solo albums, the most recent of which is 2008's Have Faith on the Molenaart label.

Pack A.D. - Holding the torch high in today's garage rock revival, Vancouver's Pack A.D. strike with a raw, hell-torn, blues-rock swagger that is equally contemplative and unflinching. If you're not familiar with the two-girl group's music, think the White Stripes minus all the annoying pretensions, but plus one incredibly talented singer and guitarist in came-from-nowhere Becky Black. Black has blues pipes that could give 1970s-era Buddy Guy a run for his money, plus the rare ability to use her virtuosity on the guitar as an extension of her voice. Add Maya Miller's confident, perfectly restrained drumming to the mix and you have an exciting band ready to rock the Heatwave.

The Visitations - Davey Wrathgaber is the off-kilter poet, songwriter and humorist who is the creative force behind the Visitations. Wrathgaber (who formerly performed in Fablefactory, Elf Power) contributes thoughtful passages to the black comedy that is love, hate and the nothing between. He seamlessly combines literate, often farcical, always clever lyrics a la Smog, Magnetic Fields and Will Oldham with the tasty, psychedelic hooks that helped cement The Visitations' home town of Athens, Ga. as the 'Pop Metropolis of the South.' Wrathgaber's lyrical cynicism and penchant for political humor have landed him in considerable in his home state.

Johnny Cakes and Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso - Punk, ska and calypso make it hard to stand still.

Cold Joon - A 'culture–pop' eclectic hybrid that combines traditional West African percussion and dance with pop, reggae, and R&B. Live performances feature high energy fun, dancers, costumes, politics, and are guaranteed to make you move….and think. .

Magadog - Magadog was formed in 1992 and are regarded as the pioneering Florida ska band of Ska's Third Wave. Their first gig was a Tropical Heatwave and they are the only group to play three Heatwaves in a row, back in the nineties. The band released four albums and appeared on over 10 ska compilations and had countless U.S. tours along with bands such as The Skatalites, The Toasters, and The Pietasters. They hung up their dancing shoes for a number of years but in 2007 original members Ed Lowery, Dave Akright, and Jim Pedigo assembled a new Magadog ensemble that has had dancers and music fans ecstatic with the timeless fun of ska.

Thomas Wynn and the BelieversHeady brew of rock, country, gospel and Southern soul, this is one of the most thoroughly indigenous sounds coming out of Florida. It's an EXPLOSIVE LIVE SHOW, by way of rugged, yet uplifting combo of soul and spirit, triple-threat harmonies and tight band that plays hard-charging blistering rock, WYNN, with magnetic stage presence, channels big guns Tom Petty, Waylon Jennings, Ronnie Van Zandt, yes, Otis Redding.

The Vodkanauts - Surf/lounge/rock 'n' roll combo The Vodkanauts simultaneously pays respectful tribute to musical masters while creating a soundtrack to a mid-to-late 20th century America that never quite was ... but should have been. The Vodkanauts' continuing mission expands the band's repertoire to include rhythm 'n' blues, jazz and other roots-informed genres while still encompassing the surf classics, lounge numbers and original compositions that cemented the band's reputation as one of Tampa Bay's most engaging live acts.

Stolen Idols- A Latin Jazz comboled by Drew Farmer specializing in authentic 1950s-era exotica, the tropical mood-music/world/jazz subgenre pioneered by Martin Denny and Les Baxter. They play exotic arrangements of standards, recreations of classic exotica arrangements, and original music written and arranged in this style. Stolen Idols' core lineup is a quartet with piano, upright bass, vibes/marimba, and percussion., with a group of auxiliary percussionists who will join them for the Heatwave.


The Beauvilles - Described as independent Americana Revisionists, The Beauvilles have been playing their music and touring for years, with the payoff just starting. Their new CD Whispering Sin is climbing the national CMJ chart and they have been selected to showcase at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin and the NEMO Music Festival in Boston. Strikingly passionate vocals, jagged guitars and a taut rhythm section make them a band you need to watch and hear.

The Mojo Gurus - Bourbon soaked, gut bucket, glam meets twang. Led by singer songwriter Kevin Steele, the Gurus perform real deal rock 'n' roll with enough strut and swagger to make most of today's flavor of the month bands pale in comparison. Just signed out of Tampa Bay to True North label, they are busting out nationally. Shake 'em on down!

Birdstreet Players -Bird Street Players is a high energy funk, soul and reggae band with driving bass lines, wicked horn solos, a rhythm section that doesn't stop and a front man who's sure to keep you movin'! Originally based in Tampa/St. Petersburg, The Bird Street Players frequent the music scenes of New Orleans, Key West, Orlando and festivals all over the East of the country.

Lauris Vidal - Lauris Vidal creates innovative and unique folk music with dark undertones, but always carrying a message of hope. His lively performances include ukulele, tenor banjo, lap steel, guitar and sometimes even lap bass. Seeing Lauris Vidal is an experience all its own.

Roppongi's Ace - As the youngest hotshots in Bay area’s burgeoning Americana scene, they developed their heavy, fuzzy, loud-as-all-hell garage sound through the lens of the Tampa twang.

Ted Lukas - For fifteen years Ted Lukas has been in the center of Tampa Bay’s pop and roots music scene, from leading power- pop band Barely Pink in the mid-to-late 90's, and heading up roots rock band Hangtown since 1998, and recently playing guitar in Rebekah Pulley’s band. In his solo career he plays his own brand of rootsy twang and power pop.

Will Quinlan & The Diviners - "Nobody around here infuses four chords with whiskey, hope and heartbreak like Quinlan and company, bringing to mind an enthralling amalgam of porch and gutter that speaks for generations of Americans." - CREATIVE LOAFING TAMPA

GreyMarket - GreyMarket is a future rock outfit that blends Muse-like power and charisma with Radiohead-inspired lyrical sensibility and throbbing laptop electronics. GreyMarket has been wowing audiences in clubs and dive bars throughout Florida with high-intensity live shows that are truly one-of-a-kind.

Johukames Posse- One of Tampa Bay's longest running Caribbean bands, they create an instant party with infectious soca and reggae.

The Sheaks - With four singers, four songwriters, and a sometimes volatile convergence of four very different and dominant personalities, the Sheaks seem, at times, as if they shouldn’t even exist. Unconcerned with current trends, the Sheaks have instead picked up the sword from early, genre-bending alt-rock influences like the Replacements and Yo La Tengo, letting the strength of the material speak for itself.

Poetry Showcase: Sandbloom - The Poetry Showcase headliner is LA songwriter-poet Sandbloom who combines influences of Bob Marley and Bill Withers.