Arts & Entertainment
Winner: Kayley Jewel
Finalists: Michael Sporck, Samantha Cevasco
Finalists: Michael Sporck, Samantha Cevasco
Winner: The Dali Museum
Finalists: The James Museum, Florida Holocaust Museum
Finalists: The James Museum, Florida Holocaust Museum
Winner: 2001 Odyssey
Finalists: Mons Venus, Oz Gentlemen Club
Finalists: Mons Venus, Oz Gentlemen Club
Winner: Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Beach Art Center, Wild Space Gallery
Finalists: Beach Art Center, Wild Space Gallery
Winner: Dunedin Fine Art Center - Trashy Treasures
Finalists: The Dali Museum - Suenos de Dali, Jamboree - The James Museum
Finalists: The Dali Museum - Suenos de Dali, Jamboree - The James Museum
Winner: Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Eight O'Clock Theatre, St. Pete Arts Alliance
Finalists: Eight O'Clock Theatre, St. Pete Arts Alliance
Winner: Whale Feral
Finalists: Have Gun Will Travel, Jeremy Carter Group
Finalists: Have Gun Will Travel, Jeremy Carter Group
Winner: Timeless Entertainment
Finalists: Drag Bingo - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, The Original Bandingo
Finalists: Drag Bingo - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, The Original Bandingo
Winner: The Applebutter Express
Finalists: Fil Pate, The Wandering Hours
Finalists: Fil Pate, The Wandering Hours
Co-authored by Ian Shaw, “The Shark Is Broken” imagines how the three stars of Spielberg’s “Jaws” (including Ian’s father, Robert Shaw) passed the time during their interminable waits for repairs on the infamous fake shark, Bruce. The actors in David Jenkins’s terrifically entertaining production for Jobsite clicked with each other beautifully, inhabiting rather than impersonating their characters. Cody Farkas captured Richard Dreyfuss's jittery ambition, Paul Potenza devoured Robert Shaw’s rowdy poetry, Chris Marshall nailed Roy Scheider’s quiet charisma, and the technical elements created a credibly nautical ambience. Who needs Bruce? jobsitetheater.org—David Warner
Winner: Supernatural St. Petersburg & Paranormal Pinellas - Brandy Stark
Finalists: The Everlasting Life of Charley Wall by Paul Wilborn, Mark O'Donnell - Networking Isn't A Dirty Word
Finalists: The Everlasting Life of Charley Wall by Paul Wilborn, Mark O'Donnell - Networking Isn't A Dirty Word
Cherry has been gracing area stages for years, her comic chops shining in a variety of roles for Jobsite, Tampa Rep, The Radio Theater Project and more, and her vocals a prime ingredient in The Florida Bjorkestra’s pop pastiches. But then along came “Penelope,” Jobsite Theater’s production of the award-winning one-woman musical about the long-suffering wife of Odysseus, and Cherry soared to new heights. This was no weepy Anne Hathaway retread. Cherry’s Penelope was a multi-faceted creation—funny, fierce, fed up with warding off obnoxious suitors while waiting for her hubby's return from the Trojan War, but also anguished at her inability to know his fate or control her own. And that voice! The range, the power, the sensitivity—all astonishing. Now we know, if we didn’t already, that there’s nothing Colleen Cherry can’t do. thecolleencherry.com—David Warner
Local theater aficionados already knew the wondrous range of Sarasota-based actor Ann Morrison, from shows at freeFall (including The Witch in “Into the Woods” and original cabarets) as well as her work on SaraSolo, a company she co-founded to promote solo performance. But she’s been wowing audiences all over the country for years, including playing Mary Flynn in the original Broadway production of “Merrily We Roll Along,” the once-reviled, now-adored Sondheim musical. And this year she got to return to her Broadway roots in the national tour of the Tony-winning musical “Kimberly Akimbo,” in which she played the title role of a teenager with a genetic aging disease. During the tour’s stop at the Straz, she carried off this challenging part with her characteristic buoyancy, conveying the character’s hard-won wisdom with a touching undercurrent of sadness. annmorrison.net—David Warner
Winner: Femmes & Follies (Katie James)
Finalists: Franki Markstone, Lilabelle Quaintrelle
Finalists: Franki Markstone, Lilabelle Quaintrelle
Are you a creature of the night who likes to wake up early? Do you find “the midnight hour” to be more of a vibe than a literal time? Fear not, darkling. The Catacombs is the place for you. This darkly lit basement bar is like The Castle in miniature: the music is loud, the décor macabre, the drinks stoutly poured. You can show up in your corset at 7 p.m., drink, dance, bum a cigarette, and be out of the door and in bed before The Castle crowd even starts to queue. spookeasylounge.com/catacombs—Caroline DeBruhl
Winner: COCKtail - Alexis De La Mer and St Pete Pride
Finalists: Greg Billings Christmas Party for Gold Star Families
Finalists: Greg Billings Christmas Party for Gold Star Families
Winner: Allie Case
Finalists: Dakota Joan Parkinson, Haley Holloway - Floridian Ceramics
Finalists: Dakota Joan Parkinson, Haley Holloway - Floridian Ceramics
Winner: Nethaneel Williams - Gay Men's Chorus of Tampa Bay
Finalists: Amy Fee - Crazy for You, Tonya Narzinsky
Finalists: Amy Fee - Crazy for You, Tonya Narzinsky
Winner: Liz Glushko
Finalists: Emi P. Stefanov, Thea Lobo
Finalists: Emi P. Stefanov, Thea Lobo
Winner: DJ Ace
Finalists: DJ Elliott Wheeler, DJ Mike Sklarz
Finalists: DJ Elliott Wheeler, DJ Mike Sklarz
If you're seeing somebody win awards year after year, it's probably because they're not doing the same things year after year. Johnny had already cemented himself as a popular regular on terrestrial radio with his own show following The Mike Calta Show on 102.5-FM The Bone. So what's new this year? He's branching out beyond comedy clubs and into communities, small theaters, RV parks and other venues that don't always support stand-up. He's also focusing on the business side by producing the shows himself, bringing the entire lineup, promoting the performance and earning a significant share of the attendance revenues. In other words, he's betting on himself to fill venues. And as a former poker dealer, he knows a good bet when he sees it. johnnybcomedy.com—Michael Murillo
Greene is a Tampa-based comedian who doesn't tell too many jokes in Tampa. Instead, he performs on cruise ships as a regular comedian on Carnival Cruise Lines. Whether it's the Caribbean, Italy, the Bahamas, Greece or some point in between, Greene represents the Tampa Bay comedy scene to tourists around the world. And the way the company keeps his schedule full, he's representing us very well. @qgreenecomedy on Instagram—Michael Murillo
Winner: The Commodore
Finalists: Side Splitters Tampa, Spitfire Comedy House
Finalists: Side Splitters Tampa, Spitfire Comedy House
Side Splitters wins this award year after year for good reason. The venue, with two locations across the Bay area, maintained a diverse calendar of social media sensations, seasoned veterans and newer stars, giving the Tampa Bay comedy scene opportunities to join them along the way. It held charity shows, brought back former locals who have found success around the country, and will soon be opening a third club in St Petersburg. Side Splitters is growing while keeping the elements that made it a comedy destination in the first place. In other words, they earned it. sidesplitterscomedy.com—Michael Murillo
Winner: Eight O'Clock Theatre
Finalists: Florida Academy of Performing Arts, Stageworks
Finalists: Florida Academy of Performing Arts, Stageworks
Winner: Stevie Nicks - Benchmark International Arena
Finalists: My Chemical Romance - Raymond James Stadium, T-Pain - The Baycare Sound
Finalists: My Chemical Romance - Raymond James Stadium, T-Pain - The Baycare Sound
Winner: Girls Rock St. Pete - Jannus Live
Finalists: Method Man & Redman - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Pearcy/Demartini performing the music of Ratt - Fergs
Finalists: Method Man & Redman - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Pearcy/Demartini performing the music of Ratt - Fergs
Winner: Rock The Planet Entertainment
Finalists: Chantel Marie (Crossfire Creek), Rob Douglas
Finalists: Chantel Marie (Crossfire Creek), Rob Douglas
It’s been great to watch TFO evolve over its nearly 60-year history. The artistic quality was pretty good in the early years, especially considering how relatively small the Tampa/St. Petersburg Clearwater area was in the 1960s. Eventually observers started calling it a great regional orchestra. Under Michael Francis, the orchestra has unquestionably developed into world-class status. Francis’ concerts combine the familiar and the esoteric, the classic and the avant-garde, which complement each other with thrilling results. Plus, Francis is fun to watch on stage, and delivers commentary that is insightful and eye-opening for aficionados and classical music novices alike. floridaorchestra.org—Marty Clear
It's easy to overlook just how remarkable this is. Sun-Ray Cinema, Tampa's temple to film in a dying shopping mall, screens the cerebral and discursive art-house documentary “32 Sounds” every fourth Sunday of the month. Watch this movie in the theater, with custom headphones they provide, because the centerpiece of “32 Sounds” is (you guessed it) sound. Before you go, watch “Thirty Two Short Films about Glenn Gould,” arguably the best biopic ever made, about the Canadian pianist who inspired “32 Sounds.” Before that, lie on the floor at home, maybe in the dark, and listen to “The Goldberg Variations”—a 32 part, 18th-century keyboard composition by J.S. Bach that could be about the wrestler, OK, but is really about restoring harmony and grace to your broken world. Finally, when you watch “32 Sounds,” you will be grateful for the instructions on deep listening. You will be grateful to Sun-Ray Cinema for committing to an oddball documentary for years running, screening against all commercial motives. You will pay more attention to sound. You will be grateful to be alive. sunraycinema.com—Thomas Hallock
Winner: Aubrey Wollett
Finalists: Chas Collins, Crossfire Creek
Finalists: Chas Collins, Crossfire Creek
Winner: Sweet Lick
Finalists: One Night Band, Slave to the Poodle
Finalists: One Night Band, Slave to the Poodle
Winner: Florida School of Woodwork
Finalists: Dunedin Fine Art Center, Beach Art Center
Finalists: Dunedin Fine Art Center, Beach Art Center
Dennis Mitch Maley has no patience for blather, calling out the hypocrisies and corruption in Florida politics with neither fear nor favor in his independent news site The Bradenton Times. But he’s also got a keen sense of humor, so his new novel, “Fish Kill” (his first to delve into the political world he covers every day), is both an excoriating attack on big-time political operators and an often hilarious ride through the muck of small-town machinations. A former Army boxing champ, he’s a pugnacious charmer with a knack for the written word, and Florida’s lucky to have him keeping an eye on things. @dennismitchmaley on Facebook—David Warner
Winner: COCKtail St. Pete
Finalists: Blur Nightclub, The Castle
Finalists: Blur Nightclub, The Castle
Winner: Tampa Bay Taps
Finalists: Expressions Academy of Dance, DivaDance
Finalists: Expressions Academy of Dance, DivaDance
Winner: Drag Queen Brunch with Veronica Foxx - Hard Rock Cafe at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa
Finalists: Drag by the Bay Neptune Grill, Sissy that Walk at COCKtail
Finalists: Drag by the Bay Neptune Grill, Sissy that Walk at COCKtail
Winner: Veronica Foxx
Finalists: Alice Marie Gripp, Conundrum
Finalists: Alice Marie Gripp, Conundrum
Maybe it was the mellow vibe of a Jack Johnson headlining show. Maybe it was the unusually not-that-hot summer weather. Or maybe it was because my six-year-old and gorgeous wife got to go to a show with me, but there was something pleasant about being at Live Nation’s enormous fairgrounds amphitheater. Still missing a roof after the hurricanes two years ago, the old Gary now features columns that look plucked out of “Dune” holding PA speakers and video screens. But as actual lightning flashed in the distant background while Johnson sang the lyrics to “F-Stop Blues” in Tampa, the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre felt cozier than it, well, ever has. Now can we have our free parking back? midfloridamp.com—Ray Roa
As the world fretted about A.I. taking over the world, two local theater companies gave us other future shocks to worry about: cloning and religious nationalism. OK, neither is new; Babs cloned her doggie, after all, and we’re already living in a world where religion and politics are getting dangerously intertwined. But DC Cathro’s “Clone” at TheatreFor posited a world in which human cloning verges on slavery, as a man discovers he not only has a clone but that it’s up to him what to do with him/it. And in Lab Theater Project’s “The Cross & The Saber” (stylized “LAB”), playwright Wendy Graf envisioned a justice system run by robots and a young pastor who struggles against the merger of Christianity and state power, a dangerous combination embodied by his own father. Excellent performances and canny staging brought these dystopian not-quite-fantasies to disturbingly plausible life. theatrefor.com and labtheaterproject.org—David Warner
Winner: Winter Pride St. Pete
Finalists: Gasparilla Music Festival, Tropical Heatwave
Finalists: Gasparilla Music Festival, Tropical Heatwave
Winner: Slave to the Poodle
Finalists: MAGGIE by Mandy Keen, Dirty Johns
Finalists: MAGGIE by Mandy Keen, Dirty Johns
Winner: DeWayne Hill
Finalists: Sweet Lick, Jorge Valentine
Finalists: Sweet Lick, Jorge Valentine
Winner: Melissa Dolce
Finalists: Thalia Paul Bridal - Vicky Anglo, Lina Texiera
Finalists: Thalia Paul Bridal - Vicky Anglo, Lina Texiera
Winner: Dunedin Fine Art Center Wearable Art
Finalists: CITY: Fashion + Art + Culture | Tampa Museum of Art, HEP's Annual Fashion Show Fundraiser Renewing Hope on the Runway
Finalists: CITY: Fashion + Art + Culture | Tampa Museum of Art, HEP's Annual Fashion Show Fundraiser Renewing Hope on the Runway
Winner: Gasparilla International Film Festival
Finalists: Dunedin International Film Festival, Sunscreen Film Festival
Finalists: Dunedin International Film Festival, Sunscreen Film Festival
Winner: Jeff Macolino
Finalists: Meatloaf Media, Adam Danger Smith
Finalists: Meatloaf Media, Adam Danger Smith
“The most knowledgeable person in Pinellas County regarding nonprofit organizations and their development.” “He’s incredibly generous with his time and knowledge and has positioned PCF to serve our area’s nonprofit community in ways well beyond funding.” “He shows an unwavering commitment to the wellbeing of the community.” “He is such a voice of wisdom in our sector.” These are just a few of the comments I received when I asked local nonprofit professionals about Duggan Cooley, CEO of the Pinellas Community Foundation. Celebrating his 10th anniversary this year as CEO, he is credited with growing the foundation’s assets to over $130 million and elevating its profile. He told the St. Pete Catalyst that his leadership style was inspired by the late arts and political leader Sallie Parks, who talked to him about exercising “compassionate curiosity.” Anyone who’s worked with Duggan knows that’s a quality he displays in every interaction. pinellascf.org—David Warner
There’s a good chance that if you’ve been to an arts event in Tampa Bay in the last decade and a half, that event was supported by a grant from The Gobioff Foundation. Warriors in the fights for equality and human rights have been Gobioff grantees, too. Led by Dr. Gianna Rendina-Gobioff and her husband Neil Gobioff, the foundation was established by Neil’s brother, Howard Gobioff, one of Google’s first engineers, before his death from lymphoma in 2008. It has since awarded millions to local nonprofits. Currently, the foundation is helping individual artists through its innovative micro-grant program. Howard’s only directive to his brother and sister-in-law before he died was that they use the foundation to “make the world a better place.” They have more than lived up to his vision. gobioff-foundation.org—David Warner
Winner: Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Chad Mize Realm at FloridaRAMA Gallery, The Annual Poetry Show April 2026 - The Beach Art Center
Finalists: Chad Mize Realm at FloridaRAMA Gallery, The Annual Poetry Show April 2026 - The Beach Art Center
The infamous—and famously dead—Tampa gangster Charlie Wall never really died. Not in the mischievous imagination of Paul Wilborn, at least. Tampa Bay’s favorite writer/piano man/arts impresario has brought Charlie back to life in his best novel yet, a rollicking what-if that wonders what would have happened if the mob boss’s would-be assassins had failed back in 1955, leaving Charlie to age into the 1980s, forever convinced that they’re still out to get him. The young ne’er-do-well writer he hires to protect him (and chauffeur him to his favorite bars) gets more than he bargained for in a yarn that combines Wilborn’s acute feel for Ybor’s colorful past with bittersweet love affairs and a raft of comic mayhem, including a car chase that beats “The French Connection” for sheer bravado. wilbornwrites.com—David Warner
Ditch the fucking algorithm already. Streaming services think they know what we like, but even you can’t predict what’ll actually turn you on. That’s why we run towards DJs, and the Gulf Coast is now headquarters for one of the best internet radio stations in the Southeast, if not the U.S. Sector.FM launched in a big way in the summer of 2024. It lists over 50 residents who take to the air two-three times a week and maintains a robust archive that knows no genre (but is so good for dance music, cosmic folk, and left-of-center sounds). Now based at Clearwater’s Learning.MP3 community space, let’s hope Sector—no stranger to IRL activations across the Bay area—can put roots down and be around for decades to come. Sector.FM and @learning.mp3 on Instagram—Ray Roa
Winner: Morean Glass Studio
Finalists: Duncan McClellan Gallery, Zen Glass Studio & Gallery
Finalists: Duncan McClellan Gallery, Zen Glass Studio & Gallery
Winner: Tampa Museum of Art
Finalists: MOSI, Tampa Bay History Center
Finalists: MOSI, Tampa Bay History Center
Winner: Pusha Preme
Finalists: Fre$h P, Stick and Ditty
Finalists: Fre$h P, Stick and Ditty
I first got caught up in the mesmerizing world of Samantha “Sam” Modder’s wall-size drawings during the most recent Skyway show at the Sarasota Art Museum. Her work, “A Field of Lost Hair Ties,” snaked across walls and crept around corners, an enthralling fable in digitally manipulated black-and-white ballpoint pen that traced a woman’s obsessive pursuit of scrunchies. The drawing conjured up themes of liberation and consumption in a style that was at once familiar and fantastical, and now, in her first solo museum exhibition, she has taken over the walls of Tampa Museum of Art’s first floor. Her drawings of braids and tendrils and striped socks and a woman who looks remarkably like Modder herself curl around viewers and take us on a journey like no other. Born in Sri Lanka, educated in the U.S., and now an assistant professor at the University of Tampa, Modder is a young artist with a fascinating point of view and a future full of promise (and, no doubt, socks). sammodder.com—David Warner
Winner: Spitfire Comedy House
Finalists: The Commodore, Fre$h P
Finalists: The Commodore, Fre$h P
Denzel Johnson-Green is St. Petersburg’s new poet laureate, so perhaps it’s no surprise that his Instagram is a delight. Not only do you get to hear about all the cool poetry events he’s promoting, like open mic nights at The Studio@620 and Spok, a series of Socratic discussions on the rooftop of The Cordova Inn, you get generous doses of his own joyous poetic voice, as in this passage inviting people to an open mic: “it’s time for truth telling / story yelling, and listening to what / the canaries are singing / it is time for much thinking / headscratcher, heartsnatcher / poems thick like cheese grits / fee fie foe fum / itty bitty giant / poems / made for fun or to tell someone / that the day / is not done…” Hmmm… sounds like fun. @djgstpete on Instagram—David Warner
Winner: Dominic Walker
Finalists: Liz Glushko, Joey Aceto
Finalists: Liz Glushko, Joey Aceto
Winner: Skunk Hammer
Finalists: Whale Feral, Uncle John's Band
Finalists: Whale Feral, Uncle John's Band
Winner: Bryan Hughes and The Crew
Finalists: Dominic Walker - Friday Night Jazz, The Sunday Jazz Project
Finalists: Dominic Walker - Friday Night Jazz, The Sunday Jazz Project
Winner: CJ's Backstage
Finalists: Booyay KARAOKE, COCKtail St. Pete
Finalists: Booyay KARAOKE, COCKtail St. Pete
Winner: Joe D-Booyay Karaoke
Finalists: CJ's Backstage - Alex, KJ Brad Rox - Cocktail St Pete
Finalists: CJ's Backstage - Alex, KJ Brad Rox - Cocktail St Pete
Winner: Baycare Sound at Coachman Park
Finalists: Mid Florida Amphitheater, Benchmark International Arena
Finalists: Mid Florida Amphitheater, Benchmark International Arena
Winner: Sapphic Sun
Finalists: Eckerd Review, Neptune Poetry
Finalists: Eckerd Review, Neptune Poetry
Based on letters the playwright’s parents wrote to each other in the WWII era, “Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise” at Tampa Rep was a wonder: a two-person romance that was funny, heart-rending, and suspenseful—and all the more impressive because the two actors, Cameron Kubly and Katie Davis, never looked at each other till the end. Kudos to director Robin Gordon for fostering that connection, for never letting the pacing lag, and for having her actors use their respective spaces with variety and movement, rather than making this a stand-and-deliver epistolary romance as so many letter-based shows turn out to be. And kudos to the entire design team, every choice spot-on throughout. tamparep.org—David Warner
An indispensable member of the team at The Studio@620 as managing director during the Bob Devin Jones era, Marcus Wehby has since then been making magic behind the scenes all over the place: props manager at American Stage, stage manager at The Off-Central, and more. And now he’s taken on his biggest role to date: executive director of projectAlchemy, Alex Jones’ groundbreaking dance company. Whatever he does, Wehby will carry out his role with disarming warmth and an unfailing knack for quietly, efficiently getting things done. projectalchemy.dance—David Warner
Winner: Consume the Wolf
Finalists: Walled City, Underoath
Finalists: Walled City, Underoath
Winner: Tampa Bay Morning Blend
Finalists: Daytime Live, Big Gay Radio Show - WMNF, Great Day Live
Finalists: Daytime Live, Big Gay Radio Show - WMNF, Great Day Live
Winner: Yorlett Tovar
Finalists: Izabela Davis- Izabela Joy Art, Chad Mize
Finalists: Izabela Davis- Izabela Joy Art, Chad Mize
Winner: The Dalí - Alberto Giacometti & Salvador Dalí
Finalists: Ya La'ford's Survey the West at The James Museum, Wish You Were Here - The Art of Selling Sunshine - St. Petersburg Museum of History
Finalists: Ya La'ford's Survey the West at The James Museum, Wish You Were Here - The Art of Selling Sunshine - St. Petersburg Museum of History
Winner: Gasparilla Music Festival
Finalists: Reggae Rise Up, St. Pete CommUNITY Festival
Finalists: Reggae Rise Up, St. Pete CommUNITY Festival
Winner: USF Music School
Finalists: Howard W Blake High School, Hillsborough College - Ybor City
Finalists: Howard W Blake High School, Hillsborough College - Ybor City
Winner: Music Showcase
Finalists: Girls Rock Camp St Pete, School of Rock St. Petersburg
Finalists: Girls Rock Camp St Pete, School of Rock St. Petersburg
Wrapped around a back corner of the refurbished Cordova Inn in downtown St. Petersburg, Tullo’s mural of a gigantic white peacock amidst beige hibiscus, Florida greenery, and a stylized sun is flat-out gorgeous. Created as part of last fall’s Shine Origins Mural Festival (stylized “SHINE”), it’s best seen from the parking lot next to the Green Light Cinema, and it’s as dazzling a sight as anything you might see on the screen. aaronjamestullo.com—David Warner
Winner: Humane Society by Michael Vahl
Finalists: HP Performance Center/TEAM Kiwi Volleyball, Cristi Lopez Allendale Methodist Church Mural
Finalists: HP Performance Center/TEAM Kiwi Volleyball, Cristi Lopez Allendale Methodist Church Mural
Local filmmaker and skater Stephen Buggica captured the raw, kinetic pulse of the Tampa Bay skate community in his latest project, 8-TRACK, a film that was over five years in the making and started in the early-COVID-19 days when many cities became proximate ghost towns. “Everything was shut down, lots of people out of work, the city was empty,” Buggica told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “We were able to skate and film so easily compared to any other time before. In a strange way it was a light in the dark.” Shot with grit and an eye for local architecture, 8-TRACK captures the energy and the camaraderie of our homegrown, local skate scene, and put Tampa OGs up on the big screen with a feature premiere at Sun-Ray Cinema earlier this year. If you’re up for the fun, watch 8-TRACK via @busted.mic on Instagram.—Annalise Mabe
The curators at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg are cooking with gas, and the results have been exhibitions exploding with color and invention. The extraordinary canvases of the Iranian-American painter Ali Banisadr—whirlwinds of color and imagery and evanescent creatures—recalled everything from Bosch to Brueghel to medieval tapestries in a show that closed in July. “New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations” (on view through Jan. 3) introduces Western eyes to the wildly imaginative, symbolically rich creations coming out of the world of African masking, focusing on works by contemporary artists from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon. Linger in the immersive video room to see these elaborate costumes come alive through dance and ritual, and perhaps create some masterworks of your own during a community celebration inspired by the show on Nov. 7 outside the museum. mfastpete.org—David Warner
Look, it's a thankless job: Comedians sign up to intentionally do jokes that might never crack their regular set. The venue gets mostly comedians showing up and sometimes a few people who mistakenly think they're seeing a regular show. Nobody is getting famous and nobody is making a lot of money. And whoever runs it is often a volunteer who gets more grief than gratitude. The area has some regular open mics, and we appreciate them providing opportunities to comedians. We just want a hot, go-to mic with good comedian attendance, a sizeable audience and staying power in the Tampa Bay area. Somebody make it happen!—Michael Murillo
Winner: CJ's Backstage
Finalists: Side Splitters, The Commodore Open Mic
Finalists: Side Splitters, The Commodore Open Mic
Winner: CJ's Backstage
Finalists: ThunderBay Bar & Grill, The Ball
Finalists: ThunderBay Bar & Grill, The Ball
It’s amazing that a metropolitan area the size of ours has two quality, professional opera companies, both now producing the best works in their history and each with a distinctive style. Opera Tampa and St. Petersburg Opera are both worthy of being called the “best” and few opera aficionados put up much of an argument. We’ll give the nod to St. Pete Opera, which celebrated its 20th anniversary season with uniformly excellent productions, capped with a reprise of its very first offering, “La Boheme.” Maestro Mark Sforzini and SPO will move their 2027 MainStage season to Opera Central, its smaller space on 1st Avenue S, with plans to return to the Palladium after renovations. stpeteopera.org—Marty Clear
Winner: OCC Road House/St. Pete BikeFest
Finalists: Toys for Tots, Get Fit St. Pete: City Breeze Bike Tour
Finalists: Toys for Tots, Get Fit St. Pete: City Breeze Bike Tour
Winner: Straz Center for the Performing Arts
Finalists: Ruth Eckerd Hall, Mahaffey, Florida Academy of the Performing Arts
Finalists: Ruth Eckerd Hall, Mahaffey, Florida Academy of the Performing Arts
Winner: St. Pete Athletic Association
Finalists: Safety Harbor Community Center, Northdale
Finalists: Safety Harbor Community Center, Northdale
Winner: Ten Pin Lanes
Finalists: Seminole Lanes, Dunedin Lanes
Finalists: Seminole Lanes, Dunedin Lanes
Winner: OCC Roadhouse
Finalists: Enigma, Reservoir Bar
Finalists: Enigma, Reservoir Bar
Winner: Brian Brijbag
Finalists: Tron Montgomery, David Jenkins
Finalists: Tron Montgomery, David Jenkins
Winner: Walk-In Talk
Finalists: Pinellas Podcast, Necessary Pursuit
Finalists: Pinellas Podcast, Necessary Pursuit
St. Petersburg’s storied No Clubs Presents is entering a new chapter, with a new, third partner, Vicki Huddy, joining founders Tony Rifugiato and Dave Hundley, who were rightfully celebrated last January during the “Live Since '85” art exhibition. The show, organized in large part by Huddy, collected four decades of show posters into a large book—with what felt like a lifetime of one-of-a-kind concert posters plastered on the walls of The Factor in the Warehouse District. The show brought out seemingly everyone who ever attended a show at State Theatre and was a timely reminder that indie promoters are the heartbeat of a scene. noclubs.com—Ray Roa
Fourteen years after its founding, and presumably on the verge of confirming acts for its 15th outing, Gasparilla Music Festival (GMF) is well on its way to becoming a storied Bay area music gathering á la Clearwater Jazz Holiday and Tampa Bay Blues Festival. Forced to move in 2024 after its longtime home at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Kiley Garden became unavailable for the festival, GMF saw its party at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park more or less rained out. To remain viable, organizers paused in 2025, and returned last spring at yet another new site, Meridian Fields (a name the festival gave a field near Water Street and owned by the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority). The weekend was another trademark of homegrown acts (where else does Mayor Jane Castor get to wear Tampa jook forefather Tom G’s chain?) punctuated by national headliners and rising stars. GMF would surely love to find a new more permanent home, but if loving life means making music happen with friends, then the festival seems up to the task—wherever the road leads it. gasparillamusic.com—Ray Roa
Winner: Open Wide at The Ball
Finalists: GrowHouse Open Mic Night at The Commodore, Malaya's Mic
Finalists: GrowHouse Open Mic Night at The Commodore, Malaya's Mic
Winner: St. Pete Opera
Finalists: Tampa Opera, Sarasota Opera
Finalists: Tampa Opera, Sarasota Opera
Winner: The Dali Museum
Finalists: The James Museum, Florida Holocaust Museum, Museum of Fine Arts
Finalists: The James Museum, Florida Holocaust Museum, Museum of Fine Arts
Winner: Avry Eden
Finalists: Jeremiah, Yeye
Finalists: Jeremiah, Yeye
Winner: One Night Band
Finalists: Crossfire Creek, Amber Lynn & The Low Tide Band
Finalists: Crossfire Creek, Amber Lynn & The Low Tide Band
Winner: Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Sugar Cream Clay, The Hive Community Clay
Finalists: Sugar Cream Clay, The Hive Community Clay
Winner: Tampa Bay Lightning
Finalists: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Rays
Finalists: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Rays
Winner: Johnny Champagne
Finalists: Slopfunkdust, Hmtwn
Finalists: Slopfunkdust, Hmtwn
Every week seems to bring a new wrinkle in elected officials’ attempts to make life harder for queer folks and women (late last month, the Trump administration said it reversed a Biden-era policy extendeding the federal ban on sex discrimination in schools meant to also protect LGBTQ people). Every year back home, more than 100 volunteers come together for a camp that not only teaches girls, women and gender-expansive people aged 8-17 to not only play an instrument and start a band, but follow the footsteps of the powerful people who kicked ass before them. Girls Rock St. Pete is an antidote to the gender confidence collapse and a place where radical acts of love, music, and creativity are the norm, not the exception. In a perfect world, GRC doesn’t exist; looking around, we’re so glad it does. girlsrockstpete.org—Ray Roa
Winner: Winter Pride St. Pete
Finalists: St. Pete Pride, Dunedin Pride
Finalists: St. Pete Pride, Dunedin Pride
Winner: Jobsite Theater Company
Finalists: American Stage, freeFall Theatre Company
Finalists: American Stage, freeFall Theatre Company
Winner: The Sunshine City Mosaic
Finalists: Embracing Our Differences, Flamingo in TPA
Finalists: Embracing Our Differences, Flamingo in TPA
Winner: The Bubba the Love Sponge Show
Finalists: Big Gay Radio Show - WMNF, St. Pete Music City Radio Show
Finalists: Big Gay Radio Show - WMNF, St. Pete Music City Radio Show
Winner: WMNF 88.5 FM
Finalists: RadioStPete.com/Sunshine 96.7FM, BRN - Bubba Radio Network
Finalists: RadioStPete.com/Sunshine 96.7FM, BRN - Bubba Radio Network
Winner: Hip Abduction
Finalists: Undercover Rasta, Serenation
Finalists: Undercover Rasta, Serenation
There’s now medicine for when you’re falling out of love with Florida. Find Rachel Knox to get it. The St. Petersburg author, who fled north before coming home, released her debut, “Anywhere Else,” over the summer, and the essays are like balm for a sunburned heart. A hybrid memoir, the work undresses the Sunshine State, ditching tropes in favor of colorful, sometimes painfully-honest depictions of the everyperson you’re bound to run into after working a few hourly, gig, or tipped jobs around the Bay area. Instead of reducing her characters to memes, Knox gives them true life, and puts the reader in their shoes. The nation took notice, too, with Knox appearing on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and “Book of the Day.” Always punching up—and uplifting working class people—Knox ended up being one of the Bay area’s biggest champions this year, for once elevating Florida for once instead of making us want to leave. rachel-knox.com—Ray Roa
Winner: Chas Collins
Finalists: Crossfire Creek, Amber Lynn & The Low Tide Band
Finalists: Crossfire Creek, Amber Lynn & The Low Tide Band
Winner: Aubrey Wollett
Finalists: Jorge Valentine, David Freeman
Finalists: Jorge Valentine, David Freeman
Winner: CJ's Backstage
Finalists: COCKtail St. Pete, OCC Road House
Finalists: COCKtail St. Pete, OCC Road House
In Tampa, where cigars are akin to wine in Napa Valley, there used to be more than 200 cigar factories—now there are just 25. Of those 25, only J. C. Newman Cigar Co. is operational. Named for its clock tower, El Reloj is the last remaining operational cigar factory in the United States. A new book of photography by Zack Wittman—“Cigar City: The Legacy of Tampa’s Founding Industry”—captures not just those remaining factories, but the communities and scenes both inside and outside their walls. Wittman took 12,000 photographs—165 made it into the book. Together with insight from co-author Drew Newman, Wittman’s shots freeze everything from cigar factory mosaics and master cigar rollers at work to the construction of new apartments and hotels in old cigar factory buildings. The book is essential for any self-respecting Tampeño and reinforces the idea that we must find ways to do the hard thing and preserve the city’s historical buildings. jcnewman.com—Ray Roa and Jennifer Ring
Winner: Jeremiah
Finalists: Paul Wilborn, Sam Obeid
Finalists: Paul Wilborn, Sam Obeid
In recent years, a slew of record shops across the globe have been teaming up with bands and artists to host early listening parties for new albums by big artists. While Tampa’s Mojo Books & Records gets a fair amount of them, it’s Dunedin’s D & J Records that takes the cake this year. In the last year alone, the four-year-old record store tucked away on Patricia Avenue was the only one in Tampa Bay that had respective listening parties for new releases by BTS, Bruno Mars, and Olivia Rodrigo. While most of the parties take place during the day, Rodrigo’s latest album You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love saw fans come out for a true midnight release, where the needle dropped at exactly 12:01 a.m. on June 12. And it’s not just modern pop acts, either. Paul McCartney’s The Boys of Dungeon Lane had one, Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide did, and so did Puscifer’s Normal Isn’t. The midnight movie may be on the brink of extinction, but in an age where we take what we can get, an occasional midnight listening party with people who like the same shit works too. dandjrecords.com—Josh Bradley
Winner: Heather Stump
Finalists: David M. Jenkins, James Grenelle
Finalists: David M. Jenkins, James Grenelle
Winner: DeWayne Hill
Finalists: Jimmy Kopteros, Matt Fernandez
Finalists: Jimmy Kopteros, Matt Fernandez
Opera Tampa had some seasons of questionable artistic quality under a previous artistic director, but it has rebounded in a huge way under Artistic Director and Chorus Master Robin Stamper. The company’s 2026 season focused on the supernatural, with memorable stagings of Verdi’s “Macbeth,” Benjamin Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw” and, perhaps most notably, a staging of the surprisingly effective opera version of “The Shining,” by composer Paul Moravec with a libretto by Mark Campbell. (Moravec was in the audience at least one night and reportedly said it was the best production of the work he had ever seen.) Each opera was thrilling, and the season was cohesive and exhilarating for opera fans, leaving us unbridled optimism for the future. strazcenter.org/opera-tampa— Marty Clear
Winner: GG at Dark Mark Ink
Finalists: Paula Tsurara, Dennis Lopez - ResQInk Tattooing
Finalists: Paula Tsurara, Dennis Lopez - ResQInk Tattooing
Winner: Gasparilla Festival of the Arts
Finalists: Embracing Our Differences, Indie Flea
Finalists: Embracing Our Differences, Indie Flea
Winner: Brandy Stark
Finalists: Chad Mize, Jay Coachman
Finalists: Chad Mize, Jay Coachman
Winner: Sweetlick - Alfonso Vargas
Finalists: Cindy Lew-Fletcher - One Night Band, Slave to the Poodle - Bob De Moss
Finalists: Cindy Lew-Fletcher - One Night Band, Slave to the Poodle - Bob De Moss
The king of parody has almost never snubbed Tampa Bay while on the road, especially lately. He kicked off his orchestral “Strings Attached” tour at Ruth Eckerd Hall in 2019, opened for The Monkees’ 1987 reunion tour in the same room, and last September, he closed the first U.S. leg of his ever-extravagant “Bigger and Weirder” tour at downtown Clearwater’s BayCare Sound. With Puddles Pity Party as the opener, Yankovic packed the entire 9,000-cap venue, performing a healthy mix of hit parodies and rarely-played originals, movie theme songs, and even a version of his buddy George Harrison’s “What Is Life,” which he played at the star-studded George Fest a decade prior.—Josh Bradley
Winner: Dirty Little Pony Records, LLC
Finalists: Humble House Records, I.C.S RECORDS
Finalists: Humble House Records, I.C.S RECORDS
Winner: One Night Band
Finalists: Whale Feral, Have Gun Will Travel
Finalists: Whale Feral, Have Gun Will Travel
The computer visionary Ada Lovelace. U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, the first Senator to stand up against Joe McCarthy. Meg Crane, inventor of the home pregnancy test. This season at Powerstories has brought us all of these remarkable women and more in plays that educated and, more importantly, entertained, with smart direction and stellar performances. Powerstories was founded by Fran Powers to spotlight stories by and about women and girls, and now—through the leadership of consummate theater pro Clareann Despain and exciting partnerships with The Studio@620—it looks like there will be decades of great stories to come. powerstories.com—David Warner
Winner: Ferg's
Finalists: Hard Rock Event Center - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Safety Harbor Arts and Music Center
Finalists: Hard Rock Event Center - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Safety Harbor Arts and Music Center
Winner: Black Honkeys
Finalists: Julie Black, Shena Samone
Finalists: Julie Black, Shena Samone
Winner: Dan Rosenow
Finalists: David Freeman, Lisa Hutchins - CJ's Backstage
Finalists: David Freeman, Lisa Hutchins - CJ's Backstage
Winner: Mons Venus
Finalists: 2001 Odyssey, The Penthouse Club
Finalists: 2001 Odyssey, The Penthouse Club
Winner: Reign Ladies and Gentlemen's Club
Finalists: Oz Gentlemen Club, Bare Assets
Finalists: Oz Gentlemen Club, Bare Assets
Winner: The Tampa Bay DJ Company
Finalists: Platinum Entertainment, Jake Postorino
Finalists: Platinum Entertainment, Jake Postorino
Winner: Sissy That Walk Saturday COCKtail St. Pete
Finalists: CJ's Backstage, OCC Road House Truck Night
Finalists: CJ's Backstage, OCC Road House Truck Night
Everclear frontman Art Alexakis has been open about his diagnosis with multiple sclerosis in the last few years, and told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay last fall that while he’s doing well, he knows that the autoimmune disease could progress to the point where he’s in a wheelchair. But he also swears that he plans to be onstage until he can’t anymore, and until then, he’s laser-focused on what his legacy will look like. And Alexakis proved that at his band’s downtown Clearwater gig last October, where the ’90s alt-rock outfit performed Sparkle and Fade on shuffle and in its entirety, while also looking back on other hits, some influences, and even a Les Paul knockoff from Alexakis’ youth that he still plays every show.—Josh Bradley
Winner: "Comfortably Numb" - Slave to the Poodle
Finalists: "Burnin' Young" by Whale Feral, "Hurricane Summer" - Dominic Walker
Finalists: "Burnin' Young" by Whale Feral, "Hurricane Summer" - Dominic Walker
On Gutta Child, one of 2025’s best albums, songwriter Gabriel Jacoby conjures ghosts at Robles Park. The lyrics are just part of the allure of a release that’s funkier and more real than anything that’s been dropped in the last half decade. St. Petersburg DJ Gregory Greenway, AKA DJ Nilla Greene—who DJ’d Jacoby’s first-ever performance at the old Orpheum in Ybor City—told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he hears fearlessness in the music. “Not just being yourself, being unique,” he added. Last March, during a 10-song set opening for Khamari in St. Petersburg, Jacoby, 27, gave his old hometown a glimpse of his future, and shouted out Tampa’s United Skates before a performance of “The One.” Jacoby—a songwriter, guitar and piano player who also spoke to CL last year—promised a headlining tour of his own this year, and there’s no doubt he’ll be in arenas soon after. gabrieljacoby.com—Ray Roa
Last month in an interview with this reporter on WMNF Tampa, Amaris Castillo said that her mom was offended when she asked if she could ever work at their family’s Orlando Latin Market in St. Petersburg. The shop, located at 3515 30th Ave. N, is officially recognized as an important cultural site by the city, but Castillo—who works with NPR's Office of the Public Editor and is a staff writer at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies—has a master’s from Columbia and could never work there, according to mom. So she wrote a book instead, and it’s beautiful. Sliced into snackable chapters, the work gorgeously, and honestly, captures the characters and care that move through the market founded by immigrants from the Dominican Republic. Both a tribute to and exploration of mom and dad, Castillo has turned in a reminder that the American dream has many faces, and phases, too. amariscastillo.com—Ray Roa
Winner: Crazy for You - Eight O'Clock Theatre
Finalists: The Shark is Broken - Jobsite Theater, Florida Academy of Performing Arts - Ragtime, Beautiful at Eight O'Clock Theatre
Finalists: The Shark is Broken - Jobsite Theater, Florida Academy of Performing Arts - Ragtime, Beautiful at Eight O'Clock Theatre
Winner: Timeless Entertainment
Finalists: Vitamin B's Trivia Night at The Ball, The Original Bandingo
Finalists: Vitamin B's Trivia Night at The Ball, The Original Bandingo
Winner: Fox 13
Finalists: Bay News 9, WEDU PBS
Finalists: Bay News 9, WEDU PBS
Winner: The Commodore
Finalists: Gigglewaters, The Green Light Theater
Finalists: Gigglewaters, The Green Light Theater
Kopteros has quickly gone from joining the scene as a new face to featuring for bigger names to headlining his own shows at clubs like Snappers and Sunshine City. His blue-collar demeanor, off-color material and energetic stage presence combine to create a comedian you want to see on stage, and maybe even want to have standing next to you if a fight is about to go down. Fortunately, he sticks to laughs and has no problem passing out flyers and barking on the street to get people to see him. And now, people are starting to see him. @jimmykcomedy on Instagram—Michael Murillo
Winner: Danny Olda - Dunedin Fine Arts Center
Finalists: Emily Kapes - The James Museum, The Dalí Museum - Allison McCarth
Finalists: Emily Kapes - The James Museum, The Dalí Museum - Allison McCarth
I’ve heard that this Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Katori Hall didn’t exactly pack ‘em in at American Stage this past June. Maybe audiences thought the storyline wasn’t for them—Black queer men prepping to win the prize for best (not to mention hottest) chicken wings at an upcoming festival. But believe me, if you didn’t go, you really missed something: a richly detailed, funny-as-hell exploration of family, friendships and love directed with panache by Kenny Moten and deliciously acted by a topnotch cast. And that set! Designer Steven K. Mitchell outdid himself, such that audience members around me were muttering, “Can I move in?” americanstage.org—David Warner
When it comes to Record Store Day, there’s already a lot to choose from. One store has food trucks outside, another has a lineup of local bands playing, and another store has the only copy of an extremely limited release within a 100-mile radius. But it isn’t every year that an artist featured in the lineup is actually at a store signing copies of the release in question. Original Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm was already set to arrive in town for a special appearance with the current iteration of the band when Daddy Kool Records inside St. Pete’s The Factory announced that he’d be popping by before the show. Gramm had both a new solo album on the way (which may have been partially recorded at Clearwater’s Clear Track Studios) and a Record Store Day exclusive with Foreigner on the shelves. He ended up sitting in the lobby of The Factory snapping pics and signing not just the new releases, but also albums that go back almost 50 years for a line of ride-or-dies. Talk about seeing double vision, amirite? daddykool.com—Josh Bradley
Winner: Morrisound Recording
Finalists: The Boom Boom Room, Zen Studios
Finalists: The Boom Boom Room, Zen Studios