It’s almost like Tampa arose as a violent reaction to the better-known Floridian city, Miami.
That metropolis is known for being a haven for electronic fans while down the road Tampa is a fortress for metal and heavy rock diehards.
Of course it hasn’t always been that way. Tampa’s music scene can be dated back to the 1930s when blues became huge. While rock started to infiltrate the city’s consciousness sometime after the metropolis’ music scene didn’t really become prominent until a wave of acts such as Savatage, Stranger and Roxx Gang scored major label deals in the 80s.
At what point Tampa turned its back on the sun that defines Florida for the darker tones of death metal no one can say for sure, but the city has been the unofficial capital of American death metal for around 30 years now.
The likes of Morbid Angels, Obituary and Deicide maybe unknown in the eyes of the mainstream music industry but they collectively helped expose Tampa to legions of death metal fans worldwide.
They pushed the city from behind the shadow of Miami and turned it into a world-renowned city. Maybe not in the terms of a wide stream collective consciousness, but in terms of metal and death metal fans Tampa became a haven for what are certainly the most villified music fans on the planet.
While a number of factors have contributed to the city’s international death metal grandstanding many cite Morrisound recording studios as the key to Tampa’s global explosion.
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As The Guardian writes, “the recordings mastered at Morrisound are also testament to the longevity of Tampa’s death metal bands”.
Morrisound lured one of the genre’s most celebrated sons to Tampa in Cannibal Corpse 25 years ago with vocalist Alex Webster testifying to the studios’ greatness.
“The clear, powerful productions that Morrisound made helped give the local bands in the Tampa Bay area an advantage in the scene. It also drew dozens of bands from elsewhere in the world to the studio,” he said.
A 1994 documentary Thrash Till Death goes into greater depth into Florida’s death metal scene, part of which you can watch below. But while in 2014 the city is still heavily focused on death metal, there are a wide variety of venues, record stores and festivals that cater for a diverse range of music scenes as we evidence below.
Head To Big Guava Music Festival For The City’s Biggest Music Event
America knows how to put on a big music festival so it’s no surprise to find that this event provides lineups as a big as any other event in the country. Held across three days in May Big Guava boasts four stages, plenty of food trucks, rides and perhaps most importantly craft beers. That’s not to mention a 2014 lineup that featured the likes of Vampire Weekend, Foster The People, Outkast, Tegan And Sara, Earl Sweatshirt, Girl Talk and Haim.
Experience The City’s Premiere Music Venue The Ritz Ybor
1503 E 7th Ave
With a history that dates back to 1917 this establishment has garnered a reputation over the years as the city’s finest music room. A $2 million renovation ensured that it hasn’t lost any of its gloss either. With three rooms, a grand foyer, plenty of bars and state of the art equipment the biggest acts from around the world play here.
Buy Up Big At One Of USA’s Best Vinyl Stores Bananas Record And Tapes
2887 22nd Ave. North
A quick trip out of Tampa and across the pond in St. Petersburg and you’ll find this vinyl mecca. With over 6,000 square feet of vinyl that short trip will be more than worth it. Rated as one of the 30 best record stores in the US by Rolling Stone Bananas has the best of everything. This is one record store vinyl lovers can’t miss while they’re in town.
Discover The Core Of Tampa’s Music Scene At Brass Mug
14811 N Florida Ave
Known as “Tampa Bay’s music core” this music room provided the stage for the likes of Green Day and No Doubt before they made it big. Brass Mug is now more famous for giving local punk and metal acts a run. Given the city’s love of those genres it’s seems fitting that it has found a place in the hearts and minds of local punters.
Get Your Dance Music Fix At Sunset Music Festival
In a metal and hard rock obsessed city this event is a shining light of sorts for the electronic music fans that reside within Tampa. Ever since 2012 this festival has brought some of the biggest DJs to Raymond James Stadium. In 2014 it went from being a one-day event to two days. The likes of David Guetta, Steve Aoki, Knife Party, Markus Shulz, Carnage and Krewella have all performed here.
Discover Beer And Bands At New World Brewery
1313 E 8th Ave
What’s better than a good selection live music that ranges from jazz to rock and blues? A beer list that features over 100 brews from all over the world with 30 on draft. You can also grab a bite of pizza and a few other snacks to go with the beer and music. Although beware, if you’re an electronic music fan your taste will not be favoured here.
Shop For Vinyl At Kingfish Records
Oldsmar Flea Market Race Track Rd & Tampa Rd, Booths F-43-48
The locals can’t be wrong. As one of Tampa’s favourite record stores Kingfish provides with both new and used vinyl in just about any genre. There are some Beatles classics and great reggae picks. If you’re having trouble just ask the friendly music enthusiasts that work there for help, they know their stuff.
Experience Tampa’s Newest Festival Coral Skies
Music festivals rise and fall all the time but Coral Skies looks like it has set itself up for a pretty impressive future with its first year offering. Not only will there be a “food trucktopia” and craft beer, but the festival will be limited to two stages ensuring there’s little chance of missing out on the high quality lineup. Speaking of which, this October 25th festival features the likes of Cage The Elephant, Julian Casablancas & The Voidz, City And Colour, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Hold Steady.
Catch Up And Coming Acts At The Orpheum
1902 Republica de Cuba
While this venue has a pretty solid reputation for filling the dance floor with excitable partygoers come weekends The Orpheum more importantly provides an important platform for up and coming artists. Whether that be local or national this venue features a diverse array of artists.
Visit Live Music Institution Skipper’s Smokehouse
910 Skipper Rd
Located outdoors with a mostly dirt floor and picnic tables on paper this venue doesn’t sound that appealing. But hear us out Skipper’s is for music enthusiasts through and through. Regardless of the genre the best bands about to make it big (or who deserve to be) hit the stage here regularly. On a sidenote the venue also feature on Man vs. Food for its incredible seafood menu.
Mojo Books And Music Has Something For Everyone
2540 E. Fowler Ave.
This record store was built to satisfy a broad range of customers. Whether it’s the central location (University of South Florida), the great range of prices or the eclectic selection of genres Mojo caters for as many music fans as it possibly can. The vinyl selection is fairly impressive when it comes to size as well with both new and used titles on offer. A good selection of books as well as coffee, tea and food can be bought here too.
