Mayor Rob Marlowe
I’m going to start this off by admitting that I am absolutely positive I’ll leave somebody’s favorite venue and musical act off this list. Feel free to post your recommendations in a comment.
We have a wealth of talent in the area and quite a few concerts are free or available for a nominal charge.
The Chasco Fiesta starts this coming Friday night and features nine nights of music. With the exception of the country concert on March 28th, all of the music is free.
Friday, March 20th, will be the Joy FM Family Music Night, featuring Josh Wilson, Everfound, Seth Rollins, and Benjamin Jacob Rupe.
Saturday, March 21st, will be the Rock n’ Roll Tribute with Fleetwood Max, Fifty Grit, Dead Serious, The Eric Anderson Band, and the Embry Brothers Band.
Sunday, March 22nd, will bring us Classic Rock with The Black Honkeys (my favorite area band), Fast4Ward, The Time Bandits, and The Roadhouse Band.
Monday, March 23rd, will bring us the Youth Music Showcase, with performances by the Millenium Drum Line, the Millenium Chorus, Hannah Raymond, Sam Heller, Kendall Bacon, the Nelson Dance Academy, the Mullins Music Youth Band, Mileena Ruiz, Erin Laverty, Savannah Peyton, and the Genesis Prep Jazz Band.
Tuesday, March 24th, will feature Bluegrass Music In the Park. The night will feature Larry Gillis and his Hard Driving Swampgrass Band. Although I’m not a big fan of country music, I love Bluegrass.
Wednesday, March 25th, brings us A Grateful Nation, with Odessy Road (a Journey Tribute Band) and The Bearded Brothers.
Thursday, March 26th, brings us a Blues Masters Concert, featuring Damon Fowler, Julie Black, and Franc Robert. This should be fun. Early rock n roll evolved out of the Blues.
Friday night, March 27th, is Friendly Kia – Hits 106 Night, feature “A Hard Days Night” (reportedly an awesome Beatles tribute band), SPF40, and the Bob Hope Band.
Chasco caps everything off on Saturday, the 28th, with their annual Country Music Concert, featuring Frankie Ballard, Craig Wayne Boyd, and Redhead Express. Craig Wayne Boyd won the 7th season of “The Voice”. This will be the only night where you have to pay to enjoy the music. But, if you are a country music fan, it is not to be missed.
Not interested in spending every single night in Sims Park? Several local venues will have music as well.
Better known for theatrical productions, the Richey Suncoast Theatre has live music from time to time. The next such show will be the 42nd Street Band, with a program called “Sinatra and Friends“: a salute to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Bobby at 2pm on March 18th. That will be followed up next week with a Doo Wop program featuring the Fantastix on March 25th at 2pm. Call the theater for tickets.
Though there are no musical productions coming up on their published calendar, Jimmy Ferraro’s Studio Theatre also has live music, most recently “A Christmas Cabaret” back in December.
Mezzaluna Restaurant has live music on the patio every Friday and Saturday night. These are typically one to three person groups and there is no cover charge. Have dinner and enjoy the music.
Dulcet Restaurant has a variety of music, including both DJ’s and live bands. Check out their calendar to see what’s cooking on any particular night.
The Karl Reef, on the corner of Main and Grand, has live music every weekend.
Several of the other downtown bars and lounges have live music from time to time. You can find a list of them on the Greater New Port Richey Main Street site.
If you are willing to stretch the boundaries of New Port Richey slightly, you will find great band music from the Richey Community Concert Band. They typically play the first Sunday from November through April. But their last concert will be at the River Ridge Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, March 29th, at 2:30pm instead of the first Sunday in April (Easter Sunday). There is no charge, but they do ask for donations.
The Richey Community Orchestra has a varied set of concerts, with varying locations and prices. They have a dinner concert on Sunday, March 15th, and another concert on April 19th. Ticket prices vary.
The Thursday Musicale have their concerts at the Presbyterian Church of Seven Springs.
Finally, allow me to point out that the Chasco Fiesta is NOT the only source of free music in the park. Other groups, most notably Greater New Port Richey Main Street, host special events with live music in Sims Park.
The next big event in Sims Park will be the the Cotee River Seafood Festival, featuring Blues music in April. Main Street will host the Kiafest Main Street Blast in Sims Park at the end of June, and lots more as the year unfolds. Even the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce gets into the act with live music in Sims Park during their annual Cotee River Bikefest in October.
This past Saturday, the city had the official groundbreaking for a multi-million dollar improvement project for Sims Park. The construction will start in earnest right after Chasco and will include additional shade for those attending concerts in the park. Look for all of this to be done by Christmas.
The combination of nationally known recording artists like Frankie Ballard and Craig Wayne Boyd, along with Tampa Bay talent like The Black Honkeys, The Eric Anderson Band, The Time Bandits, and others make for an amazingly active music scene in New Port Richey. All I can say is: “Wow!”
Please support our thriving music scene by attending the concerts and events of your choice.
Rob Marlowe, Mayor
Thanks for the shoutout, Mayor. It’s a labor of love for those of us behind the scenes and your support and the support we receive from our City is a major part of our success. Thank you to everyone in the City. The council, the staff and particular thanks to our City Manager, Debbie Manns.
The Anclote High School Band Boosters are running the Chasco Crafts and Flea Market, on the corner of Circle Blvd and Adams across from midway, We have all types of different vendors for all kinds of people, from Adults, Children the Event will be Saturday the 21st from 9 till 6 and Sunday 22nd 10 to 4
Wow! This is great info to have as we venture into Chasco Fiesta 2015! Thanks Rob…your blogs are great!
hi we saw the Rockaways there years ago not sure why they haven’t been back. One of the best shows you ever had there I know true oldies and the local radio stations always have the same old favorite bands but it would be great if you could get them back they are not on New Port Richey bar act they are a national act that I’ve opened up for the most famous rock ‘n roll acts in the world! Thanks they do a Beatles and beyond and they are not a tribute act!