I’m so excited to have G. David Howard headlining our Saturday night comedy show. It’s the first time at the Side Door for this local and national legend who owns the title: “Funniest Man Alive.”   The show, which is selling fast, got a big thumbs up from the Tampa Bay Times today. You can […]

We’ve got a very special jazz concert coming up for Father’s Day in the Side Door this Sunday. Our own Nate Najar is back with two of the best side men in the business – clarinetist Dan Levinson, and bassist Tommy Cecil. Nate’s calling this his “Swing Trio” and I can guarantee this show is […]

Is anybody funnier than G. David Howard? Not according to his loyal fans and the Guiness Book of World Records.   G. David, who has been the top comic in the Tampa Bay area since before lots of his audiences were born, was named Funniest Man Alive by Guiness after he performed for 16 hours […]

Last night the graduation for St. Petersburg’s MYcroSchool, which happened in the Palladium’s Hough Hall, was featured as the closing story on ABC Nightly News.   You can see the piece by clicking on this link.   You can read more details about this touching story in this report from the MYcroSchool:   Boy who […]

We had so much fun last fall with the kickoff party for John Capouya’s book, Florida Soul, that we decided we’d make our summer season one big soul party in the Side Door Cabaret.   We’re calling it “Summer of Soul,” and our focus, like John’s book, is on some great Florida-based performers. Our season […]

OK, occasionally Palladium Paul slips away from his desk and returns to doing some performing.   And I’m really excited about what I’m doing this Friday, June 8. I’m one of four storytellers chosen to share a revealing personal story for the RISK podcast, during a live show.   What’s Risk? Just one of the […]

I was in WUSF Radio studios taping an arts podcast on a stormy afternoon last week when I noticed Mike Cornette, WUSF’s jazz director on the other side of the glass.   After I finished my podcast, he hopped into the interviewer chair and we chatted a bit about our jazz programming at the Palladium. […]

We’ve got a very special jazz concert coming up in the Side Door on June 17th. Our own Nate Najar is back with two of the best side men in the business – clarinetist Dan Levinson, and bassist Tommy Cecil. Nate’s calling this his “Swing Trio” and I can guarantee this show is going to […]

Our new development manager, Monica Kile, and her family are the main feature in this week’s issue of Creative Loafing.   It’s the first public sharing of what Monica and Jon’s friends all know – that Jon’s genetic condition is life-threatening and that the family of four has vowed to live in the moment – […]

Back in my days as a reporter I was lucky enough to spend time with lots of talented people, like Maya Angelou, Frank Zappa, Nat Adderly and dozens more. One of my favorite afternoons was spent at Kitty Daniel’s Tampa house talking about music.   After we talked, she played a song for me that […]

The editors at Tampa Bay Magazine have again named The Palladium at SPC to their “Best of 2018” list.   The “Best” list is included in the current May-June edition and it honors the Palladium as the “Best Community Performing Arts Center.” Here’s what they said:   “A part of St. Petersburg College, this stunning […]

Hard to believe we are coming to the end of another wonderful Palladium Chamber Players season. The final concert, featuring Jeffrey Multer and the Mile-End Trio, is Wednesday, May 9 at 7:30.   Marika Bournaki, piano,  and Julian Schwarz, cello, wowed our January audience and this program, with works by Haydn, Brahms and Ravel, promises […]

I got to New Orleans just before Jazz Fest and saw the posters for the annual WWOZ Piano Night show, which happens at the House of Blues between the two festival weekends.   I was thrilled to see a name that all our Palladium audiences are familiar with – Bob Seeley, the star of our […]

Our Side Door cabaret has become the go-to spot for book launch parties this year and we’ve got a great one this Sunday at 4 p.m. Author Bill DeYoung is celebrating his new book, Phil Gernhard, Record Man (University Press of Florida), by bringing one of the Gernhard’s hitmakers, The Royal Guardsmen, out of retirement. […]

I made sure I flew home from an extra-long weekend of food and music in New Orleans in time for tonight’s concert by the Palladium Chamber Players (Wednesday, April 25). It’s an all-Schubert program and there are still some fine seats available.   For tickets and information call our box office at 727-822-3590 or follow […]

My pal, the rock ‘n roll troubadour, Ronny Elliott takes the mic in the Palladium’s Side Door for a show that celebrates “the magnetic seabreeze that brings hepcats” to our humid hunk of Florida coastline. Ronny didn’t have to ride the breeze, he was Tampa-born (he saw Elvis at the Armory) and as a kid […]

There is so much to tell you about Sunday’s Madonna/George Michael show “Something Sacred” featuring the 18-piece Florida Bjorkestra and a special choir from One City Chorus.   If you haven’t seen a Bjorkestra show, what are you waiting for? Both Creative Loafing and TB Times are raving. Here’s what the Loaf said:   Florida […]

The loss of David Warner as editor of Creative Loafing is a big blow to our arts community. Every week David proved the value a good editor brings to a publication. His sign-off was pure David – classy and insightful. As a fictional character I like once said: “Our (arts) world will be a poorer […]

All of us at the Palladium were so proud to be the site for the Dr. Martin Luther King memorial event Wednesday evening with One City Chorus, The Dr. Carter G. Woodson African-American Museum and lots of our city’s leaders and finest performers.   In case you missed it, I’m sharing some pictures from the […]

I’ve been enjoying The Chopin Project website for a few years now, since my friend Fred Slutsky launched his passion project and shared it with me.   Along with bringing together all things Chopin, Fred has branched into concert production and this weekend is one of his most ambitious yet. Fred and the Chopin Project […]

When Synia Carroll takes the Side Door stage this Friday night for her “Synia Sings Sarah (Vaughan)” concert,  it will represent the completion of a personal journey for the Sarasota-based jazz singer.   “I felt called to do this show,” Synia told me during a phone interview this week. “Sarah’s essence, whatever that spirit is […]

Palladium favorite Nate Najar is back on his home turf this Friday night (March 30) with The Bossa Nova All-Stars, a band of musical luminaries that includes the Brazilian singer Maucha Adnet who toured for 10 years with the bossa nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim.   The rest of the band includes two of the […]

After a stunning performance on March 14, Our Palladium Chamber Series returns on Wednesday, March 28, with another very special program.   Jeewon Park will be performing Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Jeewon, Jeff Multer and special guest Julian Schwarz, will play the Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 in the second part of the program. We’ll […]

One of my dreams for the Palladium is that we’d be the site of a Florida Orchestra Masterworks concert. This Saturday, March 24, that dream is coming to fruition when the orchestra takes the stage to perform a program that includes the music of Mozart, Haydn and Schubert.   Tickets are almost gone, so call […]

If you’re like me, you don’t really see the point of this whole Saint Paddy’s day thing. Green beer? Yeech! Irish drinking songs? Thank you, no!   So for this year’s St. P’s day on Saturday, March 17, we’re doing something a little different. We’re welcoming back Uncle John’s Band, the band that carries forward […]