TAMPA, Fla. — A year after the concert industry was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s back in 2021 and they’re cranking the amps up to 11 with some of the most legendary rock acts announcing tour stops in and around the Tampa area.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Eric Clapton was the latest to announce a tour stop at the Amalie Arena on Saturday, September 25 at 8 p.m. Clapton will be playing only a few dates in North America and then head to a European tour scheduled for the Spring of 2022. The show wills will also feature Jimmie Vaughan, brother of legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, as a special guest. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
Shortly after the Clapton announcement was made, fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers KISS announced they would be rocking and rolling all night and partying every day in Tampa on October 9. The concert is part of the band’s farewell tour called the End of the Road Tour. Gene Simmons is 71 and Paul Stanley is 69 and both have said it’s time for them to hang it up after this tour. Tickets for the KISS show go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
TheMIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre will host Kiss but is playing host to numerous other artists in the coming months. Among them:
- July 9 - Brad Paisley
- July 28 – Dave Matthews Band
- August 6 – Matchbox 20
- August 7 – Korn
- August 17 – Alanis Morissette
- September 20 – Hall and Oates
- September 24 – Maroon 5
- October 8 – Brooks & Dunn
- October 16 – Jonas Brothers
- October 19 – Slipknot
Elsewhere around the Sunshine State, the Welcome to Rockville Festival is scheduled for November 11-14 and will feature a who’s who of acts including two nights of Metallica, Rob Zombie, Deftones, Cypress Hill, Disturbed, The Offspring, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and more. But, it will cost you to get into the four-day festival, four-day passes start at $269.50 and a four-day VIP pass starts at $600.
After a year on hiatus, musicians are ready for the road once again as the nation continues to slowly emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
