Here in Tampa Bay, one of the main concert venues has been Skipper’s Smokehouse for a long time. They have been around since 1980 and just about every major blues, roots, rock, cajun, or world music band “on the way up” has played there.
I’ve seen some amazing shows at the “Skipperdome” myself. Let’s see if I can remember a few off the top of my head…
- John Cleary
- Junior Wells
- Ronnie Earl
- Tab Benoit
- Damon Fowler
- Sonny Landreth
- Debbie Davies
- Bernard Allison
- Michel Burks
- Popa Chubby
- John Nemeth
- The Iguanas
And those are just the ones I’ve seen… and remember.
Many more of the greats have played there over their 30+ years. Let’s just say too many to mention. But I’ll still mention a few…
- Gatemouth Brown
- Anson Funderburgh
- Albert Collins
- The SubDudes
- Marsha Ball
- Lazy Lester
- John Mooney
- Chris Duarte
- James Cotton
Ok I think you get the point. They do have a lot of blues goin’ on (as well as other types of music). Here’s their complete list of previous shows.
In fact, The Blues Foundation honored Skipper’s with it’s “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award for The Best Blues Club in America-2001.
And the best thing about the club is the ambiance. It’s outdoors so when you get a beautiful night it’s a perfect environment. And it only holds about 700 people and it doesn’t ever seem too crowded. It’s really like a beach club with sand under your feet and stars over your head.
Bottom line… it’s a great club to see music. I’ve been on stage there a few times myself.
Here’s me playing with Damon Fowler…
And here’s Tab Benoit in the Fall of 2012.
Skipper’s is also famous for their food. They were recently featured on Man vs. Food Nation on The Travel Channel.
Man V Food Nation visits Skipper’s Smokehouse
And like they say on their website…
And to all our friends who have supported Skipper’s since 1980: we wouldn’t be here without you. Skipper’s continues the quest to bring the best of good music to the Gulf coast.
