tampa mob tour

Tampa Mafia

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1523 E 7th Ave

Tampa, FL 33607

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Walking Through History: A Live Virtual Tour of Tampa’s Mafia Past

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This livestream presentation of The Tampa Mafia Tour will take viewers through the brick streets of Ybor City, a historic neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, where organized crime gained a foothold in the early 20th century. Historian Scott Deitche will highlight old gambling palaces, street corners where mobsters met their demise, and restaurants where famed Mafia boss Santo Trafficante Jr. held court. You’ll hear tales of bolita, the rumored tunnels of Ybor, and the Era of Blood, when warring factions battled for control of Tampa’s underworld.

Tune in for free via livestream by clicking on the “watch” button at 1 p.m. on December 6, 2020.

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Tampa Mafia Tour - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

Tampa author leads walking tour that details city's past with the mafia

TAMPA, Fla. - The city's notorious past is on full display with the Tampa Mafia Tours, which is led by acclaimed author Scott M. Deitche. 

Deitche is known for his authoritative books on Tampa's underworld. He's a Mob Museum Advisory Council member and the author of Tampa's favorite reads, including "Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld" and "The Silent Don: The Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante Jr."

Participants get to embark on a one and a half to two hour walking tour with Deitche, learning all about Tampa's mafia history . 

RELATED: Local author writes books about the history of Tampa's mafias

"I did a couple of tours just for friends, people I knew around Ybor, just to show them where gangsters hung out," said Deitche. "We decided we wanted to take this to the next level and actually start walking to see if there’s any interest in it. Thirteen years later, it’s been a big success."

Pictured: Author Scott Deitche.

Deitche and his co-guide Manny Leto, a former editor of Cigar City Magazine and a Tampa historian, offers participants a chance to see old gambling palaces, street corners, and alleys where some mobsters met their fate. They offer insights into the era when wise guys, including famed boss Santo Trafficante Jr., held court in local restaurants. 

Anyone going on the tour will get to delve into the secrets of bolita, explore the rumored tunnels of Ybor and immerse in the chilling tales of the Era of Blood. 

This one-of-a-kind walking tour unveils the hidden stories of Tampa’s most storied neighborhood, ensuring that you’ll never see Ybor City the same way again.

For more information, visit www.Tampamafia.com . 

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TAMPA MAFIA TOUR - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

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This Florida City Has Rich Mob History & You Can Visit Where The Mobsters Hung Out

Some of the places are still open today!

The Ybor City arch.

Tampa Bay is probably best known for its beautiful clear-water beaches, world-class theme parks and sports teams, but it also has a unique history — one that is widely connected to a mafia past.

You can learn more about the city's unique history and connection to the mob through an interactive Tampa Mafia Tour , or you can just visit these places yourself, as the almost two-hour walking excursion is shut down for the summer due to the heat.

From restaurants to secret tunnels, you can find out about those who walked the streets and followed leaders, like Santo Trafficante Jr., a man who, according to The Mob Museum , was one of the top gangsters in this area.

According to the tour's website , many of the historical places where local mobsters hung out remain open for you to visit, like Donatello Italian Restaurant.

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Another place that is still standing today is the famous dining spot, Columbia Restaurant. It's widely known in the historical streets of Ybor City, and members of the Trafficante family reportedly used to eat there.

Some FBI agents also used to sit at those tables, and it stands today as a well-known place to get a delicious cuisine.

There's also a hidden underground system of tunnels in Ybor City where these characters were rumored to have smuggled liquor between speakeasies during the Prohibition Era — although the Tampa Bay Times reported in 2018 that these tunnels were actually built in the late 19th century as sewers.

While the tunnels are closed to visitors, Tampa Mafia promises you'll learn about them on their tour.

The tour starts back up in September, and if you're a group of 10 or more people, you can even book a private tour on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

A Tampa historian from the Mob Museum Advisory Council will guide you through the 1-mile, 1.5- to 2-hour walking tour and tell you all of the tales of Tampa's dark past.

Tampa Mafia Tour

Address: Tour starts at 1523 E. 7th Ave., Tampa, FL

When: Starting in September 2022

Why You Need To Go: This tour is an exciting way to get to know the Ybor City area of Tampa Bay. It's a fun way to learn the rich mobster history that paints the town and see things you otherwise wouldn't have known were a part of this past.

Accessibility: Wheelchair/stroller accessible

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Tour Tampa’s underworld with the man who inspired new Cigar City mob movie

August 8, 2016

Related Document: Download Document

By Robin Soslow

Special Contrituro

To pinpoint a city's saucy landmarks, ask a secret agent.

That scheme led to a criminally good rendezvous in Tampa, now a hot draw with its new Riverwalk, chef-driven restaurants, craft breweries, quick access to Gulf-coast beaches and fascinating gangster heritage, some of which inspired a new blockbuster true-crime movie.

The Infiltrator  stars Bryan Cranston as undercover agent Robert Mazur, a Tampa resident who in the late 1980s helped smash Pablo Escobar's money-laundering operation and bring down the  Medellín Cartel , the world's largest illegal drug operation. Filmed around Tampa Bay, the film's settings make for an intriguing tour.

"In sunny Florida, drug traffickers and money launderers were as plentiful as palm trees," said Mazur, who, using the alias Bob Musella, befriended and worked with corrupt figures.

U.S. Customs' "Operation C-Chase," led by Mazur, brought the indictment of some 100 drug lords and bankers who cleaned their dirty money -- and the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). Its demise began when Mazur, posing as mob-connected Musella, walked into BCCI's Tampa branch and was offered opportunities to launder money through its worldwide branches.

Here's a bit more about Mazur and the film:

The Infiltrator from Bob Mazur on Vimeo .

Just before the film's July premiere at the  Tampa Theatre  -- opened in 1924 -- Mazur guided me to favorite places tied to  The Infiltrator  action. Here's what I can reveal:

The Columbia Restaurant:  Florida's oldest restaurant fills an entire block in Ybor City, Tampa Bay's historic Latin Quarter. Since 1905, the Gonzmart family has run the restaurant, expanding it from a bar and sandwich shop to 1,700 seats. Six nights a week, there's Flamenco dancing; anytime, there's a sangria blended tableside with hand-selected cabernet and tempranillo, a Spanish grape, and fresh fruit. There's a story to every dish. Here, Mazur wined and dined subjects of his investigation, especially those from Colombia. Says Mazur: "This nightspot speaks to Tampa's rich Latin American heritage. The food is great, the Flamenco dancers fantastic."

Le Méridien Tampa:  Two years ago, the 1905 Beaux Arts building housing the U.S. District Courthouse was revived as spectacular boutique lodging. You can stroll the original terrazzo tile floors, dine and drink beneath the courtroom's coffered and crown-molded ceilings, make dinner reservations at a witness stand, and sleep in a judge's chamber. In the 1920s, customs agents worked here to thwart bootleggers. Cases heard included the 1950-51  Kefauver Committee  hearings about organized crime.

Gangsters using Tampa as their base included Charlie Wall; a copy of the Kefauver Committee report was left in his Ybor City bedroom during his murder. The Courthouse's  Infiltrator  connection: It's where the trial of BCCI officers and a top cartel player took place. Order a "Don't Judge Me" bourbon-berry cocktail from Le Méridien's bar.

Mazur recalls: "The stress of long-term undercover was no match for the tension of being prepared to testify every day for 12 weeks, while being questioned by some of the world's most respected defense counsel. I'll never forget anything about this building." Neither will guests of the sensational, like-no-other hotel and its swanky Bizou Brasserie.

Aloft Tampa Downtown:  On the new Riverwalk lining the Hillsborough River, this boutique property opened in 2014 in a building that formerly housed BCCI's Tampa branch. The hotel's super-cool WXYZ Bar is popular for local DJ nights and hanging out amid cool art at any hour. Poolside, enjoy the fire pit, chill tunes and beautiful views of the skyline, boats and wildlife on the river, and the new Riverwalk.

The Skyye Bar & Grille:  Mazur recalls: "I had 'business lunches' with BCCI officers and money brokers representing members of the Medellín Cartel. My guests were treated to fantastic views because the restaurant revolves 360 degrees atop the Tampa Airport Marriott."

Bern's Steak House:  Dine on the sly in this landmark's dark corners and unique private dessert rooms. The clandestine wine cellar is astonishing.

Franklin Exchange:  Federal agents arrested people targeted by Mazur's investigation in the garage of this grand neoclassical bank building that's now a downtown event space.

Bayshore Boulevard:  Often jogging this tranquil route along Tampa Bay between downtown and the classy iconic Colonnade Restaurant, Mazur and his supervisor developed Operation C-Chase.

Clearwater Beach:  "People within the cartel, just like everyone else, enjoy taking their families to beautiful vacation destinations," Mazur says. "As a 'businessman' within the cartel, I entertained 'clients' when they came to the Tampa Bay area. During stays arranged at Clearwater Beach, beyond social time with families used to develop rapport, the deadly business of the drug world was discussed and recorded during meetings."

Tampa Bay History Center:  A must-visit venue on Riverwalk exposing intriguing activities of pirates to the city's powerful Cuban, Italian and Anglo underworld gangs.

Take the mafia tour

To dig deeper into Tampa's scandalous history, I joined the newly expanded  Mafia Tour led by Scott Deitche , whose organized crime books include  Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld .

The city was the 1950s-1980s home to notorious mobster Santo Trafficante Jr. Illegal lottery-style bolita games and Prohibition-era rum-running rocked Ybor City, distinguished by a mix of Cuban, Spanish and Sicilian culture and easy access to Tampa's port. Ybor City's 1920s bootlegging and gangland crime inspired bestselling author  Dennis Lehane to write   Live by Night . Ben Affleck's film adaptation will release in 2017.

The Mafia Tour, presented by   Cigar City Magazine , runs about 90 minutes on select Saturdays and as private and group tours. Starting at King Corona Cigars Cafe/Bar, the foot tour loops a mile through Ybor City. Stops include the site of a huge mob hit, an old gambling palace, remnants of Tampa's biggest mob bar and some locations shot in  The Infiltrator .

Deitche covers stills to smugglers, how criminal casino operators evaded police, crime family holdings in pre-Castro Cuba and under Trafficante's leadership, and the chilling connection between the Tampa mob, CIA plots to kill Fidel Castro and the Kennedy assassination. At Cephas Hot Shop, selling aloe for health for 36 years, Cephas guided us to his colorful courtyard where  The Infiltrator  voodoo scene was filmed.

"I had the pleasure of taking Dennis Lehane on the mob tour while he was writing Live By Night  to give him a feel for Ybor City and historic places where the gangsters hung out," says Deitche. "That added a lot of realism to the book."

Mazur's home? Nope, it's not on the tour.

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TAMPA MAFIA TOUR - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

MAFIA TOUR: TAMPA’S BAD BOYS – 8K

If you’ve ever been curious about the mafia in Tampa, this is the tour for you! This tour not only highlights Trafficante and the many stories collected over the years while he was in power, but also takes a step back to where the underworld activity really started in Tampa which is what brought the mafia here in the first place. Don’t miss out!

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Mafia tour: tampa's bad boys - 8k.

If you've ever been curious about the mafia in Tampa, this is the tour for you! This tour not only highlights Trafficante and the many stories collected over the years while he was in power, but also takes a step back to where the underworld activity really started in Tampa which is what brought the mafia here in the first place. Don't miss out!

Runner on the ground - LAURA

10 years of running

When most people think about the mafia, cities such as Chicago, New York City, Vegas, etc typically come to mind. But those who REALLY know the history know that Tampa played a huge role, and specifically Ybor City was a haven for mafia activity. And this activity went on for quite some time! Underground tunnels, illegal gambling, paying off mayors and police officers and a number of mafia ‘hits’ over the decades – especially during the Era of Blood, tell a different story than the one told by those who believe there was never any mafia in Tampa.

This 8k tour guides runners on a historical run from downtown into Ybor City, highlighting the early 1900s – more specifically the 1920s-1930s and how ‘innocent’ looking Tampa fell into this underworld so quickly and so heavily for the next several decades. It all starts with a man by the name of Charlie Wall. Charlie was not part of the mafia, but he was a huge fan of anything illegal. Hanging out in opium dens at a very young age, spiraled into a lifetime of crime and corruption that ultimately resulted in becoming enemies with the mafia when they wanted a piece of the action.

Your guide will walk you through the history, quite literally, of downtown and it’s local watering holes, gambling spots and other locations where both Charlie and ultimately Trafficante and other members of the mafia spent their time. You’ll hear about gruesome murders, government officials who looked the other way for the right dollar amount and a river that at one point was producing floating bodies on a regular basis for a solid decade. The Floridan Hotel, Le Meridien Hotel (the old courthouse where the Kefauver Hearings were held, locally), Oaklawn Cemetery and the Hillsborough River are a few of the stops that will be highlighted downtown.

As the tour transitions towards Ybor City your guide will talk more specifically about the mafia and it’s major players in Ybor City and surrounding areas in Tampa as Charlie Wall faded out of the scene and Trafficante Jr rose to power in the city. With everyone in his pocket and a very successful ‘business model’, he actually lived his life out unharmed and died of natural causes. But before that happened there were many years of hitmen (sawed off shotgun was the weapon of choice, almost exclusively), illegal/rigged gambling in the form of bolita, prostitution, smuggling booze during prohibition, smuggling people and other drugs, arson, etc. The tunnels are a major part of this history and will be brought up in quite a few of the stories along the way as they were (allegedly) used to smuggle narcotics/booze/people/etc and were even used in some hits where there was no trace of the assailant – only the body of the deceased. Lastly, your guide will take you by some locations where major players met their maker – often right in the middle of the street or in their car at a light.

With no shortage of stories and history, this tour is sure to make a Tampa mafia believer out of you. Add in a JFK assassination that almost happened right here in Tampa and a few local stories that you won’t find online and you’ll have no doubt in your mind after this!

Facts about the tours

Private tour

13:00-14:00/Mile + Stops

333 S. Franklin St. Tampa, FL

€ 35.20 /person

PRIVATE RUNNING TOUR , SIGHTSEEING RUN , TAMPA , USA

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Tampa Mafia Tour

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Tampa Mafia Tour - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Tampa and the mob: From bolita to Trafficante

TAMPA, Fla. - From the gangland days of the early 20th century to the 1960s and 70s gangsters, the mafia and Tampa have always been intertwined.

During its mid-century peak, organized crime controlled or had a hand in everything from gambling and prostitution to political corruption, election rigging, unions and more.

And Tampa was right in the middle of it.

On this episode of To The Point Already, anchors Rick Elmhorst and Roy De Jesus talk with organized crime writer Scott M. Deitche about Tampa's vivid mob backstory.

"The history of the mafia in Tampa is part of the history of Tampa," said Deitche, a Bay area-based writer who has written extensively about mafia history in Tampa. "(Mafia bosses) controlled politicians, elections and had hands in legitimate businesses."

The fabric of the Tampa's history is richly woven with stories of ruthless gangsters who first grabbed control of illegal bolita gambling and liquor distribution during Prohibition, executed rivals, controlled the narcotics trade and eventually broadened their influence across Florida and into pre-Castro Cuba.

Infamous in the city's lore is the "Era of Blood," when 25 gangsters were gunned down on the streets as Italian, Cuban and Anglo underworld factions battled for power from the 1920s to the '50s.

And a Godfather-like legend surrounds Tampa-born crime boss Santo Trafficante Jr., who took over the Sicilian Mafia in Florida from his father in 1954 and built a criminal empire that was the envy of mob families across the country.

Trafficante famously never spent a night in an American jail. Trafficante died in 1987 following a heart operation and the Tampa mob's heydey died with him.

Scott Deitche leads a group during one of his recent Mafia Tours that visits infamous gangland sites around Ybor City. (Courtesy Scott M. Deitche)

Deitche's book "Cigar City Mafia" is a who's who of Tampa gangland activity. He followed that up with a book on Trafficante and also operates Mafia Tours in Ybor City.

He says it's the mafia characters that fascinate people to this day.

"It's part of the history of Tampa," he said. "I try to tell it as even-handed as I can. When I do the tour, when I talk to people and show them where this guy got whacked, they're eyes light up. People respond to that.

"I can talk about the minutiae of the political corruption but (people) are more interested in the big crime."

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Spectrum Bay News 9 anchor Rick Elmhorst sits down with the people that represent you, the people fighting for change and the people with fascinating stories to ask the hard questions.

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Ybor Tunnels

Table of Contents

The Ybor City smuggling tunnels are perhaps one of the greatest urban legends in Tampa, miles of tunnels underneath the city are rumored to have been used during the prohibition era to move liquor between speakeasies as well as to smuggle Chinese women to be sold into prostitution.

Tampa Mafia

The story starts on March 10, 1880, with the birth of Charles McKay “Charlie” Wall . His parents were Matilda McKay, the daughter of a former mayor, and Dr. John Perry Wall, a former Mayor of Tampa, civic leader, and highly respected physician who devoted his medical career to studying yellow fever and other communicable diseases.

Many sources indicate the death of his father as the breaking point for young Charlie Wall as he would end up shooting his stepmother with a .22 rifle and wounding her, resulting in him being sent to military school. He would then be expelled from military school for visiting a brothel. He spent his formative years in the gambling halls of Ybor and West Tampa where he learned the trades of the criminal underworld.

In the early 20th century, Wall controlled a number of gambling, prostitution, and illegal numbers rackets, mainly Bolita. Bolita is a lottery-type game that involves 100 small numbered balls mixed in a small bag, and bets are taken on which number is drawn. The game could be rigged in a variety of ways such as having extra balls of a given number or none at all, filling certain balls with lead so they would sink to the bottom of the bag, or putting certain balls in ice beforehand so they would be cold and therefore easy for the selector to find by touch.

Although the game was illegal in Florida, thousands of dollars in bribes to politicians and law enforcement officials kept the game running out in the open.

The first Italian gang in Tampa was created in 1925 by Ignacio Antinori, one of the first mobsters to emerge in Florida during the Prohibition era. He soon met Santo Trafficante Sr., a powerful mobster who had set up Bolita games throughout the city, and together with Antinori, expanded the Bolita games across the state. By the 1930s, Antinori was a well-known drug kingpin and an Italian crime boss, having one of the largest heroin trafficking operations in the country.

By this time, Ignacio Antinori and Charlie Wall were in a bloody war that would later be known as the “Era of Blood”. The feud ended on October 22, 1940, when Antinori had the back of his head blown off with a sawed-off shotgun while sipping coffee at the Palm Garden Inn in Tampa. The gunmen were not associated with Wall, but rather a dissatisfied customer, the Chicago Mafia, to whom Antonori refused to refund a bad shipment of narcotics.

The war left Wall’s organization weakened leaving Santo Trafficante Sr. as one of the last and most powerful bosses in Tampa. Trafficante had control of most of the city and began teaching his son Santo Trafficante Jr. how to run the city. Trafficante Sr. knew he was being watched by police and after Charlie Wall’s testimonial at the Kefauver hearings, both Trafficantes fled to Cuba.

After the hearings, the Trafficantes returned to Tampa and retook control of the city after killing Jimmy Lumia who controlled the city while they were in Cuba. In 1953, Trafficane Jr. survived an assassination attempt and suspected it was Charlie Wall. In April 1955, Wall was bludgeoned with a baseball bat and his throat slit in his home by an unknown number of assailants most likely sent on behalf of Trafficante Jr., a bloody end to Tampa’s first organized crime boss.

There’s no doubt that tunnels do exist under Ybor City but their purpose is highly debated. The most common belief is that bootleggers or the Tampa mafia dug the tunnels under many of the establishments along the Ybor City’s main drag, connecting them to the port and allowing easy smuggling of shipments of liquor in and out of the city.

This belief was further made popular in Scott Dietche’s book “ Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld ” where he says, “ Under the crowded streets of Ybor is a series of tunnels, the use of which has never been fully documented. The tunnels run under some of the early gaming palaces and down along the streets toward the port of Tampa. “

In late-2018, a tunnel was unearthed at 12th Street and Sixth Avenue during the beginning phase of development for a new headquarters for Masonite International, a manufacturer of interior and exterior doors. It was five feet tall and just as wide, the walls and ceiling were made up of three layers of brick with flooring made of wood. The Tampa Bay Times reported on the discovery with the headline “ Historians now agree: Ybor City’s tunnels were built as sewers, not smuggling routes .” According to many historians, the tunnels were built sometime between 1885 and the late 1890s as a storm and sanitary sewer, around the time Charlie Wall was still a young boy.

It resembled other dual-use sewers built in other cities during the 19th Century and had pipes dating back to that period, although it also had newer storm pipes from as recent as the 1970s and 1980s. Carlos Alfonso, an architect based in Ybor City and founder of Alliant Partners, the development company in charge of construction, says a 1927 plan has the tunnel labeled as a stormwater sewer. That’s not to say the old sewer system couldn’t have still been used during Prohibition by smugglers, but there’s zero evidence to back up the claim that they were used for smuggling.

Blue Ribbon Supermarket

In 2011, a portion of the tunnels was uncovered at the Southwest corner of 15th and 7th Avenue after heavy rains flooded the area. That corner was the site of the former Blue Ribbon Supermarket which burned down in August 2000 shortly after being purchased by a developer. The Blue Ribbon and the tunnels underneath the building were the focus of a 1994 news segment by WFLA-TV News Channel 8, where reporter Jeff Paterson received a tour of the tunnels from the Blue Ribbon’s owner’s nephew.

The building the Blue Ribbon Supermarket was housed in was first built as the Ybor City Post Office sometime around the 1880s which begs the question if these tunnels were actually dug by bootleggers, why would they build an entrance into a federal building? If that was the case, the city and for that matter, the federal government would have had to be involved in the construction of the tunnels.

If that was also the case, why would those government bodies even need smuggling tunnels in the first place if they ran the city and country, and were the ones who passed the 18th Amendment? The answers are simple and give credence to the belief that the tunnels were not built for smuggling at all. One other thing that should be pointed out is that Tampa at the time was so full of corruption that mobsters wouldn’t even need to hide their business. In 1912, a Jacksonville newspaper wrote, “ Tampa is reeking in crime, and gamblers operate openly. Tampa is the most wicked city in the U.S .”

Seminole Heights tunnels

In December 2018, Seminole Heights homeowner Marina Terracciano gave Fox 13 a tour of her historic home built in 1925. Under the house are what appear to be blocked entrances which she claims to open up into tunnels, one going under the Hillsborough River and another towards Ybor City. Her neighbor told her he went into one of the tunnels, one going under the river, and got scared after walking for 20 minutes and turned back around. There is no proof that these tunnels exist other than Terracciano’s testimony.

Further Debunking

The two images above have been shared across social media as being photos from inside the tunnel underneath Ybor City. One post on Facebook reads, “Rare pictures of the hidden tunnels under Ybor city dating back before the prohibition era. As well as transporting booze to taverns, some say they were once used to Shanghai victims into maritime servitude.” The photos referenced were taken from an article on the website, Tampa is Awesome (which no longer exists), an extremely short read about the supposed tunnels and their connection to the mafia.

After a bit of digging, I was able to trace the origins of the photos. The first image (left) was taken by Flickr user “mookitty” (whose account has since been deleted) inside the Haydenville Tunnel in Haydenville, Ohio. The second image (right) was taken by Flickr user jcw1967 of the inside of a tunnel in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. Why the photos were paired along with information about the tunnels is uncertain but it’s most likely a deliberate attempt to make their story more interesting. Other websites such as Only in Your State have followed suit in spreading these photos as proof of the tunnel’s purpose and existence.

Final Thoughts

To my knowledge, there are not many photos from inside these tunnels and all we have are these brief 2-3-minute news segments. While I do believe tunnels exist and at least once existed underneath Ybor City, I do not believe they were used by rumrunners. The legend probably came about naturally due to Al Capone’s presence in the Tampa Bay area and the existence of the Moose Jaw tunnels in Saskatchewan, Canada. The story goes that rumrunners would use the Moose Jaw tunnels to smuggle liquor onto freight cars, which ended up in Chicago for Al Capone’s massive bootlegging operations. It’s not hard to imagine that those rumors helped create the legend of the Ybor tunnels.

Although the Ybor tunnels are just sewers, they remain fascinating to me and I hope to one day be able to document these tunnels but as more portions get filled in and entryways are blocked off due to increasing construction, it seems I will never get a chance. So like you, I will continue on exploring the tunnels through what little documentation we have on them.

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David Bulit is a photographer, author, and historian from Miami, Florida. He has published a number of books on abandoned and forgotten locales throughout the United States and continues to advocate for preserving these historic landmarks. His work has been featured throughout the world in news outlets such as the Miami New Times, the Florida Times-Union, the Orlando Sentinel, NPR, Yahoo News, MSN, the Daily Mail, UK Sun, and many others. You can find more of his work at davidbulit.com as well as amazon.com/author/davidbulit.

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Tampa Mafia Tour - Things You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

• Life & Culture

Over 50 Tampa Bay concerts to see during summer 2024

• Gabrielle Calise Times staff

The weather isn’t the only thing heating up around Tampa Bay.

Not only is Megan Thee Stallion bringing her Hot Girl Summer Tour to town — there’s a sizzling slate of concerts for fans of just about every music genre.

Expect to see some fun pairings, from longtime peers (Missy Elliott with Busta Rhymes) to some wild mashups (Red Hot Chili Peppers and ... Ice Cube?). Sting, who just swung through Tampa with Billy Joel , will even return two more times to rock out with the Florida Orchestra.

Here are over 50 local shows we’re excited about.

Living legends

Diana Ross: The legendary Motown singer will bring solo hits and favorite songs from the Supremes to the BayCare Sound in Clearwater on Thursday, May 9.

Janet Jackson: The Together Again Tour comes to the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa on Tuesday, July 16.

Sting and the Florida Orchestra: The “Englishman in New York” joins conductor Michael Francis and the Florida Orchestra for two intimate benefit concerts. Thursday, May 9, and Friday, May 10, at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg.

Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire: The Heart & Soul 2024 Tour features two bands that have been going since the late 1960s — and two MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre shows. Thursday, Aug. 15, and Friday, Aug. 16.

Latin stars

Bad Bunny: The Puerto Rican singer and rapper, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, will bring his irresistible blend of Latin trap and reggaeton to six Florida stops next year. Catch his Most Wanted Tour on Tuesday, May 21, at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

Peso Pluma: The 24-year-old Mexican superstar who beat both Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny’s YouTube streaming record last year announced a performance at Amalie Arena on Friday, June 21.

Pepe Aguilar: The Jaripeo Hasta Los Huesos Tour pays tribute to the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead. Sunday, June 30, at Amalie Arena.

Hip-hop and R&B

Megan Thee Stallion: Hotties, assemble. Megan Thee Stallion’s Hot Girl Summer Tour is coming to Amalie Arena on Saturday, June 8. GloRilla will open.

The Kid LAROI: Charlton Howard won’t even be 21 yet when he comes to Tampa this summer. Find the rising rap star at the Yuengling Center with glaive and Chase Shaker on Sunday, June 9.

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21 Savage: The “redrum” rapper returns with his American Dream Tour on Friday, June 14, at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Bryson Tiller: Tiller will share his blend of R&B and trap on Sunday, June 16, at the Yuengling Center.

Kid Cudi: Those on the “Pursuit of Happiness” can find Kid Cudi at Amalie Arena on Saturday, July 6, for the Insano World Tour. Pusha T and EARTHGANG will open.

Missy Elliott: The rap pioneer’s first ever headlining tour features some famous friends: Timbaland, Ciara and Busta Rhymes. Wednesday, July 24, at Amalie Arena.

$uicideboy$: The New Orleans rap duo, whose collab partners range from Travis Barker to the guitarist from Korn, will head to Amalie Arena on Sunday, Aug. 11.

Pop singers and songwriters

Hozier: The Irish singer-songwriter, whose songs bounce somewhere between blues, soul gospel, R&B and folk, has become something of a mystical character. He’ll take Tampa to church on Saturday, May 11, at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Chappell Roan: The self-proclaimed “Midwest Princess” is coming to Jannus Live in St. Petersburg on Sunday, May 19, hot off of opening for Olivia Rodrigo. (Both singers work closely with producer Dan Nigro.) Expect campy synth pop, technicolor costumes both on stage and in the audience and perhaps an appearance from local drag queens.

Madison Beer: Hear TikTok-famous hits like “Make You Mine” at Jannus Live during the Spinnin Tour on Wednesday, May 22, at Jannus Live. Upsahl will open.

Niall Horan: One Direction’s Irish heartthrob brings the “The Show” Live on Tour to the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on Friday, May 31.

Justin Timberlake: The pop star, now touring to support his sixth solo studio album, is bringing sexy back to Amalie Arena on Friday, June 14.

Melanie Martinez: Beach Bunny and Sofia Isella open The Trilogy Tour on Tuesday, June 18, at Amalie Arena.

Alternative and rock

Sleep Token: The masked alt-metal band from England comes to the Yuengling Center on Monday, May 6, with Empire State Bastard.

Toto: The band will bless the rains down in Africa at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater during the Dogs of Oz Tour on Wednesday, May 8.

Amon Amarth: “Heed our warning: We are gearing up for our biggest and most epic raid in North American history,” the Viking metal band posted to announce their upcoming tour. Cannibal Corpse, Obituary and Frozen Soul open the Metal Crushes All Tour on Saturday, May 18, at the Yuengling Center.

Santana and Counting Crows: Now celebrating a 50-year career, Santana will team up with Counting Crows on Sunday, June 16, at Amalie Arena for the Oneness Tour.

Alanis Morissette: The Canadian-American singer is bringing a dose of ‘90s alt-rock nostalgia to the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on Wednesday, June 19. “You Oughta Know” that Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will be opening, along with Morgan Wade.

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Catch Flea and friends on the Unlimited Love Tour, featuring special guests Ice Cube and indie rockers IRONTOM, on Friday, June 21, at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Sammy Hagar: The Red Rocker — and special guest Loverboy — will perform during the Best of All Worlds Tour on Sunday, July 14, at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Styx and Foreigner: Foreigner already embarked on a farewell run in 2023, but a tour with Styx seems like a good reason to return to Tampa. Catch the Renegades & Juke Box Heroes Tour on Saturday, July 20, at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Dirty Heads and Slightly Stoopid: Rock, hip-hop, reggae and soul come together for this double-headliner at the BayCare Sound on Saturday, Aug. 3. Common Kings and the Elovators will open.

Beach Fossils: The Brooklyn indie rockers, whose sound ranges from lo-fi to surf rock, head to the Orpheum in Tampa on Friday, April 19.

ALVVAYS: The Canadian indie rockers will bring their dreamy indie rock hits to the Ritz Ybor in Tampa on Wednesday, May 1.

Waxahatchee: Punk rocker-turned-singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield is coming to Jannus Live in St. Petersburg on Friday, May 3. Get there early to catch Australian indie rock duo Good Morning.

Kurt Vile: The former lead guitarist for The War On Drugs is bringing his solo music to Jannus Live on Wednesday, May 8.

Still Woozy: It’s hard to describe the funky fusion of indie pop that comes out of Sven Eric Gamsky, also known as Still Woozy. Check out the Loveseat Tour, featuring MICHELLE, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at Jannus Live.

Chris Stapleton: The country singer’s All-American Road Show comes to the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on Friday, May 10. Nikki Lane and Grace Potter open.

Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown Band: The Sun Goes Down Tour comes to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, April 20.

Brooks & Dunn: Get ready to “Boot Scoot Boogie” on Saturday, May 4, at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Kane Brown: The vocalist has been called “the future of country music” by Billboard. See him with Tyler Hubbard and Parmalee on Friday, May 31, or Saturday, June 1, at Amalie Arena.

Tyler Childers: Check out Childers’ blend of country, folk and bluegrass at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre during the Mule Pull ‘24 Tour on Wednesday, June 5.

Morgan Wallen: One of country’s highest-streamed crooners is bringing his One Night at a Time World Tour to Raymond James Stadium for, well, two nights: Thursday, July 11, and Friday, July 12.

Zach Bryan: Jason Isbell opens The Quittin Time Tour on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Raymond James Stadium.

Tampa Bay Blues Festival: See Grace Potter, Blood Brothers, Bywater Call, Beth Hart, Tab Benoit and more from Friday, April 12, through Sunday, April 14, at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg. See the full lineup at tampabaybluesfest.com .

Breakaway Music Festival: After years of Sunset Music Festival dominance, a new EDM event is coming to town. Breakaway Music Festival debuts at Raymond James Stadium on Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27. Zedd, Sofi Tukker, Illenium and Kascade will headline.

WMNF Tropical Heatwave: The “eclectic music extravaganza” takes place at the Cuban Club in Tampa’s Ybor City on Saturday, May 4. Bands include The Record Company, Ruthie Foster, Say She She, The Dollyrots, Selwyn Birchwood and more.

Sad Summer Fest: The Vans Warped Tour may not be happening anymore, but this day-to-night festival comes close. See Mayday Parade, The Maine, The Wonder Years and We the Kings at the BayCare Sound in Clearwater on Saturday, July 27. Real Friends, Knuckle Punk, Hot Milk, Daisy Grenade and Diva Bleach round out the lineup.

Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival: The Guns N’ Roses guitarist, soon releasing his blues album “Orgy of the Damned,” is coming to the BayCare Sound with ZZ Ward, Robert Randolph and more. A portion of the proceeds from this blues-themed celebration will go to organizations focused on equity and justice. Saturday, Aug. 10.

Clearwater Smooth Jazz Jam: This two-day jazz and artist celebration takes over Ruth Eckerd Hall on Friday, June 14, and Saturday, June 15. The lineup includes Jeffrey Osborne, Brian Culbertson, Sheila E. and the E-Train, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Gerald Albright and Peter White.

Tampa Bay International Carnival: Celebrate Caribbean culture at this two-day festival featuring Inner Circle, also known as The Bad Boys of Reggae, Kes the Band and more. Saturday, July 13, and Sunday, July 14, at Albert Whitted Park in St. Petersburg.

Nostalgic acts and covers

Emo Orchestra: Grown-up scene queens can hear their favorite MySpace-era hits performed by a live orchestra at the Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre in Clearwater. Escape the Fate leads the festivities on Friday, May 3.

Tom Sandoval and the Most Extras: Bravo’s scandalous Tom Sandoval, of “Vanderpump Rules” fame, is heading to the Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre on Saturday, May 18, with his cover band, the Most Extras.

Hauser: The Internet-famous Croatian cellist will return to Ruth Eckerd Hall on Saturday, June 1. Expect to hear a wide range of covers across genres, from Celine Dion to Lady Gaga.

Motion City Soundtrack: The pop-punk band celebrates the 20th anniversary of their album “I Am the Movie” with Prince Daddy & the Hyena and the Iron Roses at the Ritz Ybor on Sunday, June 2.

New Kids on the Block: The Magic Summer 2024 Tour will be a reimagining of the band’s 1990 tour of the same name. Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff open the show on Friday, July 19, at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Barbie the Movie: In Concert: You may have seen Margot Robbie at the movie theater. But have you watched the film with an all-women, majority women-of-color orchestra playing the soundtrack live? The hybrid movie-concert experience hits the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on Tuesday, July 2.

Amalie Arena: 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. 813-301-2500. amaliearena.com .

The BayCare Sound: 255 Drew St., Clearwater. 727-791-7400 and 800-875-8682. rutheckerdhall.com/baycare-sound .

The Cuban Club: 2010 Avenida Republica de Cuba, Tampa. 813-248-2954. cubanclubybor.com/events .

Jannus Live: 200 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-565-0550. jannuslive.com .

MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre: 4802 U.S. 301, Tampa. midflorida.com/about-us/amphitheatre .

Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre: 405 Cleveland St., Clearwater. 727-791-7400 and 800-875-8682. rutheckerdhall.com/plan-your-visit/the-nancy-and-david-bilheimer-capitol-theatre .

The Orpheum: 14802 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa. 813-248-9500. theorpheum.com .

Raymond James Stadium: 4201 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. Stadium main line: 813-350-6500. Ticket office: 813-350-6502. raymondjamesstadium.com .

The Ritz Ybor: 1503 E. Seventh Ave., Tampa. 813-873-8368. theritzybor.com .

Ruth Eckerd Hall: 1111 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater. 727-791-7400 and 800-875-8682. rutheckerdhall.com .

Yuengling Center: 12499 USF Bull Run Drive, Tampa. 813-301-2500. yuenglingcenter.com .

Gabrielle Calise is a culture reporter who covers music, nostalgia and offbeat Florida trends. Reach her at [email protected].

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