Last Updated on July 19, 2013 by Honeyboy

T.C. Carr is a Tampa Bay treasure. He’s probably the best harp player in the area if not all of Florida. He stopped playing regularly back in the early 2000’s when his great band The Catch broke up.

So anytime you get to see him perform is a real treat. It happens too infrequently these days. This show was on Wednesday, July 17th, during the regular “invitational” jam.

And when he is joined by local guitar-slinger Josh Nelms, you know it’s going to be a special night.

Combine all that with the great “listening” venue, The Hideaway Cafe in St. Pete, and you have a great reason to get out on a Wednesday night.

And although this is far from his regular band, and they were one-step up from just jamming, the music was tight and the song selection was classic.

About T.C. Carr

T.C. is a true Florida cracker having been born in Florida. He writes blues songs, often with a true Florida storyline. And his CD’s, recorded with The Catch, were some of the best blues coming out of Florida back in the late 90’s. Check out his website here,

Josh Nelms

Now Josh Nelms is local legend himself (he’s still only in his 30’s). He’s played with all the best local bands in the Tampa Bay area, and is now, in this long-time guitarist’s opinion, the best blues guitarist in town. Sorry Damon Fowler. If you can name a better blues guitarist, even nationally, I’d be surprised. And he just keeps getting better.

In fact, he is one of the few guitarists that I can enjoy listening to in a 3-piece situation. Usually in a 3-piece I feel something is missing from the sound. He makes it sound like everything is there.

The rest of the band included long-time T.C. Carr friend and bandmate, Vinnie Seplesky on bass, and Eric Elsner on drums. Eric is one of those drummers that I appreciate more every time I see him play. He will be one of the top drummers in town before he is done, I’m sure.

Anyway…

I managed to capture the first two sets. The video was a little blurry due to the poor lighting but the sound, as usual from my Zoom Q3, was great.

Again, learn more about T.C. Carr here on his website. And check the great Hideaway Cafe story and musical lineup here.

Hope you enjoy it!

Set 1

Set 2