Orlando electro-metal duo TTN kicked off 2022 with the release of their newest album, the self-titled TTN. It seems in many ways a reboot for the duo of Ben Ryder (beats, vocals) and Benjamin Gregory (guitars), redefining themselves musically and aesthetically. Released on their new collective imprint, Xylene Records — run in tandem with musical comrades OhTwo — the…
Orlando was once blessed with year-round immersive art experiences like the interactive art show DRIP and the numerous linear storyline-driven productions by Pseudonym Productions. But with DRIP now closed and Pseudonym now operating out of Philadelphia, Central Florida has sat on the sidelines as permanently installed immersive art experiences have opened across the globe. Florida…
After years of rumors, Universal Orlando is hinting at what will replace Shrek 4D. The nearly two-decade-old 4D film attraction closed on the evening of January 9 and construction had started by the time Universal Studios Florida reopened the following morning. Walls circled the Shrek building and on them were multiple designs featuring the Minions.…
We didn’t realize that the Flaming Lips were set to play Orlando in the spring of this year, but since a number of U.S. dates have been pushed back a few months (including the Orlando stop) there’s plenty of time to listen to Zaireeka on repeat to pregame. Originally set for April 1 (truly an…
Our editors’ selections of the best stuff to do this week. Be sure to double-check with the venue before you set out to any of these events. Wednesday, Jan. 19 A Protean Assemblage Multi-instrumentalist Syoma Klochko leads an ad-hoc ensemble of skilled players through an evening of free improvisation. 8 p.m., Will’s Pub, 1042 N. Mills…
The Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando’s “Paws in the Park” festival is returning to Lake Eola Park for its 28th year on Saturday, Feb. 12. The pet festival will have adoptable pets, doggy sports, dock diving for dogs, a pet costume contest and a parade. Paws in the Park will kick off at 10 a.m.…
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations opens in Orlando on Tuesday, Jan. 25, at the Walt Disney Theater in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The Broadway musical follows the rise to stardom of The Temptations from their start in Detroit through their success with Motown Records. Ain’t Too…
Lost Noises Office — a new local supergroup with members drawn from Obliterati, the Tangled Bell Ensemble and Alterity Chamber Orchestra — are holding their first live action this weekend, and it’s a can’t-miss proposition for a Sunday night. Lost Noises Office has actually been around for a couple of years now, with initial momentum on the…
It’s been a catastrophically bad year for Florida’s manatees, but they are still out in force at Central Florida’s Blue Spring State Park right now. Webcams trained on manatee stomping grounds show massive amounts of the floating potatoes and state symbols vibing in the stable waters of the spring as winter continues. The park reported…
When reporters caught Matt Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend walking into an Orlando courthouse last week, we speculated that she was there to testify against the Florida representative in an ongoing sex trafficking probe. Turns out it was exactly what it looked like. CBS reports that Gaetz’s ex was granted immunity by prosecutors in exchange for her testimony…
It wouldn’t be a messy pile of Floridian political gossip if Roger Stone didn’t get involved. The Trump true believer and political fixer weighed in on a reported tiff between the ex-prez and Florida’s governor, calling Ron DeSantis a “Yale Harvard fat boy” and suggesting that the governor is having an affair. “Sometimes President Donald…
Orlando-based theatrical boundary-pusher Jeremy Seghers is teaming with Valencia College Theater to stage Tony Kushner’s iconic play Angels in America at Valencia College next month. Playwright Tony Kushner premiered Angels, a multifaceted look at the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic in America, in 1991. The play went on to win a Pulitzer and was adapted…
It’s pretty much a given that any new technological innovation under this iteration of the web is just a new way to break labor laws. NFTs switched the game up by being a new way to launder money. One Orlando brewery is taking that a step further and creating an NFT that’s actually worth something…
In May 2021, Terry Kilcrease thought he saw a lifeline. He was out of work, living in a hotel in Lewisville, Texas, when he ran across a promising ad on Facebook. People who worked for themselves, it said, could still get loans from the government’s then-13-month-old pandemic Paycheck Protection Program. Kilcrease had just started selling…
What’s the first dessert you think of when you think of Florida? No, not that one. No, not that one either. If you made your way to strawberry shortcake, congrats. You’ve been added to a watchlist. Still, that decidedly not-connected-to-Florida treat could become the state’s official dessert if legislators have their way. Plant City Republican…
A long fight to end the practice of retail puppy sales in Orange County might be moot if the state legislature passes a newly proposed law. A “pet protection” act under consideration in Tallahassee would overturn local bans on the sale of puppies and kittens while putting in place a framework for inspections and regulation…
In what likely will be one of the most-controversial issues of the 2022 legislative session, a House panel next week will take up a bill that would prevent doctors from performing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The House Professions & Public Health Subcommittee is slated to consider the measure (HB 5), filed by Rep.…
With the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus continuing to spread, Florida totaled more than 430,000 cases of COVID-19 during the week that ended Thursday, according to a report released Friday by the state Department of Health. The 430,297 cases brought the total for the past four weeks to a reported 1.252 million cases.…
Orlando music fans, are you ready to get smooth? The new Orlando Music Festival is coming to the Central Florida Fairgrounds on Colonial this summer, promising “the ultimate names in smooth jazz and R&B.” Initial lineup reveals for this outdoors summer festival includes Brian Culbertson, Boney James, David Sanborn, Peter White, Rick Braun, Euge Groove,…
The number of Florida hospital inpatients with COVID-19 jumped to more than 11,500 during the past week, according to data posted Friday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The data showed that 11,552 inpatients had COVID-19, up from 8,914 reported a week earlier. Also, the federal agency said 1,451 Florida COVID-19 patients…
View this post on Instagram A post shared by See Through Canoe (Since 2007) (@seethroughcanoecompany) Hate to break it to you prudes, but everyone farts, especially the aquatic mammals that look the most like big ol’ farters. In an Instagram video posted today by St. Petersburg-based See Through Canoe Company, a manatee can be seen…
Though we are currently seeing more cases of coronavirus than ever across the nation, and many cruises are being forced to cancel due to severe outbreaks, the CDC will allow its restrictions on cruise operations to expire this weekend. In place of the list of precautions under the CDC’s conditional sailing order, the agency is…
After high-profile disputes in various parts of the country about shuttering churches during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Florida Senate is poised to take up a proposal that would help prevent closures of religious institutions during future emergencies. The Senate Rules Committee on Thursday voted 13-1 to support a measure (SB 254) intended to shield in-person…
After Florida and other states fought the plans, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for large employers, while clearing the way for a requirement that health-care workers get shots to try to curb the virus. Justices issued two decisions, drawing distinctions between an Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccination rule…
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 crew — bolstered by some new faces — are heading out on the road (*knocks on wood*) on their “Time Bubble” tour and are landing in Orlando at the end of this month. The tour starts in Dallas on Jan. 15 before finally winding down in Florida at the end of the month -…
Universal will be bringing back their big Mardi Gras celebrations starting in February, complete with a massive, just-unveiled lineup to bands and performers to really get the party started. This year’s musical roster has some very surprising names, with a little something for the youngs (Marshmello, Khalid), olds (Diana Ross, Styx) and even those right…
The Orlando Home & Garden Show will return this weekend for a 13th year of gathering plant parents, novices looking to improve their homes and anyone looking to learn about homeownership. The show will be at the Orange County Convention Center’s west concourse from Jan. 14–16. The show will focus on home improvement, outdoor living…
EPCOT’s International Festival of the Arts will celebrate the visual, performing and culinary arts starting Jan. 14 and running through Feb. 21. More than 100 Disney-affiliated and visiting artists will showcase their art. Artists from the Disney Artist Gallery and the WonderGround Gallery will be working on new pieces alongside displayed works from ACME Archives…
During a regular coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings revealed that the 7-day positivity rate in the county is north of 40%. The astronomical positivity rate dwarfs previous records and is eight times as high at the one-time benchmark for reopening the county safely. While Omicron appears to be a much milder…
In an interview with One America News, Donald Trump appeared to take a shot at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The issue? DeSantis’ refusal to say whether or not he’s taken a shot. The former president called out cowardly dodges from politicians who refused to go on record with whether or not they’ve received a COVID-19…
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz should feel his ears (and seat) burning, if recent developments at the Orlando federal courthouse are what they appear to be. Matt Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend seems to be testifying in the ongoing probe into whether the Panhandle politician engaged in sex trafficking. The woman dated Gaetz around the time that federal investigators…
Local government officials raised concerns Wednesday about a Senate proposal that would block enforcement of new ordinances when challenges arise over the projected impacts to businesses. The Republican-controlled Senate Community Affairs Committee voted 7-2 along party lines to approve the proposal (SB 280), which would require counties and cities to produce a “business impact statement”…
Senators revived a proposal Wednesday to create a $1 billion fund that Gov. Ron DeSantis could use at his discretion during emergencies he declares. The Senate Appropriations Committee backed a pair of bills (SB 96 and SB 98), sponsored by Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, to set up an “Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund” so the…
Ecpot this week unveiled the full lineup for the returning ‘Garden Rocks’ concert series. This sonic component to the wildly popular International Flower & Garden Festival will see live performances from pop acts past and present every weekend from March through June. The full lineup — reading almost like an encyclopedia of pop music going from the Spinners…
New legislative proposals that seek to prevent doctors from performing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy were met with swift opposition Wednesday from Democrats and abortion-rights groups. The measures (SB 146 and HB 5) closely resemble a Mississippi abortion law that is before the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments last month. With a conservative…
Three Orlando-area restaurants made the user-generated list of OpenTable’s best American eateries, including one recently relocated Mills 50 restaurant. The reservation platform analyzed reviews from its diners to pick the 100 best reviewed restaurants in the nation, spitting out one non-theme park, non-Darden spot in the city: Bites & Bubbles. The Mills mainstay celebrated the…
Winter Park’s decades-old Central Park stage will go from looking like an overgrown tailgate tent to something a bit more imposing in the near future. The 32789 reports that the city is planning a massive revamp of the event space and a rendering shows a much more classical looking piece of public architecture, with columns…
Norwegian Cruise Line has canceled more cruises this week, including a number sailing out of Florida, as the Omicron variant causes a massive uptick in COVID-19 cases all around the country. According to travel advisories posted on Norwegian Cruise Line’s website this week, a number of Florida-originating cruises were impacted. The Norwegian Escape, sailing out…
Universal has announced a vaccine mandate for all of its employees. The theme park follows in the footsteps of Walt Disney World, which required all of its non-union employees to be vaccinated late last year. That mandate was rolled back following a slate of laws passed by the Florida legislature. Universal is skirting the language…
Touting Florida as a “free state,” Gov. Ron DeSantis gave a State of the State address Tuesday that outlined priorities for the 2022 legislative session — while criticizing the federal government on issues such as the economy and immigration. The 33-minute address formally launched the session, which is expected to be a forum for many…
Dear Dan: My boyfriend is male, I am female, and we’ve been together almost three years. We live alone in separate homes, but we spend about three or four nights a week together. We’re both fully vaxxed and boosted, and we mask in public, etc. On the Monday before Christmas, I started feeling mild symptoms…
OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + MOVES: Twenty Pho Hour, billed as “America’s first 2D Noodle Bar,” has opened on I-Drive. It’s modeled after Tokyo’s 2D Café, with an interior resembling a coloring book. It’s wild … The Bandbox, a 1920s, Art Deco-inspired, spirit-free speakeasy, will open next to Boom-Art in Ivanhoe Village this spring. Alongside non-alcoholic craft…
The best shows and concerts You know who else is out looking to party? Omicron. And it’s now raging hard enough to shake up some calendars, like this week’s postponement of the Tonstartssbandht show at Will’s Pub. So if you head out, double up on that mask, friends. Rod Hamdallah: As a player, this Atlanta…
We’ll be together again
Happy New Year, freaks. Let’s get loud. LOCAL RELEASES: On their new release, Orlando post-metal band Royal Graves emerge sans singer with a new look as an instrumental trio. As the straightforwardly titled Raw Demos suggests, they’re still in the demo phase of their career even several years in. But this latest batch of recordings…
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, acknowledged last Thursday that 800,000 to a million COVID tests had expired in a state stockpile, with the Omicron variant spreading and residents facing long lines for testing. The acknowledgement came during a press conference Thursday, when reporters were asking the governor…
Premieres Wednesday: Cheer — Season 2 finds the cheerleading team of Texas’ Navarro College coping with the COVID crisis and the arrest of member Jerry Harris on child-pornography charges as they work toward the national championships in Daytona. Right. Because if you’re trying to get away from the ‘rona and sex crimes, Florida is definitely…
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The coming months will be an excellent time for you to explore the art of soulful bragging. Do you deserve any of the titles below? If so, feel free to use them liberally throughout 2022. Practical Idealist With Flexible Strategies; Genius of Interesting Intimacy; Jaunty Healer With Boisterous Knowledge of the…
