Tampa rap duo They Hate Change is making a rare hometown appearance this month, joining a free, art-and-music-packed night at Wave & See Creative Sanctuary on Thursday, Oct. 29. The homegrown group shares the bill with drum-and-harp duo Katara and Skip & the Sentimentals as part of Wave & See's recurring Heightened Senses event in Tampa Heights.
There's no cover charge to see all three acts, according to Creative Loafing Tampa, which reported the lineup. The outlet describes the booking of They Hate Change as a major get for the monthly series, noting it's uncommon for the duo to play local shows these days.
A Night Built Around More Than Music
Heightened Senses has a consistent format each time it returns: an outdoor market, music on the back patio, and a separate show inside the gallery space, per the same Creative Loafing report. This edition's program adds dance, Modelitos, wine, tacos, balloons, art exhibitions and tarot into the mix, rounding out what's shaping up to be a sensory-overload kind of evening rather than a standard concert bill.
Wave & See is hosting the event. Bay Area rapper Perception is also tied to the event, adding another act to the lineup.
From Clearwater DIY Shows to a Jagjaguwar Deal
They Hate Change — the duo of Vonne Parks and Andre Gainey — first bonded as teenagers in Tampa, Florida, according to DJ Mag. That friendship eventually turned into a recording partnership that built a reputation well beyond the Bay Area's local scene. The pair built out Learning, a DIY space in Clearwater, and later launched the Best of the Bay-winning Sector.FM online radio station, both achievements tracked by Creative Loafing's report.
Their recorded output includes the 2020 EP 666 Central Ave., released under the GODMODE banner, which preceded their first single for Jagjaguwar, “Faux Leather,” according to Jagjaguwar. The duo signed with the respected indie label roughly five years before this month's Tampa date, per Creative Loafing's account — a deal that helped push their sound beyond the Bay area into the wider indie-rap conversation.
Part of a Monthly Tradition in Tampa Heights
This isn't Wave & See's first rodeo with eclectic programming. A September activation at the gallery mixed dance and jazz with drinks, local vendors and tacos handled by Adriana Pila Barrios of Taqueira Guerro, alongside work from a dozen visual artists, the outlet's earlier coverage noted. That edition also accepted donations rather than charging admission.
Back in June, a separate Heightened Senses installment brought producer Bauxmonk together with Orlando jazz band Golden Flower and harpist-multi-instrumentalist Seth Adam Lynn inside the same gallery space, alongside a “Divinity” art show featuring more than a dozen artists, Creative Loafing reported at the time. The pattern suggests Wave & See treats each monthly gathering as a fresh curatorial experiment rather than a repeat formula — which makes the booking of a name as recognizable as They Hate Change for this installment stand out even more.
