NEW TAMPA — For Pavlo Simtikidis, a concert in the Tampa Bay area comes with one unusual perk: He gets to drive home afterward.
The internationally acclaimed guitarist, known professionally simply as Pavlo, has spent decades touring the world, performing his blend of Mediterranean, Greek, Latin and flamenco-influenced instrumental music. But for about 15 years, the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel area has been home.
“I spend most of my life in an airplane,” Pavlo said. “When I come home, I just want to have regular neighbors who actually live here.”
On Friday, Oct. 23, Pavlo will not have far to travel. He will headline a free outdoor concert, An Evening with Pavlo, at The Shops at Wiregrass, joined by violinist G Pinto and singer-songwriter Luke McMaster. The show begins at 5:45 p.m. in Center Court and will benefit The Inspire Foundation, a Tampa Bay organization that provides music lessons and educational opportunities to children with disabilities and autism.
For Pavlo, the local connection is part of the appeal.
When he is not touring, he said he can often be found having coffee at Leonidas Café at Wiregrass or walking every aisle of his neighborhood Publix, even when he needs only one item.
“Every day when I’m home, every day at noon, I’m having a coffee. And if anybody recognizes me, I buy them coffee too,” he said.
Pavlo has also performed in recent years at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, a venue he said he wanted to support after it opened.
Playing close to home, he said, is different.
“It’s the only show in the world I actually drive back to my house,” Pavlo said. “It’s my favorite place to play. I get to sleep in my own bed.”
The Wiregrass show also gave him an opportunity to connect his music to a cause.
Pavlo will donate the Pavlo Signature Series guitar he plays that day for a raffle benefiting The Inspire Foundation. The instrument is valued at more than $850, and 100% of raffle proceeds will go to the foundation.
Supporting access to music is personal for Pavlo, who remembers struggling early in his own career and receiving little assistance beyond what his father could provide. He began playing guitar at age 10 (and writing songs at 12) and said the instrument helped transform him from a shy child into someone confident enough to approach and connect with others.
“I picked up the guitar. I felt invincible,” he said. “It was my segue to meeting people, my segue for new experiences.”
That experience, he said, is why The Inspire Foundation’s mission resonated with him.
Pavlo hopes a child who gains access to an instrument discovers something beyond notes and technique: community.
“Playing an instrument, being in the arts connects kids in a way that nothing else does,” he said.
After 17 albums, more than a million records sold and thousands of concerts, Pavlo still describes his music in uncomplicated terms: “feel good music.”
And at Wiregrass, he expects plenty of familiar faces. His neighbors are coming. His wife and daughter will be there. His daughter plans to sell bracelets.
For a musician accustomed to airports, hotels and stages thousands of miles away, this one will be a family affair.
“It really is for the entire family,” Pavlo said. “Grab an ice cream, grab a coffee, have some dinner, enjoy the show.”