By “Tampa” Earl Burton, Journalist, and Chyrisse Tabone, Photographer – Rock At Night Tampa
Live Review: The Australian Pink Floyd Show – Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Florida – July 24, 2026
Longevity in the music business is a difficult thing to achieve. This is especially true in the case of tribute bands – they don’t necessarily keep up with the subject they are trying to cover (no pun intended). On Friday night at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, a sold-out crowd was entranced by a visit from The Australian Pink Floyd Show (hereafter referred to as APFS) that brought nearly note-perfect renditions of the legendary British band and their show.
Why Do People See Tribute Bands?
It is a difficult question to answer: Why did more than 2,000 people pack into a theater to watch a band perform music that was popular, at the minimum, thirty years ago? This was a question I sought out as I walked around Ruth Eckerd Hall. For some, you could tell that they were fans from the early days, as their Australian accents gave away that they were there to see their compatriots. For others, however, it was something much deeper that connected them with APFS.
For Ralph (name changed by request), it was a chance to live out seeing one of their favorite bands. “I didn’t get a chance to see Pink Floyd in the day, so this is something that allows me to experience what they might have been like.” Marshall reflected on the eight previous times that he had seen the band – “I’ve seen them across the country, from St. Louis to Seattle to here” – and he was quite thoughtful in his response.
“I think the big thing for me is the musicality and the presentation,” Marshall said. “They are nearly perfect with the music, and their visual effects are exciting, especially how they work in their nationality into the mix (several of the slides featured Australian features, such as kangaroos).” It seemed that the entirety of the concert hall was as vociferous in their support of APFS as the nearly two-and-a-half-hour concert progressed.
Excellent Musicianship, Vocal Performance Highlight Show
One of the things that impressed me about APFS was that they didn’t shy away from the bombast that the original Pink Floyd could bring. The band opened the show with a rousing rendition of “In the Flesh?” that attacked the music rather than simply sitting back. The visual stimulation was there in the authoritarian pictures of Stalin and some of the other Pink Floyd mechanisms that they used to tell the story of The Wall. It served as a stunning opening that entranced the Ruth Eckerd Hall crowd.
In the interview I had with APFS singer Chris Barnes, he remarked that this was a year when the band was NOT paying tribute to only one of the Pink Floyd albums. I think that was something that served as an enticement for the audience; there was more of a coverage of the more than three decades that Pink Floyd has existed, and APFS mixed the material well between the early tunes (“Sheep” from Animals was particularly excellent) and the later Roger Waters-less material (“Learning to Fly” from A Momentary Lapse of Reason and “Take it Back” from The Division Bell were outstanding efforts). Instead of getting just The Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall, you received a thorough indoctrination into the world of Pink Floyd through their The Happiest Days of Our Lives Tour.
But the overarching excellence of the band showed through, no matter which song from Pink Floyd the APFS played. Barnes was particularly enjoyable as he led the male vocal attack, and a trio of female vocalists (Lorelei McBroom, Emily Lynn, and Kelly Lamont) added an extra touch to songs like “Breathe (Reprise),” where each lady got her own vocal showcase that brought the crowd literally to its feet. Another musician of note was saxophonist Alex Francois, who nailed the saxophone solos that Pink Floyd used to accentuate their music.
I have seen both major Pink Floyd tribute bands now – three years ago it was Brit Floyd, and this performance from APFS. I would be willing to accept that it is recency bias, but I believe that APFS is a smidge better than their British counterparts. Their stage production was better (The Schoolmaster coming out during “Another Brick in the Wall” was a nice touch), and the laser show was phenomenal. Also, when the vocalists weren’t being used, they left the stage, as Barnes had admitted to me during our discussion. This allowed the band to focus more attention on the playing of Matt Riddle on the keyboards and Luc Ledy-Lepine on lead guitar.
You’re doing something right when you’ve been around the length of time that the Australian Pink Floyd Show has been (the founders of the band brought APFS to life in 1988 originally and, after a hiatus, back for good in 1993). They will continue to be an electrifying embodiment of Pink Floyd, allowing the fans to relive the days of Floyd’s heyday with a pleasant and memorable performance. Currently, the Australian Pink Floyd Show is on the road (visit their website here for future dates) and, if you see they are coming to your town, it is well worth the ticket price, whether you are a fan of Pink Floyd or not.
Read Rock At Night’s interview with Chris Barnes of the Australian Pink Floyd Show.
PHOTO GALLERY
- Australian Pink Floyd Show Thrills Sold-Out Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Friday Night - July 27, 2026
- Chatting with garage punk band Taxi Girls - July 22, 2026
- Chatting with Chris Barnes of the Australian Pink Floyd Show - July 8, 2026
