By Eddie Hamp, Journalist, and Chyrisse Tabone, Photographer – Rock At Night Tampa

Traveling Together Again! Blues Traveler, Gin Blossoms, and Spin Doctors brought their 2026 co-headlining summer tour to The BayCare Sound in Clearwater, Florida. While Gin Blossoms first teamed up with the lineup last summer, this tour carries some deep history for Blues Traveler and Spin Doctors. The two groups haven’t officially hit the road together since the late 1980s and 1990s, back when they were cutting their teeth and sharing stages in the New York City club circuit. In fact, John Popper of Blues Traveler and Chris Barron of Spin Doctors went to high school together and were both in the band Trucking Company before it officially became Spin Doctors.

Spin Doctors opened up with frontman Chris Barron, exploding front and center with energy and a high-kicking show, with their popular 1991 frat-party song “What Time Is It?”  Chris, it was 6:00 pm, and for the next 45 minutes your 4-piece Alternative Rock band with Funk and Blues filled The Sound and entertained anxious music-goers with a custom blend of upbeat, familiar songs.

After performing their hit song (Number two on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart) “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong”, the Alternative Rock Doctors slowed it down and put their own Spin on the 40-year-old legendary classic, “Purple Rain” by Prince and The Revolution. The Spin Doctors had their fans – arms raised, singing and swaying to the emotional and tense ballad.  Unfortunately, it was still daylight at The Sound, and the effects of a nice phone light wave were noticeably absent.

Two Princes closed the 9-piece set, the crowd standing, dancing, and encouraging songwriter Chris Barron to “Go Ahead Now”. The obvious reference was to his high school days and that fateful phone call from a girl he liked, asking to meet up later after his shift at the diner. Although the song was written and recorded before Spin Doctors became a band, it was instrumental in Chris Barron’s music career. After his high school buddy, John Popper (frontman for Blues Traveler), heard the track, he encouraged Barron to move to New York City, where his music career rocketed. And it started with a phone call from a high school crush.

Gin Blossoms began touring with Blues Traveler and Spin Doctors in the Summer of 2025, and they made sure they were welcomed by opening with their top-ten hit “Follow You Down”. For the next 60 minutes, the alternative pop-rock veterans energized the crowd with a hit-packed setlist including “As Long As It Matters” and “Allison Road.” Frontman Robin Wilson engaged the audience, playfully noting that while they never quite hit #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, fans in the Philippines proudly reserved the top spot for them.

The set’s emotional core belonged to the undeniable anthems penned by late founding guitarist Doug Hopkins. When the band launched into “Found Out About You” and “Hey Jealousy,” the enthusiastic crowd sang along to every word. It was a bittersweet but triumphant celebration of Hopkins’ lasting impact on the jangle-pop genre, proving those 90s classics still resonate just as strongly today.