Florida native and straight ally Rob Thomas, formerly the lead singer of Matchbox Twenty, is currently on a nationwide tour and he will be coming to Florida for two concert dates. The first one will be at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Friday, July 24 at 8 p.m. The second will be in St. Augustine at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre on Saturday, July 25 at 7 p.m.
Thomas was raised in the Orlando metro area and graduated from Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs. In 1993, he formed the band Tabitha’s Secret, which eventually became Matchbox Twenty in 1995. He would lead the band for the next ten years. Their first album, Yourself or Someone Like You, was certified diamond in the United States, with 14 million albums sold. The album yielded such hit singles as “Push,” “3 A.M.,” “Real World,” and “Back 2 Good.”
Their second album, Mad Season (2000), went four times platinum, and the single “Bent” peaked at #1 on the pop charts. Their 2003 album More Than You Think You Are was also a top seller, and the single “Unwell” reached the top five on the pop charts. Since 2005, he has pursued a 
solo career, with his latest album, The Great Unknown, slated for release on August 21. He has won three Grammy Awards and was one of the youngest singer-songwriters to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
A longtime supporter of gay rights, Thomas was a vocal opponent of Proposition 8, and rose to prominence as a top straight ally in 2009 after writing a piece for The Huffington Post called “The Big Gay Chip on My Shoulder.” In part, Thomas wrote, “Each of us has a short ride on this earth and as long as we stay in our lane, and don’t affect someone else’s ride, we should be allowed to drive as we see fit.”
Tickets are available for purchase for both of Rob Thomas’s Florida performances, starting at $82 per person for his Ruth Eckerd Hall performance and $97 per person for his St. Augustine Amphitheatre performance. For more ticketing information, including information on how to purchase VIP packages which include a meet and greet, visit fanclub.robthomasmusic.com.
For more information on Rob Thomas, visit robthomasmusic.com. Follow him on Twitter @thisisrobthomas.
