JJ Grey is Jacksonville to the core and, with his band Mofro, has been sharing the sounds of Duuu-val with the world for a quarter century.
Grey and Mofro, which is filled with musicians with ties to Jacksonville and UNF’s jazz studies program, are playing two local shows this weekend, but the shows come as a package of sorts.
They’ll headline the Blackwater Sol Revue festival at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, starting at 5 p.m. Saturday. War and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are also on the bill, and tickets are $81-$462. Grey has been doing the festival on and off since 2007, and it usually is a two-night affair at The Amp.
This time out, it’s still two nights, but at two venues. Mofro will play a “Top of the World Experience” show at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall. Tickets for the Friday performance are only available to people who also hold a Saturday ticket. They’ll record the Friday show, press it to vinyl and mail a copy to every ticket holder.
Grey has been leading one version or another of Mofro since 2001 (and a duo called Mofro Magic before that). Mofro is a popular festival act and has played in 17 countries over the years. Mofro’s latest album was 2004’s “Olustee.”
1. Jacksonville Waves in Jacksonville
7 p.m. Friday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. $30-$53.
Jacksonville has never been a big basketball town, but maybe that will change with the inaugural game by the Waves, the city’s new entry into the Upshot League. The Waves play the Charlotte Crown to open their season, and have another home game May 23. Info: wavesupshot.com
2. ‘Beetlejuice’ in Jacksonville
7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Moran Theater. $49-$152.
Whatever you do, don’t speak the name of this show out loud three times in a row. The musical, based on the 1988 film, is full of ghosts and demons, but they’re mostly nice. Info: fscjartistseries.org
3. ‘Back to the Future’ in Jacksonville
7 p.m. Friday, May 15, at Artist Walk. Free.
Great Scott! The city’s showing one of the greatest time-travel films ever made for free under the Fuller Warren Bridge. Bring your own chairs and blankets; they’ll provide the popcorn. Info: jacksonville.gov
4. Foreigner, Bon Jovi tribute acts in Jacksonville, Orange Park
Tribute acts can be a pretty good value, playing passable versions of the songs you love at a fraction of the price you’d pay to see the real thing. Are they as good as the artists they’re copying? Probably not, but they can still be a lot of fun.
You can find a handful of tribute shows every week in Jacksonville, but two stand out this weekend, primarily because of their most excellent names. A Foreigner’s Journey to Boston, led by the former guitarist in Artimus Pyle’s band, plays the music of Foreigner, Journey and Boston. They’re at Duval Hall at the new Jacksonville Fairgrounds at 7 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $39. Don Jovi, which bills itself as the definitive Bon Jovi tribute act, is at the Thrasher-Horne Center in Orange Park at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $24-$69.
5. Journey in Jacksonville
7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. $71-$587.
They’re calling this a farewell tour, and that’s probably a good thing. Reviewers haven’t been particularly kind and, if rumors are to be believed, the guitarist and the keyboard player are suing each other, the lead vocalist tried to quit before the tour launched and the setlist includes half a dozen songs sung by the drummer or the keyboardist. The band has been playing more than two dozen songs every night, going all the way back to the first album. Info: jaxevents.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Basketball and Beetlejuice on Jacksonville’s to-do list this weekend
Reporting by Tom Szaroleta, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
