The Force will be strong in these parts this weekend, thanks to the Jacksonville Symphony playing the second “Star Wars” on Friday and Saturday, but you don’t need to travel far, far away to find fun things to do. We’ve got a big indoor boat show, two “yacht rock” acts, a comedy storyteller and a hocus-pocus showdown on the calendar.
‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’ in Concert
7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23 and Saturday, Jan. 24, at Jacoby Symphony Hall. $63-$125.
Follow Luke, Han, Chewy, Leia and Lando as they battle Vader’s forces while the Jacksonville Symphony plays the score live. Info: jaxsymphony.org
2026 Annual Jacksonville Boat Show
11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 23; 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, and Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. $20.
You can’t travel very far in the Jacksonville area without running into water, so why not get out on it? Kids’ fishing clinics, artificial lure seminars from Tommy Derringer and everything you need to go boating in ‘26. Info: boatjax.com
Tribute acts
If you’re the sort who loves live music but doesn’t particularly care who’s playing it, we’ve got three great shows for you this weekend. Yacht Rock Revue (8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, at the Florida Theatre. $54-$77) and Thurston Howell (6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, at Colonial Oak Music Park, St. Augustine. $29) specialize in “yacht rock,” those soft-rock songs from acts like Hall & Oates, Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald and Toto that dominated the radio in the ’70s and ’80s. Brit Pack (8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall. $52-$79) plays the music of UK rockers such as Queen, the Rolling Stones and Oasis.
Ali Siddiq
7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Moran Theater. $43-$85.
Don’t even think about calling the babysitter or checking your phone for basketball scores at this show — they’ll throw you right out. All phones, smart watches and the like must be secured in signal-killing Yondr bags at the start of the Houston comic’s show. Info: ticketmaster.com
Magical showdown
It’s not unusual to have a well-known magician performing in Jacksonville. On Sunday, though, two of them will be performing, a half-hour and a handful of blocks apart. First up is Reza: Edge of Illusion (6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Moran Theatre. $39-$73), who is known for levitation and large-scale illusions that may or may not involve a helicopter. About a five-minute walk away, Asi Wind (7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Florida Theatre. $53.50-$69.50) takes the stage with a show that he honed off-Broadway in London’s West End.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Droids, yacht rockers and a boat show this weekend in Jacksonville
Reporting by Tom Szaroleta, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
