Now that everything is settled down in Jacksonville, I will be looking to explore the city in 2025. I am only here until March, however, eventually, the plan is to make a final move to Jax sometime in late 2025, if we can sell the house in Minneapolis.

Unfortunately, I hate to say it, but based on my research of the area, there doesn’t seem to be much of a music scene in Jax. If you disagree, please email me ( vu@weheartmusic.com ) and let me know what I’m missing.

I will spotlight some upcoming shows in the next few months to give you an idea of the venues and shows they book.

Please note: I have not been to any of these venues. Most of the venues are in downtown and you can do free street parking on the weekends and on the weekdays after 6pm (the meters aren’t enforced after that time).

The one major venue that books national acts is the Florida Theatre (floridatheatre.com), which is a historic theatre-style venue with about 2,000 seats. They have a ton of good bands, unfortunately pricing is generally a little high for my budget. I have already written and spotlighted some shows in November 2024. The Minneapolis equivalent is the State Theatre.

FIVE is a new venue, will open in February 2025. That seems like the best venue (based on my music preference). I’ve already written about them in December 2024.

Jack Rabbits (jaxlive.com) seems like a dive-bar. Descriptions online indicate that it is a small place and “the bathrooms are a wreck”. They have local bands and Karaoke, and some national acts. The Minneapolis equivalent is like the 7th Street Entry or Triple Rock Social Club.

The co-headlining show of Jon McLaughlin and Eric Hutchinson on Jan 21, 2025, looks fun. We saw Hutchinson in April 2017 and wrote, “The affable Washington DC native is a Twin Cities favorite, regularly stopping by on tour and has played almost every venue in the metro, returning to the Zoo for his own headlining appearance on Sunday, August 20. He’ll be in support of latest full-length, Easy Street (Let’s Break Records/Kobalt) which was released last August. For his brief twenty-minute solo appearance, Hutchinson made the most of his time, showcasing a few songs from his latest, as well as working in the songs that most people are familiar with him from, beginning with ‘Dear Me’, a letter to his younger self, from the new record.”

There is a BBQ placed called Underbelly (underbellyjax.com), which was previously known as The Elbow, which closed in 2015. They re-opened as Underbelly in 2020, with a new updated stage for live music in 2021.

The only band I recognized on the listing is a cover lover band called Ordinary Boys (Florida’s only Morrissey/Smiths tribute band). They will play Underbelly on January 23, 2025. I hate to say it, but the song “Ordinary Boys” by Morrissey is a little slow and it’s not one of my favorite songs from Viva Hate. God, I hope they don’t play that song on their set. A good Moz set should include “Disappointed”, truly truly truly.

Trivia: Other Smiths cover bands that I know of: Sweet and Tender Hooligans, The Sons & Heirs, These Charming Men, The Smyths, and The Nguyens. They should unite and take over.

The Kona Skatepark (konaskatepark.com) is the world’s oldest skatepark. My brother is a skater, he would love this place. They seem to book mostly punk-ish bands, as you would expect from a skatepark.

They have Agent Orange upcoming up on February 18, 2025, for $25. Other bands on the bill: Chalk Tiger, Suburban Clay, Keepy Tikis, and the Debt.

We saw Agent Orange in 2014 and wrote, “When Agent Orange took the stage things took a decidedly more punky turn. Their set included many of their classic songs, together with several covers including songs by Johnny Rivers (“Secret Agent Man”), Jefferson Airplane (“Somebody to Love”), The Who (“Shakin’ All Over”), and the Dead Kennedys. The audience responded with major enthusiasm, though some of the usual punk show activities were rendered somewhat more dangerous by the lack of crowd density. That didn’t keep people from trying, though. Happy to report that none of the sometimes scary-looking falls, crashes, and tumbles seemed to result in serious injury. Agent Orange included two encores in their super high energy hour and a quarter set. They were clearly into it, and so was the audience.”