July 2026

As I previously mentioned, I’m reworking the previews for Jacksonville shows. The city just doesn’t book concerts or none-local talents. It just didn’t make sense to work previews on a weekly schedule. Instead, I’ll be sticking to the monthly schedule, which will be published around the 15th of the month. If I missed the deadline, I still have at least two weeks before the new month rows in to be ungodly late. Of course, Minneapolis/St Paul continues to be really busy (particularly in October or Rocktober as we call it).

It’s been regularly 90° F (sometime reaching 97°) in June (this month), so it’s been a real struggle for me to stay cool. Our house doesn’t have central Air Condition, so I had to buy a portable AC that is constantly running day and night. As soon as I step outside my room, it’s unbearable. I guess I still haven’t adjusted to the scorching weather here.

As usual, please check the W♥M Event Calendar, which is how I’m viewing events in my city.

So… here are some shows taking place in Jacksonville and nearby cities, for the month of July 2026: • First Coast Comic-Con at Duval Hall (July 11, 2026) • Men at Work at St. Augustine Amphitheatre (July 17, 2026) • Lindsey Stirling at St. Augustine Amphitheatre (July 20, 2026)

First Coast Comic-Con at Duval Hall (July 11, 2026)

July 11, 2026 Saturday
First Coast Comic-Con
at Duval Hall
www.firstcoastcomiccon.com

I previously said I was attending First Coast Comic-Con on July 11, 2026, however, a couple of things have changed. When their shows were $10, I thought that a good price to check out. I stopped collecting monthly comics for a few years now and only concentrating on collected books (see Book Report) lately. I just recently spent $80 on a buy 2 get 1 book free for DC Finest… so, I figure for $10, I could stop in and do a convention report and snap some photos.

However, they more than double their price ($24.50), but booked a larger (and untested) venue called Duval Hall (which I mentioned in April 2026). The venue lists that I cannot bring in cameras to take photos, but that might be a generalization for their concerts. Also, due to health concerns, artist Adam Hughes and Allison Sohn had to cancel their appearance… leaving only Pat Broderick as the only artist I wanted to see. I have met Jimmy Palmiotti in 1993, so I already have his autograph.

Since I don’t collect comics anymore, spending money to get one autograph (which might actually cost me additional money to the artist). The other artists I know some of their names, but not enough of a fan. So, I figure, I can save the $25 + autograph fees, and use that money towards another DC Finest for my book collection.

Who knows, maybe as a last-minute thing, I might venture up there on July 11.

Headlining artists:

Jimmy Palmiotti
Amanda Conner
Chris Campana
Greg Land
Mike Spicer
Aaron Bartling
Pat Broderick
~~Adam Hughes~~
~~Allison Sohn~~

Men at Work at St. Augustine Amphitheatre (July 17, 2026)

July 17, 2026 Friday
Men at Work
with Toad The Wet Sprocket, Shonen Knife
at St. Augustine Amphitheatre
theamp.com

Three really good bands on the bill: Men At Work (from the land down under!), Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Japanese band Shonen Knife are playing the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, in St Augustine on July 17, 2026. I’ve previously mentioned that I find St Augustine too far for me to drive to see a show (it takes one hour to drive there and one hour to drive back). I really wish they can play closer to Jacksonville, but them’s the breaks when Jacksonville’s Daily’s Place is undergoing a two-year renovation project.

Colin Hays

We recently saw Men at Work’s singer Colin Hays in Oct 2025 and wrote, “Hay was half comic routine and had the audience in stitches as he changed instruments. (Side note: I found it fascinating that Hay referred to “the old band” without generally naming Men At Work.) After a particularly rambling story (in the early going, he easily talked more than he played) he quipped, “thanks for letting me talk, I’ve spoken with nobody today”. The opening of Beautiful World got knowing cheers from the crowd, and that great lyric (“where a man can be free…or a woman if you are one”) put a smile on my face. Another switch of guitar, and a long tuning for the twelve strings came with the joke, “at least I’m not stoned, we’d never get out of here”. Goodnight Romeo was a tribute to his late father, and the flourish of the opening to the instrumental was pretty tremendous on that instrument and let Hay really show off his guitar skills.”

I’ve seen all these bands before, so they are all very good. I’m particularly interested in Shonen Knife. The group recently re-recorded Let’s Knife for the modern age… but unfortunately, they left off my favorite track, “Milky Way”. They explained that in order to fit songs on the album, they had to carefully reconsider which tracks to record. All the Japanese tracks are included, however for the instrumental (and American-only) track “Milky Way”, they decided to leave it off the re-recording. That did upset me, because, like I said, I love that song (because it’s not a typical Shonen Knife song) and to not have it on the new album was a bit of a crime, in my opinion. Hopefully, they can reissue it as a b-side in a future release.

Shonen Knife is on tour this Summer with Men At Work and Toad The Wet Sprocket.

7/16 – Pompano Beach, FL – Pompano Beach Amphitheater
7/17 – St. Augustine, FL – The St. Augustine Amphitheatre
7/18 – Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound
7/19 – LaGrange, GA – Sweetland Amphitheatre at Boyd Park
7/21 – Atlanta, GA – Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
7/22 – Southaven, MS – BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove
7/23 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle
7/24 – Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple
7/26 – Cohasset, MA – The Music Circus
7/28 – Durham, NH – The Whittemore Center
7/29 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
7/31 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge ❤︎
8/01 – Harrington, DE – Delaware State Fair
8/02 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Evans Amphitheatre at Cain Park
8/04 – Indianapolis, IN – HI-FI ❤︎
8/05 – Grand Rapids, MI – Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
8/06 – Bloomington, IL – Grossinger Motors Arena
8/07 – New Lenox, IL – Performing Arts Pavilion @ The Commons
8/08 – Council Bluffs, IA – Stir Cove at Harrah’s Casino
8/10 – Salina, KS – Stiefel Theatre
8/11 – Denver, CO– HQ ❤︎
8/13 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
8/14 – Carnation, WA – Remlinger Farms
8/15 – Spokane, WA – Shriners Event Center
8/17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden
8/18 – Reno, NV – Silver Legacy Resort Casino
8/19 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery
8/20 – Los Angeles, CA – The United Theater on Broadway
with Men at Work and Toad the Wet Sprocket

❤︎ Shonen Knife headliner show (Osaka Ramones SET)

Lindsey Stirling at St. Augustine Amphitheatre (July 20, 2026)

July 20, 2026 Monday
Lindsey Stirling
with PVRIS
at St. Augustine Amphitheatre
theamp.com

Violinist Lindsey Stirling is headlining the St Augustine Amphitheatre on July 20, 2026. I love her, but see my comment about St Augustine takes an hour for me to drive to. Due to gasoline prices the way it is, I’m probably unlikely to commit to long distant driving to see a concert.

Lindsey Stirling at Armory, Minneapolis (24 Aug 2024)

Some of my favorite photos of Stirling was from August 2024 … honestly, all photos of her, at any angle looked fantastic. The show was full of visuals, I love the background dancers, I love the production, she puts on a fantastic show. What we wrote, “If you’re on the fence about seeing Lindsey Stirling, just go see her. It’s a very entertaining show, and every dollar of her ticket sale (and 10% of her merchandise) goes to paying for someone’s medical bill.”

It looks like PVRIS to open the show.

Tour Dates

Jun 18, 2026 GRAMMY Museum L.A. Live Los Angeles, CA
Jul 7, 2026 Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront Richmond, VA
Jul 9, 2026 Northwell at Jones Beach Theater Wantagh, NY
Jul 10, 2026 Bethel Woods Center For the Arts Bethel, NY
Jul 11, 2026 PNC Bank Arts Center Holmdel, NJ Duality
Jul 13, 2026 Broadview Stage at SPAC Saratoga Springs, NY
Jul 14, 2026 Filene Center at Wolf Trap Vienna, VA
Jul 15, 2026 Leader Bank Pavilion Boston, MA
Jul 17, 2026 Red Hat Amphitheater Raleigh, NC
Jul 18, 2026 Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC
Jul 20, 2026 The St. Augustine Amphitheatre St. Augustine, FL
Jul 21, 2026 Atrium Health Amphitheater Macon, GA
Jul 22, 2026 Ascend Amphitheater Nashville, TN
Jul 23, 2026 Brandon Amphitheater Brandon, MS
Jul 25, 2026 Texas Trust CU Theatre Grand Prairie, TX
Jul 28, 2026 Arizona Financial Theatre Phoenix, AZ
Jul 30, 2026 Greek Theatre Los Angeles, CA
Jul 31, 2026 The Venue at Thunder Valley Lincoln, CA
Aug 1, 2026 Hayden Homes Amphitheater Bend, OR
Aug 3, 2026 Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery Woodinville, WA
Aug 4, 2026 Ford Idaho Center Nampa, ID
Aug 5, 2026 Mountain America Center Idaho Falls, ID
Aug 7, 2026 Ford Wyoming Center Casper, WY
Aug 8, 2026 Ford Amphitheater Colorado Springs, CO
Aug 10, 2026 Starlight Theatre Kansas City, MO
Aug 11, 2026 The Astro Amphitheater La Vista, NE
Aug 13, 2026 The Ledge Amphitheater Waite Park, MN
Aug 14, 2026 The Wisconsin State Fair West Allis, WI
Aug 15, 2026 Rosemont Theatre Rosemont, IL
Aug 18, 2026 Blossom Music Center Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Aug 19, 2026 Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill Sterling Heights, MI
Aug 21, 2026 Acrisure Amphitheater Grand Rapids, MI
Aug 22, 2026 Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park Indianapolis, IN
Sep 19, 2026 Louder Than Life Louisville, KY
Sep 24, 2026 – Sep 27, 2026 Kentucky Exposition Center Louisville, KY
Sep 26, 2026 Coca-Cola Music Hall San Juan, San Juan
Sep 28, 2026 Teatro Jorge Eliecer Gaitan Bogotá, Colombia
Sep 30, 2026 Teatro Gran Rex Buenos Aires, Argentina
Oct 2, 2026 Vibra Sao Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
Oct 4, 2026 Teatro Coliseo Santiago, Chile
Jan 29, 2027 – Feb 2, 2027 Cruise Miami to Cozumel Mexico Miami, FL