Why is the concert scene always so dead in Jacksonville?

[DiggyDog]

A the April 9th city council meeting, Ginny Myrick and other complainers admitted that they just don't like the rock music.  They said they enjoy the noise from the Jags games and Navy flyovers. It's just the rock music they hate.

During the event I drove to St Nicholas and got out of my car. I could not hear the music. Council member Bill Gulliford told me he did the same thing and he could barely hear the music coming from the event.

Jane Miller was interviewed by channel 47 and she claimed that she was awakened on Saturday morning during Welcome to Rockville.  The gates open at 11:00 and the music doesn't start until 11:30 or so. While 11:30 am is technically "the Morning", I prefer to think of it as "almost lunch time".

What the intrepid 47 news team didn't mention was that Jan Miller was the director of Citizens for Amphitheater Awareness Inc back in the 90's.

They are the reason we can't have nice things.

[spuwho]

I am not sure what was playing at Met Park tonight, but before the rain rolled in, it was a pretty serious event. Crowds were set up like football games with their cookers and grills. It overflowed well into the EverBank parking lots.

Now if someone came to me and said the concert scene was "dead" and then drove through that, I would tell them they were way wrong. Largest concert crowd I have seen around there in awhile.

Not only that, but there was a Suns game going as well.

[tufsu1]

I am not sure what was playing at Met Park tonight, but before the rain rolled in, it was a pretty serious event. Crowds were set up like football games with their cookers and grills. It overflowed well into the EverBank parking lots.

that would be FunkFest...which comes to Metro Park every year

[KenFSU]

Today I learned that the Beastie Boys successfully sued the city of Jacksonville in 1987 over this embarrassing bit of nonsense:

[CityLife]

Another summer...another summer of blah in Jax. One of my best friends moved to Chicago last year and mocks me all the time with the amount of good shows he gets to see. Obviously Jax isn't going to get the sheer number of quality acts that NYC, Chicago, etc get, but it would be nice to even get a few.

BTW it looks like there is some stuff in the Capital Improvements Program of the budget relating to Metro Park. $2.5 million to replace the tent and conduct a sound study. http://www.coj.net/my-jax-budget/docs/2013-2014-cip-book.aspx

[KenFSU]

Man, first Mumford & Sons, then the Lumineers, now Alabama Shakes all choose St. Augustine over Jacksonville for their fall tours.

Apparently Mumford & Sons sold out nearly 25,000 tickets in hours, with tickets now going for over $100 a piece on the secondary market.

[I-10east]

^^^Yup, with vast road distances like Jax to St Augustine, I would call ahead about a week prior to the Northeast Florida Regional Airport out there in St Auggie, and make a four day vacation out of it....

[acme54321]

Man, first Mumford & Sons, then the Lumineers, now Alabama Shakes all choose St. Augustine over Jacksonville for their fall tours.

Apparently Mumford & Sons sold out nearly 25,000 tickets in hours, with tickets now going for over $100 a piece on the secondary market.

Well the tickets sold for $105 originally.  I was actually looking on craigslist and there were quite a number selling at the original price or very close to it.

[Tacachale]

^They didn't "choose St. Augustine over Jacksonville". At most they "chose" the venue most suitable for them from among the too-few options within the same market area. However, it's more likely that the Ampitheater just had more effective booking or otherwise suited their needs compared to other venues in the region. That's definitely the case with Mumford & Sons, all those "Gentlemen of the Road" shows are in places like that. I know I keep going on about this, but having a good upper-mid venue in a good location wouldn't pull in the shows we're ostensibly "losing"to St. Augustine (though it may pull in shows), it would pull in acts who don't stop in the metro at all because all of the venues, including the St. Augustine Amphitheater, have drawbacks.

Also, are people really spending $100 to see Mumford and Sons? That's Radiohead money. Kids today.

[Gators312]

Also, are people really spending $100 to see Mumford and Sons? That's Radiohead money. Kids today.

Actually, Gentleman of the Road Tour is a two day festival type event headlined by Mumford & Sons on Saturday. 

Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes are headlining Friday.    12 bands $105 isn't crazy...

[Gators312]

On the losing shows to St. Augustine front....

The Avett Brothers chose to return to the St Aug Amphitheatre in Nov rather than the Florida Theatre where they last played in our area Feb 2012.

[Tacachale]

^Yeah, that's right. That's a pretty good price and looks like a pretty good lineup overall.

[Shwaz]

^^^Yup, with vast road distances like Jax to St Augustine, I would call ahead about a week prior to the Northeast Florida Regional Airport out there in St Auggie, and make a four day vacation out of it....

Far enough to require a tank of gas and a DUI. Parking is scarce, traffic will be ridiculous and hotels are price gouging. even if you forgo the cocktails, expensive hotel and pay for parking & shuttle... you still have 4, 45 minute drives ahead of you. I don't care where you like to draw your boundaries... that's a pain in the ass.

Weird how people on MetroJacksonville like to have shows... in Jacksonville, huh?

[CityLife]

Mumford and Sons don't do much for me personally, but there are worse bands out there for girls to listen to. The Walkmen are one of the more underrated bands of their generation imo, but they are out of their prime. Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros are solid, but nothing special. IMO this concert is definitely not worth the hoopla locally. Especially not when Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Bob Dylan, and Bob Weir played a similar tour recently and stopped in both Tampa and Atlanta.

That said, the turnout/level of excitement are a good thing and will hopefully open some eyes and get more bands coming down here. Looks like the St. Augustine Ampiteater may have taken notice, as it seems like they are booking more current bands like they used to.

[fsquid]

I think this gentleman festival thing is at a park, not the amphitheater.