Jacksonville Today Arts and Culture Editor Matt Shaw shares his arts and culture picks for the weekend.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Winterland Music Festival
James Weldon Johnson Park | Downtown Jacksonville
The homegrown Winterland Music Festival returns for its sixth year, once again pairing big-name nationally touring independent artists with a couple dozen emerging local and regional acts. [Disclosure: I’m a member of the board of the nonprofit that puts on the festival]. This year’s fest is headlined by seminal NYC-formed post-rock/dream-pop trio Blonde Redhead (Friday), Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Caroline Rose (Saturday) and San Francisco-bred garage-rock band Osees (Sunday). Other notable performers include Duval poet and spoken-word artist Ebony Payne-English (Saturday), New York experimental-jazz guitarist Ava Mendoza, Jax-by-way-of-L.A. singer-songwriter Laney Tripp (Saturday) and Chicago saxophone prodigy and cosmic-jazz connoisseur Isaiah Collier (Sunday). The majority of the festival is free to attend. The main stage area requires a ticket. Single and three-day passes are still available. Full schedule and lineup guide.
Friday & Saturday
Jacksonville Symphony: Music of the Knights
Jacoby Symphony Hall | Downtown Jacksonville
The Jacksonville Symphony tackles the music of three knighted Englishmen: Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Elton John. The symphony will conduct three performances beginning with a Friday Coffee Series at 11 a.m., and continuing on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday night (7:30 p.m.). Tickets and more info.
Saturday & Sunday
World Of Nations Celebration
Tailgaters Parking | Downtown Jacksonville
A staple community event for more than three decades now, the World of Nations Celebration returns to Downtown Jacksonville (this time on Talleyrand Avenue near Everbank Stadium). On Saturday and Sunday, the arts and culture, cuisine and customs of nearly three-dozen countries will be on display. Tickets start at $7. Children under three enter for free. The event runs from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets and more info.