Jacksonville Today Arts and Culture Editor Matt Shaw shares his arts and culture picks for the weekend.
Friday & Saturday
Parrots & Palms with the Jacksonville Symphony
Jacoby Hall | Downtown Jacksonville
Sym-Fin-y to the left! Sym-Fin-y to the right! Over its 74 years, the Jacksonville Symphony has tackled a wide range of genres, from works by masters of the Western canon to arena rock. But Gulf & Western? On Friday and Saturday, the symphony will take on the music of late, oft-barefooted singer-songwriter (and entrepreneur) Jimmy Buffett, as well as other coastal classics by the Beach Boys, Van Morrison and more. Both performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets (see: license to chill) and more infor.
Friday & Saturday
Florida Fin Fest
Seawalk Pavilion | Jacksonville Beach
The annual two-day Florida Fin Fest returns with a lineup that would perk ears even if it weren’t a free event. Wildly popular North Florida indie troupe Flipturn (Friday at 8:30 p.m.) and the Alabama-bred soul group St. Paul & The Broken Bones (Saturday at 8:30 p.m.) get top billing in a lineup that also includes Stop Light Observation, Paco Versailles, DJ Vincent Antone, Prizilla, Speakeasy, Faze Wave, Brave Baby and Madison Hughes. The festival includes partnerships with like-minded businesses and organizations to offer a family-friendly event that includes an educational village and speaker panels on ocean conservation. Again, it’s free to attend. Full schedule and more info.
All weekend
A Century of Contemporary, Jacksonville Stacked Stars, Fill My Heart with Hope
MOCA | Downtown Jacksonville
As MOCA celebrates its 100-year-anniversary, the Downtown museum is stacked with new exhibitions. MOCA’s special 100th anniversary exhibit, A Century of Contemporary, traces the history of the institution, while the late Frank Stella’s large-scale sculpture installation, Jacksonville Stacked Stars still fills Project Atrium. New York based artist Emil Alzamora’s multidisciplinary exhibit, Starship Abundance, remains on view too. And an exhibition of more than 100 works – many of which by less-heralded artists hailing from the Deep South – called Fill My Heart With Hope: Works From The Gordon W. Bailey Collection, fills two floors of the museum. MOCA is open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is always free on Saturdays. More info.