More
The Black Kids are an indie pop band that was formed in 2006 by siblings Reggie and Ali Youngblood, Owen Holmes, Dawn Watley, and Kevin Snow. The band became internationally recognized due to heavy media coverage in 2007, in part due to their Wizard of Ahhhs EP.
Reggie Youngblood (lead singer and guitarist)
Ali Youngblood (backing vocalist and keyboardist)
Kevin Snow (drums)
Dawn Watley (backing vocalist and keyboardist)
Owen Holmes (bassist)
This Jacksonville supergroup first started recording On the Death of Science as a Major World Religion way back in 2001. Ten years later, it's out on Synconation Records as a free digital download. It's hard to pin down exactly which world the Cadets operate in, but it's definitely one where guitars are sacred.
Read more about The Cadets - 'Pax Cadetia' Gladys Knight’s career started in the heyday of the Motown label. While not ever considered to be in the class of divas like Diana Ross, Ms Knight has a strong following and reputation among true and dedicated fans of soul music. Together with her backing vocal group, the Pips, she has recorded some of the more memorable soul standards in the genre’s history, including her signature song, “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “I heard it Through the Grapevine”, which was recorded by Marvin Gaye, but only after first being sung by Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Entering (and winning) a TV talent show at the age of seven is what started Gladys Knight out in her career of singing, and later stardom. Signing up with Motown in 1966 would be the next big step in the singer’s career. Gladys Knight and the Pips would open for Diana Ross and the Supremes and then later be removed from their tour. According to Ms Knight, this was because her singing overshadowed that of Ross.
Hit Songs by Gladys Knight and the Pips:
“Midnight Train to Georgia”
“Friendship Train”
“I don’t Want to Do Wrong”
“When a Child is Born” (with Johnny Mathis)
“Love Overboard” Read more about Gladys Knight's Upcoming Performance at the Florida Theater
They Might be Giants will be performing at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall on the 9th of February. The band is considered one of the classic alternative rock acts of the 1980s and 90s and has sold more than four million albums in their 30 years of playing together.
They Might Be Giants began as a duo in 1982 and chose their name from a 1971 movie, the title of which came from a passage in Cervantes’ Don Quixote. They would expand to a full five member band in the early 1990s but before that they would be the house band at a club in New York called Darinka where they would sell out every one of their performances for three years straight.
Read more about They Might Be Giants in Ponte Vedra Beach
So far these guys have only put up four demos total, but they're all great, sincere, lo-fi indie rock tuneage.
One of the more storied country singers of all time will be gracing a Jacksonville stage with his presence in February. Willie Nelson is, unarguably, a country music legend. He first became prominent in 1973 and has managed to rise beyond mere music and become simply an entertainment legend. 1973 was the year that Nelson rose to prominence, but it he was well-known even before that.
Nelson began his musical career at the age of seven when he wrote his first song, and from that point proceeded to build a unique sound that blended blues, rock, jazz and traditional country. Nelson, essentially, invented his own sub-genre of country music. Not only is he renowned as a performer, he has written some of the most well-known and well-loved songs in all of modern music history, including Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” and Ray Price’s “Night Life”. He has also recorded albums with a number of other bona fide country music legends like Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. He has seven Grammy Awards, recorded several dozen gold platinum and multi-platinum albums. Nelson is possibly the most widely accepted country music legend when it comes to being loved across generational and cultural lines. Read more about On the Road Again: Willie Nelson is Coming to Jacksonville in February
Fuel will be performing at Brewster’ Pit in Jacksonville Beach on January 22nd.
The hard rock band was formed in 1989 first as Small Joy then had its name changed its name to Fuel in 1994. It consists of members Brett Scallions, Andy Andersson, Brad Stewart and Ken Schalk. Founding members Carl Bell and Jeff Abercrombie are no longer a part of the band’s line-up. They would sign with Sony’s Imprint label shortly after releasing their first EP.
The band’s first hit was a song called “Shimmer” from that first EP, which was titled, Porcelain. Shortly after signing with the Sony label they would release another EP called Hazleton. In 1998 they would sign with Epic and record their first full length album called Sunburn. The song Shimmer was also placed on the album and became the band’s first top 40 hit.
Read more about Fuel to be Performing at Brewster's Pit
Shinedown will be releasing their latest album, titled Amaryillis in March though it may be pre-ordered in January. Arguably the best known and most successful current, still-active band formed in Jacksonville, Shinedown came together in 2001. The band has released three albums to date, selling more than eight million copies in total.
Read more about Jacksonville's Shinedown Have a New Album on the Way
Ray Charles, soul legend, also passed through Jacksonville on his way to becoming a popular music icon. He was 15 years old in 1945 which was the year that his mother died. Charles (then Charles Ray Robinson) had been playing in various Tallahassee clubs before moving to Jacksonville. After his mother’s death he decided that he was not returning to school. He played in various Jacksonville locales like the Ritz Theatre. Eventually, he would leave Jacksonville for Orlando and Tampa. He would later change his name to Ray Charles so as to avoid being mistaken for boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.
Read more about Superstars Associated with Jacksonville
