JJ Grey & Mofro open the new JAX Amphitheater at the Jacksonville Fair

Jacksonville's own swamp-soul band kick off the fair's first amphitheater concert series on Thursday, Nov. 5, with Olustee songs in the set.

When the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair turned on its new stage, it gave opening night to a hometown band. JJ Grey & Mofro open the fair's JAX Amphitheater Concert Series on Thursday, Nov. 5: doors at 6 p.m., show at 8. Tickets run $38 to $71 and include fair admission, through the Jacksonville Fair's event page.

The room is new, and so is the ground under it. The 71st fair is debuting a 10,000-seat open-air amphitheater at the all-new Jacksonville Festival & Fairgrounds on the Westside. The concert series runs 11 straight days of national acts, Nov. 5–15, and Smash Mouth and Fastball with Nine Days take the stage Nov. 12.

JJ Grey & Mofro have played Jacksonville more than any other market in our records, 31 times, and that tracks: Grey's swampy, soul-heavy Southern rock has always been rooted in this corner of Florida. A fairground amphitheater on the Westside is a fitting stage for it.

The band also arrive with their most recent record still fresh in the set. Olustee, released in 2024, is Grey's tenth album and the first he produced himself. It is named for a North Florida place, and it was his first album in nine years. Its eleven tracks include "The Sea," "Wonderland," "Deeper Than Belief" and the title track, and two years of touring them means those songs should be fully broken in by the time they hit a hometown crowd.

A fair date is also an easy show to say yes to. The ticket covers the gate, so a night can be rides, fair food and the midway, then a headlining set from a band you've probably heard at a smaller room in town. For longtime fans, it's a chance to see Grey on a big new local stage. For newcomers, it's a low-commitment introduction that comes with a funnel cake.

The fair's JAX Amphitheater page has the full concert calendar, and the band's own Olustee page has the record. Buy direct from the fair rather than resellers, since fair admission is bundled in.

A hometown band, a new stage and the fair's opening night. Get there early and walk the midway first.

Sources: Jacksonville Fair: JJ Grey & Mofro at JAX Amphitheater (jacksonvillefair.com); JAX Amphitheater: The Jacksonville Fairgrounds (jacksonvillefair.com); Jacksonville Fair events (jacksonvillefair.com); JJ Grey & Mofro: Olustee album (jjgrey.com); JJ Grey & Mofro: Music (jjgrey.com); JJ Grey & Mofro (jjgrey.com); 99.1 WQIK: The 71st Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair 2026 concert lineup (991wqik.iheart.com); Olustee, First Album From JJ Grey & Mofro In Nine Years (shorefire.com); JJ Grey & Mofro's New Album Olustee Released Today on Alligator Records (alligator.com)