Lynyrd Skynyrd this weekend is performing the home-grown band’s final show in Jacksonville, and it will be a doozy.
Harkening back to the band’s heyday, Skynyrd will be the headliner at a stadium concert with 50,000 fans predicted to attend, according to the Jacksonville Jaguars' press office.
The Last of the Street Survivors farewell tour at TIAA Bank Field will feature a who’s who of Southern rock and country bands leading up to the main act.
The gates open at 2 p.m. Sunday with fellow southern rockers, the Marshall Tucker Band, kicking things off at 3 p.m.
They’ll be followed by 4 p.m. by Blackberry Smoke.
Then at 5 p.m. it’s the Charlie Daniels Band, which as fans know, featured Skynyrd in the song, “The South’s Gonna Do It Again.”
At 6 p.m. Jason Aldean takes the stage.
Then at 7 it’s Kid Rock, who has his own Skynyrd tribute song, “All Summer Long.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd is set to appear at 9:30 p.m. to bring it all home where the band started.
The show will be recorded for a later broadcast.
For those going to the concert a few notes:
- Parking is $40 at the stadium.
- No re-entries will be allowed.
- No outside food or beverages will be allowed in.
- Everyone is subject to full security inspections before entering the stadium.
- Rideshare pick-up will be available on Georgia Street near the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
- Parking is also available at WJCT: $35 paved, $25, riverfront. First come, first served, Cash only.
Although this is likely to be Lynyrd Skynyrd’s last concert on the First Coast, it’s not the end of the road. The tour is currently scheduled through January with Cozumel, Mexico listed as the last announced stop.
Next year the band is planning to visit New Zealand, Australia, Europe, Japan and South America before calling it quits, according to our Florida Times-Union news partner.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Jacksonville performance was announced in April at the Jaguars’ annual State of the Franchise meeting.
Lead singer Johnny Van Zant said at the time, “I’ve lived in Jacksonville my whole life… Tom [Coughlin], it’s good to see you back with the team.” He added, “We’re going to rock the house.”
“It’ll probably be our last time here,” Van Zant said in April, according to The Florida Times-Union. “Gary’s health, to be honest with you, is not the best. Skynyrd will never go away, the music’s here forever."
"It's hard to imagine, after all these years, the band that Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins and myself started back in Jacksonville, would resonate for this long and to so many generations of fans. I’m certain they are looking down from above, amazed that the music has touched so many," said Gary Rossington, founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, on the band’s website.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
