Set your clock before you drive west. Pensacola, Destin and Panama City Beach all run on Central Time, an hour behind Tallahassee and most of Florida. A show listed for 8 p.m. here is 9 p.m. back east, which is the kind of thing you only forget once.
Pensacola and the Panhandle
Pensacola and Panhandle Concerts
46 upcoming shows at 11 venues.
Upcoming in Pensacola
TuesdayNov 10
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Hawthorne Heightswith letlive. and CreeperTickets
WednesdayNov 11
FridayNov 13
SaturdayNov 14
ThursdayNov 19
FridayNov 20
SaturdayNov 21
TuesdayNov 24
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Born Of Osiriswith Miss May I, Conviction and DownswingTickets
SundayNov 29
ThursdayDec 3
FridayDec 4
SaturdayDec 5
SundayDec 6
FridayDec 18
WednesdayDec 23
WednesdayJan 6
Show 28 more shows from January 10 onShow fewer
SundayJan 10
FridayJan 29
SundayJan 31
ThursdayFeb 11
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TobyMacwith Jeremy Camp, Seph Schlueter and Katy NicholeTickets
MondayMar 1
TuesdayMar 16
WednesdayMar 24
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MercyMewith Ben Fuller and Peter BurtonTickets
TuesdayApr 6
FridayApr 9
SaturdayApr 10
SundayApr 11
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From Ashes To Newwith Nevertel and Dark DivineTickets
ThursdayApr 15
FridayApr 16
SaturdayApr 17
SundayApr 18
ThursdayApr 22
FridayApr 23
SaturdayApr 24
SundayApr 25
ThursdayJun 3
FridayJun 4
SaturdayJun 5
SundayJun 6
Know Before You Go
Palafox Street
The Saenger Theatre opened on April 2, 1925, built for vaudeville and silent films and designed by Emile Weil, who drew Saenger houses in New Orleans and Mobile too. It closed as a movie house in 1975, reopened in 1981 with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and keeps its original Robert Morton pipe organ, restored and expanded in 2014.
A short walk up the street at Palafox and Garden, Vinyl Music Hall opened in 2010 on the ground floor of the 1897 Masonic Temple building. It anchors the downtown entertainment strip, so dinner on Palafox and a show are never far apart.
The Arena
The Pensacola Bay Center opened in January 1985 as the Pensacola Civic Center and took its name in 2012. It has a real place in rock history. In 1994 it hosted the largest Rock for Choice concert ever, organized by L7 with Pearl Jam headlining. Look under rock for what is coming.
Out on the Sand
On Tuesday nights from April through October, Bands on the Beach brings free shows to the Gulfside Pavilion on Pensacola Beach from 7 to 9 p.m. Organizers encourage lawn chairs and blankets and ask people to leave pets and glass at home. Getting there from town means the Pensacola Bay Bridge to Gulf Breeze, then the Bob Sikes Bridge onto the island. The Sikes toll is all electronic, and Gulf Breeze is where the traffic stacks up.
East along the coast, the Aaron Bessant Park Amphitheater sits next to Pier Park in Panama City Beach, steps from the sand. It has hosted free summer concert nights and the Seabreeze Jazz Festival. Browse jazz and blues and country for the beach crowd's usual picks.
Weather on the Gulf
Summer afternoons bring storms, and the Panhandle sits squarely in hurricane country from June 1 through November 30. Outdoor dates can move, so confirm the details on your ticket before you drive out, and see Tallahassee for the capital's calendar.