January 2025 opened with a cold snap. As the new year began, Winter Storm Cora was forecast to spread ice and snow from Texas to the Carolinas, and while the Gulf Coast was expected to avoid the worst of it, days above 60 degrees looked scarce for weeks. That made the January 2025 events calendar a month for indoor entertainment, and venues from Mobile to Pensacola delivered with a Beatles tribute, a Beethoven celebration, a Mozart comedy, a funk legend and a free arts festival. This look back revisits those highlights and the other events that helped the region ride out an unusually wintry month.
The cold turned out to be more than a passing inconvenience. Later in the month, a historic winter storm brought rare, heavy snowfall to much of the northern Gulf Coast, including Mobile, Baldwin County and Pensacola, an event many residents will remember for the rest of their lives. For much of January, staying warm and finding something to do indoors was the order of the day.
Black Jacket Symphony Performs “Abbey Road”
On January 10, the Black Jacket Symphony returned to the Saenger Theatre in Mobile to perform the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” in its entirety, followed by a set of the band’s greatest hits.
The Black Jacket Symphony’s concept is simple but demanding: recreate a classic rock album live, note for note. Over roughly a decade, the group had performed more than 40 classic rock albums for over a million fans across the country. The lineup of hand-picked musicians changes depending on the album, and no sonic detail is overlooked in the effort to reproduce the original recording.
“Abbey Road,” released in 1969, was the last album the Beatles recorded together, and its famous side-two medley makes it a particular challenge for any band attempting it live.
Pensacola Symphony’s “Beethoven and Blue Jeans”
The next night, January 11, the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra presented its annual “Beethoven and Blue Jeans” concert at the Saenger Theatre in Pensacola. As the name suggests, audiences were invited to dress up or dress down for a celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven led by guest conductor Laura Jackson.
The program featured:
- Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
- Rossini’s Overture to “The Barber of Seville”
- Jimmy Lopez’s “Fiesta! Four Pop Dances for Orchestra”
- Mendelssohn’s First Piano Concerto, with Ray Ushikubo as piano soloist
- Saint-Saens’ “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso,” with Ushikubo as violin soloist
Ushikubo’s appearance as soloist on both piano and violin in a single program was a rare feat, and the casual dress theme has helped make the concert one of the orchestra’s most approachable events of the season.
Pensacola Opera’s “The Marriage of Figaro”
Later in the month, on January 24 and 26, the Pensacola Opera staged Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” at the Saenger Theatre as part of its 42nd season.
The story follows Susanna and Figaro on their wedding day, as Figaro’s boss, the overbearing and womanizing Count Almaviva, tries to delay the marriage in hopes of seducing Susanna. Figaro enlists his fiancee and the Countess to expose the Count’s philandering. Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte based the opera on Beaumarchais’s sequel to “The Barber of Seville,” creating a comedy filled with some of the most celebrated music in the operatic repertoire.
First performed in Vienna in 1786, “Figaro” remains one of the most frequently staged operas in the world. It was a fitting companion to the Rossini overture heard on the same stage two weeks earlier, since Rossini’s “Barber” tells the earlier chapter of the same characters’ story.
Pensacola’s Saenger Theatre, a Spanish Baroque-style movie palace that opened in the 1920s and was later restored, is the home stage for both the symphony and the opera.
George Porter Jr. and Runnin’ Pardners in Mobile
On January 25, funk legend George Porter Jr. brought his band, the Runnin’ Pardners, to The Merry Widow in downtown Mobile. Porter is a founding member of The Meters, the New Orleans band he formed in 1965 with Art Neville, Leo Nocentelli and Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste.
Alongside Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament-Funkadelic, The Meters are regarded as one of the founding bands of funk, carving out their own sound with syncopated polyrhythms and grooves rooted in New Orleans’ deep African musical heritage. Porter started the Runnin’ Pardners in 1990. The group’s studio releases include “Funk This” (2000) and “Can’t Beat the Funk” (2011), along with live albums. The 2025 lineup featured drummer Terrence “Groove Guardian” Houston, Michael Lemmler on keyboards and guitarist Chris Adkins.
OWA’s 5th Annual Arts and Crafts Festival
The same day, January 25, OWA Parks and Resort in Foley hosted its 5th Annual Arts and Crafts Festival in Downtown OWA. The free, family-friendly festival featured local artists, vendors and small businesses selling handmade goods, along with live music. Organizers encouraged visitors to support the talent and creativity of the local community.
Other January 2025 Events
The month’s calendar was full of other performances, especially at downtown Mobile’s music venues:
- Maggie Koerner live at Callaghan’s in Mobile, January 9
- Lil Jon and Yung Joc’s Mardi Gras Mambo at the Pensacola Bay Center, January 11
- “Shrek The Musical” in Pensacola, January 15 through 18
- Souls of Time at the Saenger Theatre in Mobile, January 17
- Gallery Night Pensacola’s Lunar New Year celebration, January 17
- Ellis Bullard at The Merry Widow in Mobile, January 18
- 10 Years at Soul Kitchen in Mobile, January 29
- Arkansauce at The Merry Widow in Mobile, January 30
- Cacao-Phony at Fairhope Chocolate, January 31
Callaghan’s Irish Social Club in the Oakleigh Garden District, along with downtown’s The Merry Widow and Soul Kitchen, form the backbone of Mobile’s live music scene, hosting everything from singer-songwriters to touring rock bands.
Planning for Future Winters
Many of these events and series recur, but programs, dates and venues change each season. Anyone interested in future Black Jacket Symphony shows, Pensacola Symphony or Opera productions, or OWA festivals should check with the organizers for current schedules.
As January 2025 proved, Gulf Coast winters can bring genuine surprises. A warm theater, a good orchestra or a funk band in a crowded club is a fine way to wait out the cold.