Alexander Sink
January 22, 2026
Jacksonville, FL
VyStar Memorial Arena
Tobias Forge and his band of Ghouls kicked off their 2026 leg of their popular Skeletour in Orlando on January 21st, and night two was quick on its heels with a performance in Jacksonville, FL at the VyStar Memorial Arena. The arena is always a great host, and this night was no exception. Outside the arena was a beautiful, crisp evening with hundreds of fans lined up for entry at rope drop. Across the street was a quaint, brick church that offered the perfect background to the Ghost fans dressed in gothic black just in front of it. There were several fans before and after the show, taking selfies in front of the church, and it really was the perfect backdrop. What fans didn’t know was that the band had left a hex the night before in Orlando that caused the Magic to go winless the week after, and it would be Jacksonville’s turn to test the music and black magic of Ghost, and its occult-themed rock music.
OK, I will admit, if you had asked me a year ago if I would have thought about covering Ghost, I probably would have had to ask you to tell me more about them. I was VERY late getting to the Ghost party, as the Swedish band has been around for well over 15 years and has collaborated with several artists on their extensive album catalog. One of those artists was Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, who produced their 2013 EP “IF YOU HAVE GHOSTS”. This was a collection of covers that the band recorded. Grohl even went on to play live, dressed as one of the Ghouls that accompany whichever papal persona that Tobias Forge has adopted for that tour.
For this tour it is Papa Perpetua, a persona he used for his performance at Ozzy Osborne’s “Back To The Beginning” benefit concert last July. I enjoyed his performance and I’ve been trying to learn as much about the band as I can. They have really done a great job of leading their fans on a long narrative from album to album over the years. Their concept albums continue to tell a story, and I am truly Impressed with the catalog as a whole. Their music includes everything from pop-rock and pop ballads to heavy metal riffs and dark chord progressions. They weave the traditional guitar rock band with haunting keyboards and various instruments that creates a unique sound and style of music. I can’t put one label on it, but it’s well done and worth checking out if you haven’t listened to it before.
So back to how I got from “Ghost Who?” to here is a fun tale. I was on vacation last summer when the perfect ad for the perfect kitten popped up in my feed. It said something to the effect of, “Now that schools out for summer, it’s the purrfect time to adopt a kitten”. Accompanying this ad was a photo of a kitten who looked just like Alice Cooper, and I was hooked. Thankfully, my wife said yes to the plan, and we came home from vacation with a new kitten and friend. Matt at the Humane Society wrote the ad and is a big Ghost fan, so here I am and away we went.
Having limited knowledge of the band and wanting to include some good company, I invited Matt to join me and we set out on a pilgrimage to Jacksonville to enjoy the Jax Ritual of Ghost (the band refers to their concerts as rituals) and be part of the congregation (their chosen name for their fans). I will say that the names chosen by the band are accurate and the congregation celebrated the night with the energy of 10 southern revivals and the friendliness of a homecoming committee. Since I was not as familiar with the music of the various albums, I made a point to enjoy watching the crowd enjoy themselves. Matt had set up a playlist for our 3 hour car ride and I was happy to hear several familiar songs from the band. Most of the familiar songs came from the “Skeleta” album, which is the album being promoted on this tour. The night included many fans in various elaborate costumes, much like the band, but the fan of the night for me was someone dressed in an iridescent sheet with the eyes cut out (ala Scooby Doo) who rocked out in the front row of the pit all night. Fans like these show that while the roots of the band and their music are dark, all are welcome to celebrate and enjoy the music in their own style.
The concert started promptly at 8:00 and lasted almost exactly 2 hours. It had all the precision of a Catholic mass and music that took you across the spectrum. The mix of songs was evenly distributed throughout their catalog and the flow took the audience from manic highs to slow choruses where the fans were left to handle the vocal duties. There was something hypnotic about several sections of the music and I found myself just sitting back not knowing whether to just take it all in or to order some sage to cleanse my aura after the show. Thankfully, I chose to just go with it and enjoy the visual and auditory spectacle that was on stage. The visual aspects of the concert were almost as good as the music and really set the tone for various songs and the night as a whole. I am so used to simple rock or blues concerts without a lot of the extra and this was a great tour to catch for a grand production like this. I can’t imagine that there are many tours out there that can top the production of this tour. It really was impressive from it’s projected stained glass windows to live pyrotechnics close enough to make you sweat
I am so very grateful that some little kitten near Apalachicola needed a forever home and I am even more grateful that my wife and I were suckers for great marketing. I would’ve possibly missed out on seeing a great band perform and I might have missed out on making a great friend who taught me about his favorite bands. Many of my favorite bands today are bands that someone shared with me, and I bet most or you reading can say the same. All in all, when in doubt…adopt the kitten, make a great friend and rock out until you can’t rock any more. That is what being a music lover and audiophile is all about! The Alice Cooper-looking kitten is just icing on the cake.
As for any hex left behind by Ghost…Jacksonville seemed to make it unscathed, but the band had to cancel the next three dates due to ice and frozen weather. Their tour continued on January 28th in Connecticut and seems to be back on track. I definitely recommend catching them if the tour heads your way. With no new albums on the horizon, this may be the last opportunity to see Ghost for a few years.
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