From Wales to Pensacola, Florida – The First Stop on My USA Magic Tour

There are some trips you remember because of the places you visited. Others stay with you because of the people you met.

Pensacola, Florida gave me both.

After months of planning, nerves, excitement and wondering what on earth I had got myself into, Pensacola became the first stop of my 2026 USA lecture tour — taking me from Wales to magic clubs and audiences across America.

And I honestly couldn't have wished for a better place to begin.

A Welsh Magician Arrives in Florida

Travelling from South Wales to America to lecture and perform my own magic was something I had wanted to do for a very long time.

I've been incredibly fortunate throughout my career as a magician and magic creator. I've lectured at the Blackpool Magic Convention, performed professionally across the UK, created award-winning magic and seen my effects performed by magicians around the world.

But America felt different.

This wasn't one convention or one performance. This was a genuine tour across the United States, travelling from city to city, meeting magicians, sharing my creations and putting everything I had developed over the years in front of completely new audiences.

And it all began in Pensacola, Florida.

Bruce & Patti – Southern Hospitality at Its Best

Before I even get to the magic, I have to talk about two people who made Pensacola incredibly special: Bruce and Patti.

From the moment I arrived, they didn't make me feel like a visiting lecturer. They made me feel like part of the family.

I stayed with them at their home, along with their brilliant collection of pets, who very quickly became part of the whole Pensacola experience. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love animals, so being surrounded by them made being thousands of miles away from home that little bit easier.

Bruce and Patti also made sure I actually experienced Florida rather than simply arriving, performing and leaving.

They took me out to see the area, experience the local culture and visit places I probably would never have discovered on my own.

That included a trip to a gator zoo, which was about as Florida as I could possibly have imagined! Seeing alligators that close certainly wasn't something I regularly encounter back home in Wales.

Then there was the rodeo.

Again, not exactly an average Saturday night in Caerphilly!

Experiencing a proper American rodeo was fantastic. The atmosphere, the people, the spectacle and the whole sense of occasion made it one of those wonderfully surreal moments where I stopped and thought:

“I'm actually in America doing this.”

Those experiences became just as important to me as the performances themselves.

The USA tour was always going to be about magic, but I wanted it to be about much more than that. I wanted to experience the places I visited, meet the people who lived there and come home with stories rather than simply a list of venues.

Bruce and Patti made absolutely certain that happened in Pensacola.

I'll always be grateful to them for their generosity, hospitality, friendship and for giving this Welshman such an unforgettable introduction to America.

Magic, BBQ and Pensacola

Then, of course, it was time for the reason I'd travelled all those miles.

The lecture.

And if you're going to give your first American magic lecture, there are probably worse places to do it than inside an American BBQ smokehouse!

My Pensacola lecture took place at Sonny's BBQ, and this wasn't some anonymous conference room that could have been anywhere in the world.

This felt American.

The smell of BBQ, the relaxed atmosphere, people eating and chatting before the lecture — it was completely different to so many of the venues I'd lectured at previously, and I loved it.

And the food was awesome.

Proper American BBQ in Florida followed by an afternoon talking about magic?

I could definitely get used to that.

My First Lecture of the USA Tour

Once the lecture started, however, it was time to get serious.

Well... as serious as one of my lectures ever gets!

I wanted the American lectures to represent exactly who I am as a magician and creator.

I didn't want to travel thousands of miles and simply demonstrate a collection of tricks. I wanted the people attending to understand why I create magic the way I do, how I structure an effect, where the comedy comes from and, most importantly, how I try to turn a magic trick into something an audience actually remembers.

The Pensacola audience were fantastic from the beginning.

There was laughter, interaction, questions and, thankfully, some genuinely brilliant reactions to the magic.

I shared material that has become part of my professional repertoire, alongside original creations and ideas that I have developed through years of performing for real audiences.

For me, that's an important distinction.

Magic shouldn't only fool people.

Great magic should make people feel something.

Sometimes that's amazement. Sometimes it's laughter. Sometimes it's that wonderful moment when somebody simply looks at you because they genuinely have no idea what just happened.

Those are the reactions I chase when I perform, and those are the ideas I wanted to share throughout my American lectures.

Seeing those reactions in Pensacola was particularly special because this was the first real test of the tour.

Would my humour translate?

Would the material connect with an American audience?

Would the effects that had worked so well in Britain receive the same response thousands of miles away?

The answer was a very definite yes.

As the lecture progressed, the nerves I'd carried across the Atlantic disappeared and were replaced by excitement.

People weren't simply watching. They were engaged.

They wanted to discuss the thinking behind the effects, the methods, presentation and the decisions that turn an idea into a finished piece of magic.

That's exactly what I hoped these lectures would be.

More Than Just Tricks

One of the things I've always believed is that the secret to a magic trick is rarely the most interesting part of it.

A method gives you the ability to create an impossible moment.

Performance is what makes that moment matter.

Throughout the lecture I was able to talk about my approach to performance, audience management, comedy, timing, misdirection and the psychology that sits underneath strong magic.

I also shared the thinking behind some of my own creations and the lessons I've learned from performing them in the real world.

There were plenty of laughs along the way — there always are — but there was also a genuine exchange of ideas.

That's one of my favourite things about lecturing to magicians.

You arrive as the person at the front of the room supposedly there to teach, but inevitably you leave having learned things yourself.

Pensacola was no exception.

The Perfect Beginning to My American Adventure

When the lecture finished, there was a huge feeling of relief.

Stop number one was complete.

But more importantly, it had been a success.

I'd travelled from South Wales to Florida, stood in front of my first audience of the USA tour and discovered that the magic, humour and ideas I'd brought with me could connect with people on the other side of the Atlantic.

That gave me enormous confidence for what was still to come.

Pensacola wasn't simply the first date written on my tour schedule.

It became the place where the whole adventure suddenly felt real.

I had arrived in America as a magician from Wales with a suitcase full of tricks, lecture notes and probably far too many nerves.

I left Pensacola ready for the rest of the United States.

Thank You, Pensacola

A massive thank you has to go to everyone who came along to the lecture and made my first USA tour date such a memorable one.

And an especially huge thank you again to Bruce and Patti.

Thank you for opening your home to me, introducing me to your wonderful pets, feeding me, showing me around, taking me to see alligators, giving me my first rodeo experience and generally making sure that my first few days in America were ones I'll never forget.

The magic community has given me some extraordinary experiences over the years, but the friendships that come from it are ultimately worth far more than any trick, award or performance.

Pensacola reminded me of that.

From a BBQ smokehouse in Florida, the tour would continue across America — through numerous states and cities, lectures, performances and experiences I could never have predicted when I boarded that first flight from the UK.

There were some very special moments still to come.

But every tour needs a first stop.

Mine was Pensacola, Florida — and I couldn't have asked for a better beginning.

Jamie Williams – International Award-Winning Magician from Wales

Jamie Williams AIMC is an international award-winning Welsh magician, mind reader and magic creator based in South Wales, performing at corporate events, private parties, weddings and special events throughout Wales, the UK and internationally.

An Associate of The Inner Magic Circle and creator of award-winning magic, Jamie has lectured and performed for magicians in the UK and United States, including his extensive 2026 USA magic lecture and performance tour.

For enquiries about booking Jamie Williams Magician for an event, performance, lecture or international appearance, please get in touch through the website.