This summer will not be a dark one for the Turnage Theater in Washington.
The theater at 150 W. Main St. will be open and illuminated for the BoCo Summer Concert Series beginning Saturday.
The six-concert affair is a collaborative effort by the Turnage, the Beaufort County Traditional Music Association and the Beaufort County Arts Council.
The series begins at 8 p.m. with Wilmington-based headliners Onward, Soldiers.
Onward, Soldiers “has been described as a pestle and mortar blend of Laurel Canyon song craft, Athens Ga. pop, and North Carolina heart and soul,” reads an arts council news release.
A local band, Current, will handle opening chores before Onward, Soldiers takes the stage.
A ticket for each concert in the series costs $12, said Katherine Buchholz, box-office manager at the Turnage.
“They are reserved seats, so ordering ahead is a good idea,” said Buchholz.
Patrons who wish to purchase tickets for all of the concerts will save $2 per show, she pointed out.
For more ticket information, call the Turnage box office at 252-975-1191.
All of the bands to be featured are North Carolina organizations that should appeal to ticket-holders young and old, according to Buchholz.
“There should be something for everyone,” she said. “It’s not just bluegrass or country this time. It runs the gamut of the genres.”
Rob Cuthrell, chairman of the traditional music association, revealed his group wants to help foster “a cooperative spirit between the arts council and the Turnage.”
“Not that there hasn’t been one, but we’re trying to make sure that that continues,” Cuthrell commented. “The good thing for us is that the Turnage is the city’s premier venue, and any time we can be involved in anything there it’s a good thing to do that because of the quality of the Turnage.”
The concert series follows Pamlico Opry events presented by BCTMA in 2009 and programming that coincided with Washington’s Music in the Streets festival at the Turnage in 2010, said Joey Toler, executive director of the arts council.
Each of the three presenters — BCAC, BCTMA and the Turnage — is responsible for staging acts for two concerts in the series, the arts council news release notes.
“I think part of it is to have some activity going on at the Turnage at the summer, trying to extend the BoCo brand a little bit,” Toler said.
Asked to describe the music in the series, he replied, “Probably the thread that runs through them all is that it is a lot of roots music, a lot of Americana. … It’s going to be a great concert Saturday night.”
Among other acts in the series are Charming Youngsters, Sinful Savage Tigers, The Barefoot Movement, The Katy Mitchell Band and Uncle Mountain.
In addition to Saturday, concerts are scheduled for June 4, June 25, July 9, July 23 and Aug. 6.
For additional information, call the arts council at 252-946-2504.