Next weekend’s BoCo Music Festival will jump into action Friday night with a concert by hometown boy Lipbone Redding.

The concert starts at 8 p.m. at the Turnage Theater in Washington.

Tickets cost $15 apiece.

The third-annual festival continues all day Saturday with free performances by multiple acts in the Festival Park area on the waterfront.

For ticket information on Friday’s concert, call the Turnage box office at 252-975-1191.

Lipbone, whose real name is Lawrence Behr, once lived in Washington.

His parents, Libby and Lawrence Behr, still live here.

Redding, if you will, used to give solo concerts at the former Curiosity Shoppe restaurant on Main Street.

Today, Behr is a New York-known singer-songwriter who records CDs and makes music his living.

But he fondly recalls those musical evenings in his adopted hometown, and boasts an affinity for this quiet city on the Pamlico River.

Asked to describe his sound, Behr alluded to the place where jazz was born.

“It’s a lot like New Orleans-style music, you know, based in the blues and jazz,” he said. “Sounds like a street party sometimes, but it has some introspection as well.”

Behr, who played the Turnage about a year ago, frequently visits Washington, and he’s known to some of the local crowd that used to hang out downtown.

So, Friday’s happening could be a homecoming of sorts.

“It’s going to be a great night,” he said of his upcoming concert.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun,” Behr added. “You’re encouraged to get up and dance.”

Behr’s next album, “Unbroken,” is set for a May 1 release, and he anticipates having copies – or at least preorder forms – on hand for purchase at the show.

Last year’s Lipbone event was a doubleheader also featuring the Holy Ghost Tent Revival, related Katherine Buchholz, box office manager at the Turnage.

“People loved Lipbone Redding,” Buchholz said. “They thought he was talented and fun to watch.”

Though plenty of tickets were available Friday, Buchholz advised local ticket-seekers to make their inquiries early next week if they want to secure good seats.

Out-of-town interest has been strong for this show, she said.

The Music Festival is being presented by the Beaufort County Arts Council.

Joey Toler, BCAC’s executive director, can be counted among Lipbone’s fans.

“He had such a great show last year we thought we would have him back,” Toler said. “He also has local roots here. … He’s a fantastic showman. He’ll really set the tone for the Music Festival, I think.”

For more information on the festival, call the arts council at 252-946-2504.