July Events Roundup

Concert season has officially returned after a more-than fifteen-month hiatus in the Port City. Venues old and new begin a live music summer soundtrack schedule fit for Wilmington listeners of all genres. Here are upcoming shows, as of press time.

Riverfront Park

10 Cowan Street

The long-awaited 7,200-seat amphitheater, formerly dubbed North Waterfront Park, finishes construction with a soft opening on July 4. The downtown venue with clear Cape Fear River views plans to bring many big-ticket names to Wilmington this summer and beyond, including a trio of events as part of the Azalea Festival make-up shows this August. To purchase tickets for available shows, go to livenation.com.

• Soft Opening with The Benny Hill Quartet, The Coastal Collective, Signal Fire, and L Shape Lot (July 4) No tickets required; free event
• Widespread Panic (July 16-18)
• GRiZMAS in July featuring GRiZ (July 30-31)
• Miranda Lambert (August 7)
• Train (August 10)
• Jim Gaffigan: The Fun Tour (August 14)
• Sublime with Rome | Michael Franti & Spearhead (August 19) North Carolina Azalea Festival concert, ncazaleafestival.org
• Avett Brothers with Chatham County Line (August 20-21) North Carolina Azalea Festival concert, ncazaleafestival.org
• 311 (September 4)
• Glass Animals (September 5)
• Santana (September 15)
• Trevor Noah (September 25)
• Counting Crows (September 29)
• Lady A (September 30)
• Brett Eldredge (October 14)

Greenfield Lake Amphitheatre

1941 Amphitheater Drive

This Port City staple is an outdoor venue favorite among locals and tourists alike. This summer they bring a long list of music groups, including both North Carolina-born duos and nationally recognized acts, presented in collaboration with Live Nation and The Penguin. If shows are not yet sold out, tickets for a concert underneath the cypress trees can be purchased at greenfieldlakeamphitheater.com.

• Watchhouse, formerly Mandolin Orange, (July 9-10)
• Turkuaz with Jerry Harrison & Adrian Belew (July 22)
• Umphrey’s McGee (August 5)
• Trevor Hall (August 6)
• Eric Gales (August 7)
• Get The Led Out: A Celebration of “The Mighty Zep” (August 8)
• Moon Taxi (August 13)
• The String Cheese Incident (August 17-18)
• Scott McCreery (August 27)
• Shakey Graves (August 29)

CFCC Wilson Center

703 North Third Street

One of the two indoor venues on the list, the Wilson Center auditorium is known for hosting popular musicals, Broadway plays, and classical concerts. Although its current summer schedule isn’t very concert-heavy, this month the center features a specially curated tribute show by music group Legacy, paying homage to iconic legends through the decades. In addition, blues-and-rock singer-songwriter Boz Scaggs will visit the auditorium in October (postponed from its original date in August). To purchase tickets, visit the Wilson Center website at wilsoncentertickets.com.

• Legends Live On! (July 9-11)
• Village People (October 22)
• Boz Scaggs (October 23)

Thalian Hall

310 Chestnut Street

This historic Opera House-style arts center isn’t just for theatre buffs in town. The agenda this summer includes a 1960s-themes musical featuring the soulful, sunny sounds of the pop decade’s favorite female singers. On the music front, the fourth annual Bluegrass Bash will follow. Although the weather will still be a bit cooler, this indoor-outdoor festival will host local bluegrass groups at the theater’s Main Stage. Tickets can be purchased at thalianhall.org.

• Beehive: The ’60s Musical (July 16-18)
• Bluegrass Bash (October 16)

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