Enjoy Free Concerts

A wonderful way to spend a balmy summer evening is to attend an event at Airlie Gardens, New Hanover County’s breathtakingly beautiful 67-acre site. The Airlie Gardens Summer Concert Series offers wonderful music, including beach music, dance bands and jazz, at the events that are scheduled on Friday evenings from May through September. Details on the dates and artists are available at  our Upcoming Events link.

Visitors are invited to bring chairs or blankets to sit on and picnic baskets are welcome too. Airlie Gardens is located near Wrightsville Beach and features 10-acres of freshwater lakes, walking trails, sculptures, vies of Bradley Creek and the majestic 465-year-old Airlie Oak.

Free Concerts At Cotton Exchange

Several concerts are offered throughout the year at the Cotton Exchange, Wilmington’s downtown historic shopping site. During the summer season, bands play in the courtyard while groups move indoors in the coldest months.

Pleasure Island offers numerous outdoor musical performances. The Beach Music Festival, celebrating its 24th year in 2009, takes place in June and free summer concerts are offered twice a month in June, July and August. In October 2009, the 16th annual Seafood, Blues and Jazz Festival, drawing visitors from near and far, takes place.

You’ll also find music on Topsail Island throughout the summer and into the fall. At the Shrimp Festival in Sneads Ferry in August and the Spot Festival in Hampstead in September, music is an integral part of the festivities.When the concert ends, feast at one of the nearby restaurants that offer a wide variety of food and whatever libation one
might prefer.