Despite zoning roadblocks, this downtown Wilmington concert series plans to keep rocking
On May 3, Free Concert Friday returned to the Eagle's Dare bar and event space on North Third Street in downtown Wilmington for the second straight year.
Over the course of a few hours, some 700 people came and went, enjoying free tunes from Wilmington band Cape Fear Rising and Journey tribute act Trial By Fire.
"It's just awesome for Wilmington," said Eagle's Dare owner Joe Apkarian, "people getting their weekend started with a free show."
He's got Free Concert Friday concerts scheduled through July, mostly tribute bands with local acts serving as openers. But Apkarian said he's a little uneasy about the series moving forward because of what he called a zoning issue, one that limits the number of yearly permits a business in the central business district (CBD) can get to hold events with a temporary stage.
Free Concert Friday bands play on a temporary stage set up in the Eagle's Dare parking lot. Apkarian has Free Concert Friday concerts scheduled through late July, but said that he's been told by city staff that he's only allowed a permit for a temporary stage twice per year.
"It's in my parking lot, on my property," Apkarian said. "Whether they're going to fine me, who knows?"
He added that he's been told by the city that he "can move (the event) inside, create a permanent (stage) structure or get an amendment to the code. So that's where we're at."
Kathryn Thurston, a zoning administrator with the city of Wilmington, agreed that those are Apkarian's options.
"At some point, we need to differentiate between a concert venue" and other kinds of businesses, Thurston said. "Part of it is that in the past we've had noise complaints from commercial businesses that wanted to do concerts."
Zoning in some parts of the city, she said, like the Cargo District, which is next to a residential area, doesn't allow for temporary stages at all.
Thurston said she has prepared some "code language" that would change the number of permits allowed for a temporary stage in the CBD from two to some other number and passed it on to Christina Haley with Wilmington Downtown, Inc. (WDI), a nonprofit that advocates for downtown businesses.
Apakarian said he has been in discussions with Haley about submitting the code amendment, which would ultimately have to go in front of the city's planning commission for a recommedation that would then be voted on by Wilmington City Council.
Free Concert Friday is one of the last, and most prominent, free concert series downtown.
Last year, Apkarian said he started Free Concert Friday to carry on the tradition of the old Downtown Sundown concert series, which WDI ran from the mid 2000s through 2019.
The series, which brought hundreds or even thousands of people downtown each weekend during the summer months, never returned after the pandemic. Apkarian said Downtown Sundown was good for another bar he owns, The Pour House at Front and Market streets, and for other downtown businesses.
In 2022, the city of Wilmington shut down the proposed Downtown Alive concert series before a note was played, citing complaints from some businesses.
Another downtown concert series, Friday Night Live!, held just off the downtown Riverwalk at The Pier at Port City Marina, announced earlier this year that it would charge a $10 admission fee after being free in the past.
"I totally understand why they had to start charging. These bands cost a lot," Apkarian said. "We're only able to do it for free because of our sponsors."
The adjacent Marina Grill also has the free, weekly Saturday Sunset series featuring local and regional acts next to the Riverwalk.
Apkarian said he's been wrangling with the city over Free Concert Friday since it started last year, so "we knew this was going to be happening" this summer, he said.
Apkarian questioned why The Pier at Port City Marina is considered a permanent stage when it's essentially a covered area that requires much of the same set-up and break-down as the temporary stage at Eagle's Dare.
"Why am I being picked on?" he asked.
Thurston said The Pier at Port City Marina was constructed as a permanent structure with use as a stage in mind, which is why it's not considered temporary.
Want to go?
What: Free Concert Friday
When: 4 p.m. gates, 6 p.m. opener, 8 p.m. headliner.
Where: The Eagle's Dare, Third and Red Cross streets, Wilmington
Details: Free. Food trucks on site. Family-friendly.
SCHEDULE
May 17: Signs of Sacrifice (Creed tribute), opener is Audiomelt
May 24: Signal Fire (reggae), opener is Sound Destroyer
May 31: Same As It Ever Was (Talking Heads tribute), opener is Ditch Kitty
June 7: All My Rowdy Friends (Hank Williams Jr. tribute)
June 14: The Conspiracy ('70s and '80s tribute)
June 21: Angry Chair (Alice In Chains tribute)
June 28: The Phantom Playboys (psychobilly)
July 5: Hey Johnny Park (Foo Fighters tribute)
July 12: Johnny Folsom 4 (Johnny Cash tribute)
July 19: Nashville Nights Band ('90s country tribute)
July 26: Emo Kids
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Eagle's Dare in Wilmington to keep free concerts despite challenges
