WILLIAMSBURG — A local man has a mission to turn Williamsburg into a music and entertainment scene.
29-year-old Dylan Shinholser has announced two new concert series coming to Williamsburg starting in June.
Shinholser is the owner of Experience Events, an event management and consulting company, and Experience Presents, an independently owned concert and festival production and promotion company that he started earlier this year.
The Bonfire is a “10-plus” show country concert series that will be held at Jamestown Beach Event Park, 2205 Jamestown Rd., from June through November, according to Shinholser.
The concert series will kick off on June 11 with country music artist Rodney Atkins. Country artist Chris Cagle will perform on Aug. 12 for the second Bonfire.
The concerts will include food, beer and, as the name suggests, bonfires.
“It’s as close to a Friday night bonfire with your friends as possible,” Shinholser said.
The Bonfire has been over three years in the making. What was initially planned to be a one-weekend country music festival was set to debut in 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now Shinholser’s one-weekend festival has evolved into a concert series.
Next month, Shinholser will also debut Matoaka LIVE, a summer-long, multi-genre concert series that will be held at Lake Matoaka Amphitheater.
Matoaka LIVE will kick off on June 24 with country music artist Kip Moore.
Born and raised in Williamsburg, Shinholser is passionate about bringing more live entertainment to his hometown.
Along with attracting new people to the city with exciting experiences, Shinholser said that he is bringing these concerts to Williamsburg as a way of “giving back to the city that made me.”
“This only happens with complete community involvement,” he said. “I’ve told people, ‘I’m only going to do this as long as you all want me to do this.'”
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.