The Embers at Blackmon Amphitheatre: A Perfect Wine Country Evening in Yadkin Valley

If you love beach music and good wine, June 18th is worth clearing your calendar. As listed on Eventbrite, The Embers featuring Craig Woolard are playing live at the Blackmon Amphitheatre on Thursday, June 18, 2026, as part of the Surry Arts Council's Summer Concert Series. I've been looking for a reason to write about this one, because the combination of where this show is and what's nearby makes it a genuinely great excuse to spend a full evening out here in the valley.

Beach Music Meets Wine Country

The Embers have been Carolina beach music royalty for decades. Craig Woolard's vocals are the kind that make a crowd move without even thinking about it, and an outdoor amphitheatre on a warm June night is about as good a setting as you can ask for. The Blackmon Amphitheatre is intimate enough that it actually feels like a concert, not a stadium event.

What I want people to notice is where this show sits geographically. You're in the middle of Yadkin Valley wine country. That changes what kind of evening this can be.

Start at Surry Cellars Before the Show

Before you head to the amphitheatre, I'd point you toward Surry Cellars in Dobson. It's one of the more interesting stops in the region and genuinely unlike anything else out here. The winery sits on the campus of Surry Community College, and the wines are made by viticulture students as part of their hands-on training. That's not a gimmick. It's a real working program and the wines reflect it.

They produce both traditional vinifera wines and fruit wines. Their Seyval Blanc is crisp and food-friendly, the kind of bottle that works well on a warm afternoon before a show. The Muscadine wines are worth trying if you want to understand North Carolina's native grape heritage and what it actually tastes like. Plan to spend an hour or two here, bring a blanket, pick up some local cheese, and let the evening start slowly.

One thing I appreciate about Surry Cellars: it's a comfortable place for people who are new to wine. Nobody is going to talk down to you. The whole setup invites questions.

What to Know About the Concert

The Summer Concert Series at Blackmon Amphitheatre draws a good crowd. Multigenerational, relaxed, the kind of people who show up in lawn chairs and know every word to songs they haven't heard in years. The Embers have that effect. Beach music has a way of erasing the gap between who you were at 25 and who you are now.

Bring lawn chairs or blankets. June evenings in the Piedmont can be warm early and comfortable late, so dress accordingly. Check the Eventbrite listing for current ticket prices, start times, and any event updates before you go.

More Reason to Make a Day of It

This show is a good anchor for a longer day out here. The Yadkin Valley stretches from the hills around Mount Airy south through Elkin and beyond, with more than 40 wineries across the region. June is one of my favorite times to visit. The vines are in full leaf, the evenings are long, and a lot of wineries are running extended summer hours and hosting their own events.

If you've never done a proper wine trail day and capped it with live music, this is the template. Pick one or two wineries in the afternoon, take your time, then land at the amphitheatre with a good evening already behind you.

Explore More of Yadkin Valley Wine Country

A Thursday show pairs well with a long weekend, and the lodging guide covers the right options near Dobson. The reservation guide is the right read for which tasting rooms to call ahead for, and the Charlotte day-trip guide maps a workable route if you're driving up from the south.

Use the ValleySomm trip planner to build a full day or weekend around the event.

Plan Your Evening

If you want help putting the route together, head to ValleySomm's trip planner. Tell me what you're working with and I'll help you build an afternoon that flows into the show without any scrambling. That's exactly what I built this for.