‘Music is what brings us together’: Tiny N.C. island town is becoming a social hub

Manteo on Roanoke Island, about six miles west of the Nags Head oceanfront, will never be labeled as “the city that never sleeps,” but it’s hardly a sleepy little town.

On any given night in the spring, summer and fall, you can find music, trivia, comedy, movies and history/ghost tours along the downtown streets, now officially a “social district.”

The state-approved designation, which was granted in April, allows alcoholic beverages to be consumed outdoors from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in cups provided by bars and restaurants in the district.

“People can now do legally what they were already doing,” said Garrett Cameron, who with his wife Lori Wilkinson owns NouVines on Budleigh Street and was the driving force behind the movement. “It will give us (bar owners) better control over drinking.”

NouVines is one of nine downtown venues offering live entertainment on a regular basis.

The Pioneer Theater in Manteo had closed its doors after operating for more than 100 years — but a group of local investors possibly saved the historic 1932 building from the wrecking ball. (Lori Douglas/For Coast OBX)

The others are Cameron’s neighbors: the Pioneer Theater and Old Tom’s Tavern, as well as Poor Richard’s Sandwich Shop, 1587 Restaurant and Lounge, Dare Arts and Lost Colony Tavern on Queen Elizabeth Avenue, and Ortega’z Southwestern Grill and Wine Bar and the Manteo House on Sir Walter Raleigh Street.

Call it the Outer Banks’ music row.

In addition, Manteo has lively shops, art galleries and eateries.

Special events like Dare Days and First Fridays, as well as celebrations on July 4th and New Year’s Eve take place in the town.

The heart of music row is the Pioneer Theater, which has served as the town’s social hub for 104 years.

It closed at the end of 2022 as one of the longest-running, family-owned (the Creefs of Manteo) movie houses in the country.

But a group of local investors — Michael Basnight, his sister Jamie Hatchell and her husband David Hatchell and David’s brother, Derek Hatchell and his wife Sharon — possibly saved the historic 1934 building from the wrecking ball.

“It’s nostalgia, it’s passion, it’s family, it’s Manteo,” said Basnight, 51, who manages the venue. “Everything about it just felt right.”

Michael Basnight, pictured, along with four family members, purchased the old theater building in Manteo in 2023, saving from a possible wrecking ball. (John Harper/John Harper)

Basnight, who grew up in town and frequented the theater as a kid, returned to the Outer Banks last August after several decades away working in pharmaceutical and medical device sales in Chicago, San Diego and Austin, Texas.

“It was just time to come home,” said Basnight, who also owns the classic 1871 Manteo House where he hosts monthly, intimate acoustic concerts called the “Parlor Room Sessions.”

The Pioneer, which reopens this month, has been remodeled, with the most striking change made to its exterior.

Tudor-style panels on the building, added in the 1980s, were removed, restoring it to 1934 glory: blonde and red brick with the old-school marquee.

The lobby, ticket booth, snack bar (the legendary popcorn like the old days is still available) and bathrooms have been updated.

Other interior changes in the 242-seat venue, which features a large stage, include a state-of-the-art sound system, a “green room” for the performers and a mini-lounge at the rear of the theater.

In a nod to the past, movie posters, videos and other Creef family memorabilia are on display.

Movies, music, plays and comedy shows (Kevin Farley, the brother of the late “Saturday Night Live” cast member Chris Farley performs June 21) are on the summer schedule.

Andy Griffith, who lived on Roanoke Island, was in the theater July 16, 1957, for the opening of his debut film, “A Face in the Crowd.” (Aycock Brown Papers – courtesy of the Outer Banks History Center, State Archives of North Carolina.)

The Pioneer also can be rented for special events like weddings and corporate gatherings.

Outdoors, the theater’s parking lot has been transformed into the “Pioneer Garden,” which features a stage, a bar and a “snack shack,” and is accented by strings of lights.

Movies are shown on the side of the building.

“We’ve kept many of the traditions from the theater,” said Basnight. “Like the Creefs, if you take care of people, they will come.”

All of the entertainment venues are within a stone’s throw of Manteo’s picturesque boardwalk, which wraps around the waterfront downtown district.

Across Shallowbag Bay from the boardwalk is Roanoke Island Festival Park, which features a waterside amphitheater that accommodates several thousand people on its well-manicured lawn.

It’s a short walk over a bridge from downtown to the park.

In recent years, the venue has come alive with concerts by big-name artists like Gov’t Mule, Whiskey Myers, Bruce Hornsby, The Dirty Heads, Stick Figure and Michael Franti and Spearhead.

Darius Rucker, Kenny Chesney and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, among others, have also rocked the lawn.

The summer schedule at the park is packed with concerts by artists from a wide range of genres, including, among others, reggae (Steel Pulse, Rebelution, Dirty Heads), country (Jake Owen), and jamband (Joe Russo’s Almost Dead).

Also on tap is the emo festival called “OBX is for Lovers,” which features eight bands, including Hawthorne Heights, Thrice and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

So, in Manteo, it’s play on, play on.

“Music is what brings us together,” said Cory Hemilright, who owns Bluegrass Island Trading Company, co-owns Old Tom’s Tavern and is the promoter of the Bluegrass Island Festival.

“And downtown Manteo is a perfect place to do that.”

John Harper is a radioman and freelance journalist living in Manteo.