Kyle Verner and Gary Pruitt of RE Development Inc. have announced January’s concert schedule at the historic Imogene Theatre in downtown Milton. In October, RE Development recently reached a business agreement with the Santa Rosa Historical Society, the nonprofit organization which owns the ImogeneTheatre, in order to provide a regular entertainment venue in the downtown area.
Each Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening in January will feature live music acts from across the Florida panhandle.
“These are all singers (and) songwriters with a lot of original music,” Verner said. “These are not garage bands. They are really talented acts.”
Pruitt said the lineup will feature a wide variety of music including folk, blues, bluegrass and much more. Verner said the goal of adding a variety of music will help appeal to a wide demographic.
“We are really trying to reach a demographic of 21 to 65 (years old),” Verner said. “We want to have a broad spectrum of original music as well as cover music.”
Prior to reaching the business agreement in October, RE Development had hosted four concerts at the Imogene including the ‘Southern Rock All-Star Revue’ in September and hosting ‘Continuum,’ a Destin-based band which recently recorded an upcoming live album within the theatre during a recent performance.
Both Pruitt and Verner said the concert schedule will bring more people into downtown Milton.
“The Imogene is the hub for entertainment for the area,” Pruitt said. “It will hopefully promote downtown revitalization.”
In addition to bringing in live music, RE Development will continue to accommodate special occasions like weddings or business events. Pruitt and Verner also plan to provide other entertainment outside the realm of live music. Free family-friendly movie nights are currently in the works for the Imogene, Verner said.
Pruitt also anticipates scheduling outdoor as well as indoor events in the near future for the Imogene.
“We will have our festival lineup of events as well, because we got a lot of event space,” Pruitt said.
Though neither representatives from RE Development nor the historical society wished to discuss the terms of the business agreement, they both looked forward to the future of the partnership. Vernon Compton, President of the Santa Rosa Historical Society, said he and the nonprofit’s board are excited to see the downtown’s landmark regularly having its doors open to the community.
“We could not be happier to see the different types of entertainment,” Compton said. “We think this is a very positive thing, a real success.”
Verner is also excited with the new collaboration.
“(The Historical Society has) a similar vision to what we have which is to have the building open. They want the citizens to enjoy it,” he said. “It’s been a great relationship and they have been great to work with. We are looking forward to a long and healthy relationship.”
Headlining act, Chauncey Crandall with Bear With Me will kick off the January Concert series on Saturday, January 2nd. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7p.m. For more information on the upcoming shows and to order tickets online, visit www.theimogenetheatre.com.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: RE Development announces January line up for Imogene Theatre