For North Myrtle Beach residents, the surest sign that summer has arrived isn’t the calendar — it’s the sound of a horn section warming up at the Horseshoe. On Thursday, June 4, the city’s beloved Music on Main concert series kicks off another season, and this year the honor of opening night goes to The Tonez, a high-energy beach music outfit with deep Grand Strand roots. Here’s what locals can expect from the night, the band, and the season ahead.

A North Myrtle Beach Summer Ritual

Music on Main is the City of North Myrtle Beach’s free Thursday-evening concert series, staged at the Horseshoe, the public beach access at 11 S. Ocean Boulevard where Main Street meets the sand [My CCNB, 2025]. The format is simple and has barely changed in years: bring a beach chair or blanket, claim a spot, and dance in the street while a different band takes the stage each week. The 2026 run stretches from June 4 through September 24, with music every Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and no admission charge [Condo-World, 2026].

Part of what makes the series feel like home is its variety. Across a summer, the lineup moves through beach music, R&B, rock, country, and Motown, so there’s something for nearly every taste [City of North Myrtle Beach, 2026]. The series also carries genuine civic weight — it’s sponsored by Coastal Carolina National Bank and run by the city’s special events office. As Angel Sylvester, the city’s Special Events Manager, put it last season, the concerts are a signature event that brings the community together, with nothing better than live music by the beach and dancing in the street with friends and family [Grand Strand Magazine, 2025]. With that backdrop set, the question for opening night becomes: who exactly are The Tonez?

Meet The Tonez

The Tonez are no strangers to this stage — they’ve appeared in past Music on Main seasons, including 2021, 2023, and 2025, so for many locals the band is a familiar face rather than a fresh introduction [Explore NMB, 2023; Visit Myrtle Beach, 2025]. What sets them apart is sheer firepower on stage. The group is built around a powerful horn section and a rotating cast of lead vocalists, an arrangement that lets them swing between styles and decades without missing a beat [Rocking the Beach]. That depth of personnel is unusual for a regional band and is a big reason the live show stays so dynamic.

Their credentials in the Carolina beach music world are real, not just promotional. The band took home a Rising Star Award in 2020, has earned multiple Carolina Beach Music Awards nominations, and was honored again among the 2025 award winners [The Tonez, 2026]. They’re closely tied to the Carolina Beach Music Association, the regional organization that hands out those annual “Cammy” awards each November in North Myrtle Beach — fitting, given that the city bills itself as the birthplace of Carolina beach music [The Tonez, 2026; Stay Myrtle Beach]. So what will all that talent actually sound like on June 4?

What You’ll Hear

If you’ve never caught The Tonez before, expect a wide musical net rather than a single genre. The band specializes in a blend of beach music threaded through with oldies, Motown, rock and roll, country, funk, and R&B [Rocking the Beach]. In practice, that means the setlist tends to bounce from a shaggable beach groove to a horn-driven soul number to a familiar rock or country singalong, all designed to keep the Horseshoe dancing for the full two hours. With several vocalists trading the microphone, the show shifts texture often, which keeps the energy high and the crowd on its feet. For an opening-night audience that ranges from longtime shaggers to families with kids, it’s a deliberately crowd-pleasing mix — and a strong tone-setter for the summer to come. Of course, enjoying it fully means planning around a few practical details.

Knowing Before You Go

Because Music on Main shuts down part of downtown, a little preparation saves headaches. For the June 4 kickoff, the Horseshoe parking lot closes at 2 p.m. for concert setup, and chairs aren’t permitted in the Horseshoe before 3 p.m. [City of North Myrtle Beach, 2026]. Main Street from Ocean Boulevard to McMillan Real Estate closes to traffic at 4:30 p.m., and Ocean Boulevard from 1st Avenue North to 1st Avenue South closes at 5 p.m. [City of North Myrtle Beach, 2026]. Good news for locals who’d rather not fight for a car space: designated golf cart parking opens along Main Street at 5 p.m., though spaces are limited [City of North Myrtle Beach, 2026]. With the roads closed but the shops and restaurants open, it’s easy to grab dinner downtown before the music starts.

Conclusion

Music on Main endures because it asks so little and gives so much — a free chair-and-blanket evening at the beach that doubles as the unofficial heartbeat of a North Myrtle Beach summer. Opening with a seasoned, award-winning local band like The Tonez signals the city means to start strong, and with a lineup that rolls on every Thursday into late September, residents have a standing invitation to come dance in the street all summer long.

Further Reading

• City of North Myrtle Beach — Music on Main Concert Series: https://www.nmb.us/385/Music-on-Main-Concert-Series
• Explore North Myrtle Beach — Music on Main: https://www.explorenorthmyrtlebeach.com/events/concerts-and-live-music/music-on-main/
• Coastal Carolina National Bank — Music on Main Street sponsorship: https://www.myccnb.com/ccnb-music-main-street/
• Grand Strand Magazine — Music on Main!: https://grandstrandmag.com/feature/music_on_main
• Condo-World — Music on Main Concert Series 2026: https://blog.condo-world.com/music-on-main-concert-series/
• The Tonez — official band site: https://thetonez.com/
• Rocking the Beach — The Tonez: https://www.rockingthebeach.com/the-tonez/
• Visit Myrtle Beach — Music on Main 2025 schedule: https://www.visitmyrtlebeach.com/events-calendar/music-on-main-2025