St. Simons Island in Summer: The Concerts Are Loud, the Turtle Nests Are Quiet, and Locals Know Why

Every June, the Lighthouse lawn fills up. People carry folding chairs across the grass, unpack coolers, spread blankets close enough to the ocean that you can hear the water between sets. The Coastal Georgia Historical Society has been doing this since 1998 — a summer concert series called A Little Light Music, held right beneath the St. Simons Lighthouse, and it is one of those traditions that belongs entirely to the people who live here.

But walk that same beach at sunrise, before the rest of the island wakes up, and you will notice something the concert crowd never talks about. The sand is mostly empty. Not of people — of tracks. The wide, dragging trails a loggerhead sea turtle leaves when she hauls herself ashore to nest. On St. Simons, you rarely find them. And the reason why is one of the more honest stories the island is currently telling about itself.

A Little Light Music: The 2026 Lineup

The 2026 concert season kicked off May 17 with The Tams, a soul and R&B group that has been filling stages across the Southeast for decades. If you missed it, the next three dates are worth putting on the calendar now.

On June 28, Atlanta duo Little Hopes makes their St. Simons Island debut. Sydney Rhame and Brock Shanks play Americana and country-rock, and the Lighthouse lawn tends to suit that kind of sound better than any indoor room could. Then July 19 brings Her Majesty's Request, also out of Atlanta, known for covering the British Invasion through Brit Pop. The season closes September 6 with the Sensational Sounds of Motown, who have been closing out this series for years and reliably fill every corner of the lawn.

Tickets are $20 for adults; children under 12 get in free, as do members of the Keepers of the Light program. The society asks that you buy in advance through their website since cash is not accepted at the gate. Concerts run 7 to 9 p.m. Bring a picnic. Bring chairs. The lawn faces the ocean and the light from the tower sweeps overhead as the music plays — there is no better summer evening on this island for $20.

If you want more live music before the Little Light series resumes in late June, the Sounds by the Sea concert series at Neptune Park runs from Memorial Day weekend into August. Golden Isles Arts and Humanities has presented that series for more than 25 years; tickets there are $10 for adults.

The Number That Stops You

During the 2025 nesting season, loggerhead sea turtles laid more than 1,700 nests across Georgia's 13 barrier islands. Sea Island and Jekyll Island, just off St. Simons' doorstep, recorded more than 200 nests between them. Tybee Island near Savannah — comparable to St. Simons in terms of how developed and populated it is — counted 15 nests by mid-July.

St. Simons had one.

Catherine Ridley, director of the St. Simons Island Sea Turtle Project, has been documenting this gap for years. Her volunteers — including residents like Rebecca and Doug Kunnemann — walk the St. Simons shore every morning from May through October, looking for the telltale trail a nesting turtle leaves in the sand. Most mornings, they find nothing. The 2025 season, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was already behind the pace of a dismal 2024, when turtles laid just four nests on the entire island.

The explanation is not the crowds, exactly. Jekyll Island draws crowds. Sea Island is surrounded by resort development. What separates St. Simons is its lighting ordinance — or more accurately, how old it is. St. Simons is part of unincorporated Glynn County, which means it operates under county codes rather than a municipal ordinance. The county's beachfront lighting code was last updated in 1984. Ridley has described it as "antiquated to the point of being virtually useless." Tybee, Sea Island, and Jekyll have all revised their lighting regulations in the last decade to incorporate current standards. Glynn County has been working toward an update.

Loggerhead hatchlings navigate by light. When they emerge from the sand at night, they move toward the brightest horizon — which should be the moon reflecting off the ocean. Artificial light from homes, rental properties, and businesses visible from the beach can pull them the wrong direction. The effect compounds: unshielded lights don't just disorient hatchlings, they deter nesting females from coming ashore at all.

If you live on or near the beach, the most direct contribution you can make this season is straightforward: turn exterior lights off after 10 p.m. from May through October. If you walk the beach after dark, use a red-bulb flashlight rather than a standard one or your phone screen. The St. Simons Island Sea Turtle Project accepts volunteers and welcomes people who want to help monitor nests — contact them directly if you want to join the morning patrols.

This is the honest version of summer on St. Simons: a community that knows its own tensions, where the same island drawing people to the concert lawn is also working out what it owes the loggerheads who have been returning to this coast far longer than anyone here has been holding lawn chairs.

Where to Eat After the Concert

Worth noting: several of these are dog-friendly on their patios, which matters if you are bringing your dog to East Beach and need to feed everyone after.

The Rest of the Calendar

Crafts in the Village runs monthly at Postell Park in the Pier Village on weekends through the fall, free to attend, drawing up to 70 artists and makers from across the Southeast. The June market (June 6-7) has just passed; future dates continue through October.

The island's bike network is more useful in summer than most people realize. Paths run along Frederica Road the entire length of the island, through the Pier Village, along the marsh at East Beach, and around the airport. Rentals are available at multiple locations near the beach. In early morning, before the heat settles in, Frederica Road on a bicycle is one of the better arguments for living on this island.

For something quieter, Cannon's Point Preserve at the north end of the island offers trails through maritime forest and marsh with a different pace than the south end's beach and village scene. It is the kind of place that feels like a local secret even though it is not.

And of course, the beach itself is different right now. From May through October, loggerhead sea turtles are nesting and the hatchlings that do emerge are making their way to the water. Even on St. Simons, where nests are rare, the St. Simons Island Sea Turtle Project stakes and marks every one they find. If you see orange stakes and tape on the beach, you are looking at something worth protecting.

Summer on this island has a rhythm that takes a season or two to feel. The concerts start at 7. The turtle volunteers are out before dawn. The line at Three Little Birds moves fast if you know what you want. Bennie's has been doing Thursday fish fries since before most people alive today were born.

If you are thinking about making St. Simons Island home — or you are already here and want to understand the market around you — Ceirra Johnson is here to help. Reach out for a conversation about what owning on this island actually looks like, or to get a free home valuation on a property you already hold.