MIDDLEBORO — The first concert of the 19th annual Middleboro Summer Concert Series kicked off Thursday, July 3.

The annual Middleboro Summer Concert Series takes place on the Town Hall lawn and will feature eight free concerts this year. The first artist of the summer, Billy Mulligan, played for about two hours during the first set of the summer at the Town Hall lawn on Thursday, July 3.

“It's a good feeling that you can just come and sit outside safely in your community and listen to some great talent,” said Middleboro resident Heidi Michaelis, who attended the concert. “We went to these [concerts] last year, and we were excited to see they were starting on July 3 this year — and it is a beautiful night.”

The Middleboro Friends, a community support group, organizes the free concert series every year to bring no-cost, live music to the Middleboro community.

Organizers said the funds from their concessions sales are used for sponsorships and scholarships. They award Middleboro area students and groups including the Burt Wood School of Performing Arts and Borobot, a nonprofit makerspace and STEM learning center.

The artists that play at the series donate their time and talent to the crowds that gather on the Town Hall lawn in the summer months.

MiMi Duphily, president of the Middleboro Friends, said their group of volunteers is a small one — around 10 members organize and set up the concert and coordinate the funding support that comes with it.

She said the summer concerts usually bring in about $1,000 to be used for donations and scholarships in the community.

“Music is alive. Music brings emotion to you. It can make you feel happy. It brings emotions out of you. Music is wonderful, but also, it's for people to come and get together,” Duphily said. “It's just wonderful, I love it. Most of the concerts around here charge, so this is no strain on the family.”

On Thursday, Billy Mulligan delivered a set full of folk and country classics, including songs from Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, the one man show kept the crowd’s eyes on the stage and ears peeled.

“It's wonderful. It's just Americana. It's nice in these troubled times, that people can still come out and be together in the community and hope for better days,” said Charlie Lovett, an Abington resident whose family invited him to Middleboro for the concert.

As the sun began to set behind the Middleboro Town Hall, Billy Mulligan’s voice echoed through the quiet streets of the downtown area on Thursday evening.

“It’s a great way to escape from everything happening in the world,” said Peg Holzemer, a longtime Middleboro resident who had a front row seat in her lawn chair. “There's a good breeze, good music and the price is right. It’s nice to just show up and enjoy.”

The rest of this year's lineup includes Otto’s Underground on July 10, Grooveline on July 17, Shed Inspectors on July 24, Wiley Brothers on July 31, Electric Junkyard on Aug. 7, Speakeasies on Aug. 14, and Dennis Dennis and Friends on Aug. 21.