Turner excited to perform here for Boxelder Bug Days

Even though she grew up in South Dakota, Abby Turner recalls coming to Boxelder Bug Days as a small child. Now the talented musician will be returning to perform on stage this fall.
"I would come to Bug Days festival with my family when I was very, very young, and I had really wonderful memories of dancing at the street dance and playing on the inflatables with my brothers."
The Turner family would stay in Minneota with Jeff and Dawn Van Keulen, the latter who is a good friend of Abby's mother, Michelle.
Abby, who has lived in Miller, SD since she was one (she was born in Fort Riley, KS) is currently a senior at South Dakota State University, majoring in Music Education with a minor in Theatre."I've really gotten to explore my passion for musical theatre during my time at SDSU, as well as during my two years with Prairie Repertory Theatre in Brookings," Abby said. "Some of my favorite roles have been Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors", Margaret White in "Carrie: The Musical", and Ariel Moore in this summer's PRT production of "Footloose."
Abby will be performing two two-hour sets over the Bug Days weekend.
"I love playing any music from any genre," she said, "but my most frequented are definitely pop, soft singer-songwriter, alternative rock, and little bit of country. I've only really performed acoustic gigs accompanied by my dad, Jerry Turner, so it's been exciting to prepare for what will be my first truly solo performance."
She envisions one day having a little company on stage with here.
"Once I'm able to work it into the budget, I'll have a full band and backup singers," she said. "Ooh, and pyrotechnics."
Abby will also be playing the guitar and ukulele on stage during her performances.
"I have been playing ukulele since my freshman year of high school (2015) when I found an old, perpetually-out-of-tune ukulele in our high school theater props storage and learning chords on it as a joke," she explained. "I got a real one a few months later since I loved playing it so much. I've only been playing guitar since the summer of 2020, which was mostly inspired by my dad, who has been a musician nearly his whole life."
She is self-taught on both instruments, learning by looking up tans and chord charts online.
Abby is looking forward to returning to Minneota for the town's annual festival.
"Playing at Bug Days means a lot to me," she said. "Not only am I coming back and performing for an event I love, but I am also so grateful for the opportunity to make live music after a period when we weren't sure when we'd be able to again. I can't wait."
Kayla Daniels, Ali Gray and Avenger Joe, who have all been here to perform in the past, will be on stage again this year to entertain.