Musician Frank Turner may be an Englishman, but his current role is allowing him to display his Irish tendencies.

Turner will be the primary opening act for headliners Flogging Molly when they bring their Green 17 tour to the Lifestyles Community Pavilion Thursday at 6 p.m. The tour, now in its sixth year, marks the countdown to St. Patrick’s Day on March 17. Flogging Molly, an Irish-styled punk group, is the annual headliner. The concert sold out when the tour last stopped at the LC in 2007. Turner said that the Irish themes resonated with him.

“I admire the Irish commitment to drinking,” Turner said dryly before continuing in earnest. “Irish music is about getting together and dancing and having a real good time. That’s similar to what we aim to do.”

Turner was raised in Winchester, a city in southern England. He got his start as the vocalist for the London hardcore band Million Dead. After releasing two albums, the band split and Turner was left to decide which direction to take his career. He said that the idea of starting another band was unappealing.

“I didn’t want to be in a band anytime soon because inter-meshing politics in that band were at that time horrendous,” he said. “It was awful.”

Turner began focusing on acoustic music — a dramatic change from his hardcore roots.
“My old band broke up pretty acrimoniously and I felt like I was done with making that kind of music,” he said. “I very quickly felt like I had made the right decision.”

Turner chose folk-style instrumentation for his new project, but he used his punk rock influences to keep the folk aspects from becoming dull. While some of his songs adhere to traditional folk structures and paces, others such as “Try This at Home” follow a much quicker tempo and feature a punk approach to drumming.

The incorporation of acoustic guitars into punk music makes Turner a logical opener for Flogging Molly. Turner said that he hadn’t listened to his tour counterparts much before the series began, but he can spot the resemblances.

“They’re a great, great band and it’d be fair to say we have a lot of influences in common,” he said.

Turner released his first solo album, “Sleep is for The Week,” in 2007 and his second, “Love Ire & Song” in 2008.

Turner gained attention at his performance at Reading and Leeds, a large music festival in England. He was brought on tour in the U.S. and gained the attention of a representative from Epitaph Records while playing a small show in Los Angeles. He signed with the label and released “Poetry of The Deed” last September. Turner has toured with American acts like The Gaslight Anthem and The Offspring before joining up with Flogging Molly. Later this year, he will perform at both the Coachella and Bonnaroo music festivals.

Although Turner wasn’t looking for a lineup set in stone when he set out with his latest idea, he said that he’s happy with the musicians he currently plays with. He said they’ve been tossing around ideas for an official name for the group, but so far only his name has stuck.

“We’ve been trying to find an ‘and’: Frank Turner and the whatever,” he said. “It’s a collection of strong-minded individuals and we haven’t settled on something everyone agrees on.”

Turner also admitted somewhat jokingly that having his name on the band came with its advantages.

“It gives me the best of both worlds,” he said. “I get the camaraderie and I have control of what we’re doing.”

Turner said that he has a list of all the countries and American states that he has performed in, and that despite the previous major tours that he has played on, Thursday’s stop in Columbus will mark his first show in Ohio.

“Ohio’s going to be a new addition to the list and I’m looking forward to coming.”