Call in your reservations for our May 5 show with The Atwater~Donnelly Trio to 401-725-9272.
BRT favorites Aubrey Atwater and Elwood Donnelly return with Cathy Clasper-Torch on fiddle, cello and vocals to present an engaging concert of traditional American and Celtic American folk songs, a cappella pieces, hymns, poetry, dance tunes, and original works. Elwood and Aubrey blend unusual harmonies and play guitar, Appalachian mountain dulcimer, Irish tin whistle, harmonica, old-time banjo, bones, limberjacks and other musical surprises. Their performance is appealing to all ages, and with humor, audience participation and a highly-relaxed stage presence, Aubrey and Elwood also explain song origins to give more relevance to the material. Atwater-Donnelly performs widely in the Northeast and other parts of the United States and Great Britain and their recordings receive international airplay. They have performed and researched folk music extensively in New England, Ireland, England, Prince Edward Island, the Ozarks, and Appalachia. Clasper-Torch performs with The Gnomes and is also the fiddle instructor at Blackstone River Theatre.
*All ticket prices include a $1.00 per ticket restoration charge
This will be BRT’s 3rd collaboration with Janita Ducharme, Director of Choirs at Cumberland High School as Blackstone River Theatre hosts a quarterly Coffeehouse Showcase of CHS students as we outreach into our local community. Tri-M is a national music honor society through the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME). Performers are members of the CHS chapter, grades 9-12. All the performances will be music that is learned outside of the school day. Tri-M offers two scholarships per year that are awarded to graduating members of Tri-M. Free event – but donations will be gladly accepted to help raise funds for the Tri-M scholarship!
Call in your reservations for our Jan. 27 show with Donal Clancy to 401-725-9272.
Innovation combined with tradition – that’s a hallmark of Clancy family musicians, and it’s one that guitarist Dónal Clancy is carrying forward into the 21st century. The acoustic guitar adds many colors and textures to Irish music, but there’s no long history of it in Celtic tradition, as there is with the fiddle and the accordion. Dónal is one who’s bringing the guitar forward to its rightful place as a strong part of Irish tradition. He has been involved with the best bands in Irish music, starting out in Clancy, O’Connell, and Clancy with his father Liam and his cousin Robbie O’Connell, helping to found the band Danu, and then moving on to become part of Eileen Ivers Band before playing guitar with one of the hottest Irish bands ever, Solas. When it was time to make a change, he found his old band Danu in need of a guitarist again, and that’s still one of his main gigs when he is not performing solo. Dónal’s latest album “On the Lonesome Plain” features a mix of seven vocal tracks and six guitar instrumentals.
*All ticket prices include a $1.00 per ticket restoration charge
Call in your reservation for our Feb. 10 show with the Walsh-Woodsmith Quartet to 401-725-9272.
Hailed by David Grisman as a “wonderful mandolin player,” and by Vintage Guitar Magazine as “brilliant,” Boston-based mandolin player Joe K. Walsh is known for his exceptional tone and taste, and his collaborations with acoustic music luminaries including fiddler Darol Anger, banjo star Danny Barnes, guitar hero Scott Nygaard, and folk star Jonathan Edwards. After a number of award-winning years as mandolinist with bluegrass stars the Gibson Brothers, Joe currently splits his time between an inventive string band called Mr Sun, a duo with Grant Gordy, and his own band. An avid educator, Joe is a mandolin professor at the Berklee College of Music and teaches regularly at music camps throughout North America and beyond. Celia Woodsmith is a Grammy-nominated performer and songwriter from Maine. Lead singer of the highly-acclaimed bluegrass ensemble Della Mae, she has toured extensively all over the world, opening for and playing with artists such as Taj Mahal, Peter Rowan and Amy Black of the Indigo Girls. Bobby Britt is a fantastic bluegrass and old-time fiddler from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, currently playing fiddle in the young, hard-driving bluegrass band Town Mountain, which won an International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum award. Zoe Guigueno is a bass player and singer based out of New York City. She is a member of Grammy-nominated Americana band Della Mae, an alumnus of string band Joy Kills Sorrow, and a regular in the New York klezmer scene.
*All ticket prices include a $1.00 per ticket restoration charge
Call in your reservations for our March 10 show with Karan Casey to 401-725-9272.
Irish vocalist Karan Casey was a founding member of traditional supergroup Solas, a band known for rousing tunes and striking renditions of traditional songs. Since Solas, Casey has carved out a unique and acclaimed place in contemporary Irish and folk music. Karan has recorded six solo albums, has won Best Irish Female Vocalist twice, Best Irish Folk album and a Grammy for her collaboration with Paul Winter. She has been nominated for the BBC Folk Awards and has performed with Peggy Seeger, Liam Clancy, James Taylor, and Tim O’Brien. USA Today has called her work “shiver-inducingly excellent.” She’ll be joined tonight by guitarist Matt Heaton and bassist Corey DiMario. The Boston Globe says, “Casey’s voice is among the loveliest in folk music and she’s a wonderful interpreter of both contemporary and traditional material.”
*All ticket prices include a $1.00 per ticket restoration charge
Join psychic medium Stephanie Burke and motivational speaker Dustin Pari for a unique and unforgettable celebration!
Call in your reservations for our April 22 show with Sultans of String to 401-725-9272.
3-time JUNO (Canada’s Grammy) nominees Sultans of String are an energetic and exciting band thrilling audiences with their genre-hopping mix of Celtic reels, Flamenco, Gypsy-jazz, Arabic, and Cuban rhythms as fiery violin dances with kinetic guitar while funky bass lays down unstoppable grooves. Throughout, acoustic strings meet electronic wizardry to create layers and depth of sound. Celebrating 10 years together, Sultans of String have hit #1 across Canada on Top 10 national radio charts, #6 on Billboard (world), and received multiple awards and accolades, including three Canadian Folk Music Awards, plus invitations to perform/ record with such luminaries as The Chieftains, Sweet Honey In The Rock, and David Bromberg. Sultans of String is led by violinist Chris McKhool who was raised in a Lebanese-Egyptian household bursting with music and diversity. When he first heard founding guitarist Kevin Laliberté’s rumba rhythm, their musical synergy created Sultans of String’s signature sound – the intimate and playful relationship between violin and guitar. From this rich foundation, the duo grew as they added in-the-pocket bass master Drew Birston. The group has performed live on BBC TV, BBC Radio, and the internationally syndicated shows WoodSongs, World Cafe, and on SiriusXM in Washington. Don’t miss their Rhode Island debut!
*All ticket prices include a $1.00 per ticket restoration charge
Call in your reservations for our April 21 show with Frigg to 401-725-9272.
Frigg has been conquering the world with a fusion of western folk music styles, leaning strongly towards Nordic folk music, for which the world music media has coined the term “nordgrass” referring to the bluegrass influences of the group. The tight interplay of four violins, string instruments and contrabass, fine-tuned to perfection and spiced with sparkling, humorous live energy has made an impact on listeners all over the world. Apart from relentless touring in Europe, Frigg has done seven North American tours, including a long list of prominent festivals. Frigg has released eight albums. “Polka V,” from 2012, was chosen the folk music record of the year and was nominated for a Teosto Prize in Finland. The world music publication Songlines has singled out two of the group’s albums for its “Top of the World” chart. In 2017, the eighth album by Frigg, “Frost on Fiddles,” was released. The originally Finnish-Norwegian group has now become wholly Finnish, but Nordic influences remain strong. The delicate and beautiful Scandinavian language has been dipped in BBQ sauce and it is being served fresh with pálinka, to be enjoyed in good company!
*All ticket prices include a $1.00 per ticket restoration charge
Call in your reservations for our March 8, 2020 show with Matthew Byrne to 401-725-9272.
Storytelling through song is a fundamental duty of traditional music and Matthew Byrne does this brilliantly with his latest recording, “Horizon Lines.” Byrne was born into a family of Newfoundland music makers and this newest collection of traditional material explores a unique repertoire of songs from both sides of the Atlantic continuing Byrne’s journey through his musical lineage. This tradition thrives on the song – the weaving of a great story with a beautiful melody – and Byrne’s music reminds us how satisfying traditional songs can be when stripped down to these basic elements. Since bursting on to the trad scene in 2010 with his debut recording, “Ballads,” Matthew has swiftly earned his place as one of Canada’s most authentic and vital traditional voices backed by his masterful guitar playing. Byrne’s second solo CD “Hearts & Heroes” won “Traditional Album of the Year” at the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards. “Horizon Lines” – a collection of traditional material from both sides of the Atlantic that continues Byrne’s journey through his own unique musical lineage, won Traditional Recording of the Year at the 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards. Having received this distinction for a second time, Matthew Byrne continues to establish himself as one of today’s most authentic and vital traditional voices.
*All ticket prices include a $1.00 per ticket restoration charge
Call in your reservations for our April 7 show with The Gothard Sisters to 401-725-9272.
The Gothard Sisters are a dynamic group of three sisters, whose impressive array of talents have set them apart as one of the most refreshing and compelling acts in Celtic music today. The sisters’ theatrical flair brings a youthful splash to the time-honored tradition of Celtic folk music, bridging the gap between modern pop and Folk-Rock with an upbeat style that has been described as “beautifully-arranged Celtic Folk-Pop.” When sisters Greta Gothard, Willow Gothard, and Solana Gothard fuse their musical talents together, the result is an irresistible mix of spritely violin and fiddle tones, pure sibling vocal harmonies, mandolin and pennywhistle accents, all supported by the exuberant rhythms of the Irish bodhran, African djembe, and acoustic guitar. They won many fans at our Summer Solstice Festival two years ago and we are thrilled to finally have them play at Blackstone River Theatre itself! After ten years of playing together and a lifetime of getting to know one another, The Gothard Sisters’ eclectic style has truly evolved into a jubilant live performance, full of entertaining sibling-banter, Irish step-dancing, foot-stomping tunes, lyrical melodies, storytelling, and a genuine lightness of heart that leaves audiences feeling refreshed and inspired.
*All ticket prices include a $1.00 per ticket restoration charge