Larry & Joe were destined to make music together. Larry Bellorín hails from Monagas, Venezuela and is a legend of Llanera music. Joe Troop is from North Carolina and is a GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass and oldtime musician. Larry was forced into exile and is an asylum seeker in North Carolina. Joe, after a decade in South America, got stranded back in his stomping grounds during the pandemic. Larry works construction to make ends meet. Joe’s GRAMMY-nominated “latingrass” stringband Che Apalache was forced into hiatus, and he shifted into action working with asylum seeking migrants. Currently based in the Triangle of North Carolina, both men are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters on a mission to show that music has no borders.
As a duo they perform a fusion of Venezuelan and Appalachian folk music on harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, guitar, maracas and whatever else they decide to throw in the van. Their concerts feature a distinct blend of their musical inheritances and traditions as well as storytelling about the ways that music and social movements coalesce. Larry has accompanied countless Venezuelan musical luminaries including Cristina Maica, Teo Galindez, and Rumi Olivo. While touring the country as a performer, he and his wife opened Casa Vieja, a school dedicated to teaching Música Llanera. In three years, he taught nearly five hundred students and launched Monagas’ first Musicá Llanera festival.
Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and music educator Harvey Reid has honed his craft since the ’70s in countless clubs, festivals, and concert halls across the nation. He has been called a “giant of the steel strings” and “one of the true treasures of American acoustic music,” and is considered to be one of the modern masters and innovators of the acoustic guitar, autoharp and 6-string banjo. His 32 recordings on the Woodpecker record label showcase his mastery of many instruments and styles of acoustic music, from hip folk to slashing slide guitar blues to bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, ragtime, and even classical. He was inducted in 2023 into the Maine Music Awards Hall of Fame.
Joyce Andersen is a veteran musician who has enjoyed a 25 year career as side-gal, session player, singer-songwriter, and band leader. Andersen’s music has brought her from the coffeehouses of her native New England, national & international touring as a solo artist and also with husband, Harvey Reid, Childsplay, Richard Thompson and a host of other artists. Andersen has made 9 CDs – 5 solo and 4 with husband Harvey Reid.
Growing up, Joe Newberry and April Verch absorbed traditions of home and hearth – in his Missouri Ozarks and her Ottawa Valley of Canada. Although they are on the road much of the year, the two musicians are fond of saying that they are rarely homesick, because their music means they always have a bit of home with them wherever they go.
Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. A longtime guest on A Prairie Home Companion, he was a featured singer on the Transatlantic Sessions 2016 tour of the U.K., and at the Transatlantic Session’s debut at Merlefest in 2017.
April Verch started step dancing at age three and fiddling at age six. In a Newberry & Verch show, delighted audiences see first-hand the roots of their music, their love of performing, and their strong musical connection. Before launching her professional career, Verch was the first woman to win both the Canadian Grand Masters and Canadian Open Fiddling Championships. In 2000, she formed “The April Verch Band,” and together they toured the world. She has released 14 solo recordings to date, receiving JUNO, Canadian Folk Music, and Independent Music nominations and awards for several of those releases.
Whether it is the power of two voices lifted in harmony, or the sound of traditional tunes calling people to get up and move, these two masters of tradition put on an unforgettable show.
This special concert, originally planned for the Summer Solstice Festival, will be a fundraiser for the Jimmy Devine Scholarship Fund. Rhode Island musician, preservation carpenter, and inspiration to countless fiddle students, Jimmy Devine sadly passed on June 7, 2021.
Jimmy was born in New York to Irish parents, and was one of the true lynchpins of the Irish scene in Providence – playing for dances, sessions, house parties, with his band, The Erinoids, and teaching. Our celebration of THE MUSIC OF JIMMY DEVINE will feature two sets by his good friends Mark Roberts, Teddi Scobi, Patrick Hutchinson, Benedict Gagliardi, Armand Aromin, Sarah Blair, Tina Lech, Mance Grady, Bob Drouin, Alan Bradbury, and Jimmy’s daughter Hannah Devine playing music that Jimmy composed as well as some of the tunes he loved to play. They will be joined by step dancer Kevin Doyle.
The Soggy Po Boys, native to New England, are quickly becoming an institution and we are proud to welcome them in for their Blackstone River Theatre debut! Spreading the good news of New Orleans music across the northeast and beyond, the 7-piece band plays concert halls and street corners, music festivals, bars, libraries … wherever the party requires. Part of the beauty of New Orleans music is that it’s celebrated and appreciated wherever it goes, from the street to the theater.
“These guys have done their homework, worked it out on the bandstand and put in the hours in the studio. It all adds up to a party you can bring with you when you want to treat your friends to a real good time.” – Ben Schenck of New Orleans’ Panorama Jazz Band.
The Po Boys formed in 2012 to shake the walls of a local club on a Fat Tuesday but have honed their sound and become more than a Mardi Gras centerpiece. Exploring the vast musical traditions of New Orleans and expanding their repertoire to look beyond NOLA jazz, the band includes traditional Caribbean tunes (it’s been said that New Orleans is the northernmost city in the Caribbean), as well as Meters funk, soul, and brass band / street beat music.
The Soggy Po Boys are: Stu Dias – Vocals / Guitar; Eric Klaxton – Clarinet/Soprano Sax; Josh Gagnon – Trombone; Nick Mainella – Tenor Sax; Mike Effenberger – Piano; Brian Waterhouse – Drums; and Scott Kiefner – Bass.
A Blackstone River Theatre favorite, multistyle violinist and champion fiddler Mari Black delights audiences around the world with her energetic playing, sparkling stage presence, and dazzlingly virtuosic fiddling.
Raised on a rich blend of traditional musical styles, Mari burst onto the international stage when she became Scotland’s Glenfiddich Fiddle Champion, 2-time U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, and 2-time Canadian Maritime Fiddle Champion, all within a three-year period. Ever since then, she has been spreading her love for dance-based music, performing as a featured artist at performing arts centers, Celtic festivals, Scottish Highland Games, celebrated folk venues, world music concert series, and acclaimed classical venues including Carnegie Hall.
Currently touring nationally with her trio, Mari’s favorite thing to do is sweep audiences away on a spirited musical adventure featuring dance music from around the globe – Celtic, American, and Canadian fiddling, jazz, tango, klezmer, folk, original works, and more.
Admission to this hour-long CD release includes a reception after the show and a free copy of the new CD!
Ed Sweeney honors people and their histories by presenting music that entertains and educates. Through his musical expertise, breadth of knowledge, and wonderful sense of humor, he helps listeners understand the motivations, stories, and culture that have made us who and what we are today. Ed performs a wide-ranging repertoire on 6- and 12-string guitar, 5-string banjo, and fretless banjo. “A Sunday Drive,” which will be released today, is Ed’s ninth recording and takes inspiration from long car rides listening to a eclectic variety of music over the car radio and meeting people as you travel away from home.
He will be joined by Cathy Clasper-Torch, one of the best known multi-instrumentalists and singers in Southern New England. Cathy is adept with various musical styles including classical, jazz and folk and she is in constant demand to perform or record on fiddle, cello, piano and ehru.
Ed’s music reaches a truly diverse audience through NPR or on the hundreds of radio stations and on-line networks around the world. His music is included in documentaries by Ken Burns and Christian De Renzendes, as well as television soundtracks and is currently played in Disneyland, Disneyland Paris & Disneyland Tokyo. Sweeney also teaches 5-string banjo and guitar at Blackstone River Theatre while Cathy has taught group fiddle classes at Blackstone River Theatre for 14 years.
Playing in their only New England gig this tour! The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling” and brilliant Californian cellist Natalie Haas spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 20 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music. They continue to thrill audiences with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.
Fraser has a concert and recording career spanning over 30 years, with a long list of awards and feature performances on top movie soundtracks (Last of the Mohicans, Titanic, etc.). In 2011, he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. Haas, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, is one of the most sought after cellists in traditional music today. This seemingly unlikely pairing of fiddle and cello is the fulfillment of a long-standing musical dream for Fraser. His search eventually led him to find a cellist who could help return the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music, where it stood for hundreds of years before being relegated to the orchestra.
The duo’s debut recording, “Fire & Grace,” won the coveted the Scots Trad Music “Album of the Year” award, the Scottish equivalent of a Grammy. Since its release, the two have gone on to record five more critically acclaimed albums that blend a profound understanding of the Scottish tradition with cutting-edge string explorations. Not to be missed!
Niamh Parsons has come to be known as one of the most distinctive voices in Irish music. Her voice has drawn comparisons to such venerated singers as Dolores Keane, June Tabor, and Sandy Denny. Described in the Boston Herald as both emotionally haunting and tonally as clear as crystal, Niamh’s albums have been ‘must-have’ collector’s items for any lover of songs and singing. With 9 Albums to her name, Niamh has gathered a body of songs from many sources, both traditional and modern songwriters. Once she discovers a song she likes, Niamh views herself as the vehicle for the music. “For me the song is more important than listening to my voice, … I consider myself more a songstress than a singer – a carrier of tradition.” Throughout her career, Niamh has performed with a wide variety of artists, and has appeared at nearly every prestigious folk festival on either side of the Atlantic.
Guitarist Graham Dunne began working with Séan Tyrrell back in 1998, before embarking on a career as the main accompanist to Niamh in 1999. Through playing with Niamh, he has played and toured with the likes of Andy Irvine, Liz Carroll, Paddy Keenan, and Dennis Cahill amongst others.
Niamh will offer a SONG WORKSHOP from 3-4 p.m. for $20. Attendance limited to 15. Attendees will be guided through Niamh’s extensive song repertoire and learn where to source songs and how best to perform them in any situation. Email [email protected]
Having emerged from a subterranean honky-tonk venue, Superchief Trio has continued the tradition of good-time music and barrelhouse hijinks. In 2008, Superchief Trio grew to five members adding guitarist Tom Ferraro and bassist/vocalist Steve Bigelow. Playing bass tonight will be celebrated R.I. jazz bassist Joe Potenza. Tom has been a staple in many RI bands, including The High Rollers & Stormin’ Norman & The Hurricanes.
With the addition of these great players and the original lineup featuring Keith Munslow on piano and vocals, Pam Murray on vocals and trombone, and drummer John Cote, the band finds itself careening down new musical highways and back roads, amassing an ever-expanding repertoire of tasty original songs and cool cover tunes. In more ways than one, Superchief Trio has truly become the largest trio in Rhode Island … and beyond!