Concert of the Week

10th Annual Rhythm and Roots Festival
August 31 - September 3
Ninigret State Park, Charlestown, RI

I can barely believe that this festival is ten years old. Though it seems like I've spent a lifetime marking the end of summer at this festival (and the Cajun and Bluegrass Festival from which it grew) in Rhode Island. Last year the stiff winds of a near-miss hurricane had the clouds whirling and the stage canopy swinging, but it never stopped the music or the dancers.

The main stage will be filled with amazing talent including Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Susan Tedeschi, Marty Stuart and the Superlatives, the Red Stick Ramblers, the Pine Leaf Boys, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Donna the Buffalo, Racines, the Creole Cowboys, Ray Bonneville, Paul Cebar and others. And while much of the audience will focus their attention on center stage, the workshop and dance tents will remain crowded. In the workshop tents it will be musical mashups as musicians from various realms join to discuss and play their brand of music. In the dance tents, the early afternoon dance lessons are followed by plentiful opportunity to try out the new dance step. This year, dancing begins at 3 pm and rolls until midnight.