How will the Rhythm & Roots Festival celebrate its 25th year? Check out their lineup
CHARLESTOWN – One phone call – and ensuing negotiations – saved Rhode Island’s Rhythm & Roots Festival from extinction last year.
Tyler Grill hadn’t ever been to the festival, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year at Ninigret Park, but when a stranger called the Hartford, Connecticut-based promoter about the founder’s announcement that it would not go on, he was intrigued, and not just because his company, GoodWorks Entertainment, works in the same musical genre.
“It’s important to the people to continue an event like this,” he says in a telephone interview. “That’s what we’re all about – community, charity and treating people well. We like creating an intimate, family-focused experience.”
After weeks of discussion, GoodWorks purchased the festival from founder Chuck Wentworth and quickly organized last year’s three-day Labor Day Weekend calendar of music to carry on the tradition. This year’s festival – from Friday, Sept. 1, to Sunday, Sept. 3 – marks the silver anniversary with an intriguing blend of well-known and up-and-coming performers who highlight all aspects of roots music, Grill says.
“Roots music is jazz, blues, soul, folk, bluegrass – everything that all modern genres are based upon,” he says, adding that there’s also a healthy dose of acts paying tribute to the event’s origins as the Cajun & Zydeco Festival.
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While GoodWorks did a little rebranding work on the Rhythm & Roots Festival logo – keeping the iconic chili peppers – anyone who’s attended in the past will find a familiar experience. The layout of the festival in the seaside park is the same, as are the stage and vendor areas. Onsite camping is also still available, and about 2,000 people will spend the weekend on the grounds.
“It’s a very laid-back vibe, with lawn seating at the main stage, and people bringing their own chairs and pop-up tents,” Grill says. “We keep it smaller to give a better experience. We could probably fit 10,000 on the field, and we just have 5,500.”
The performance lineups promise to deliver end-of-summer audio heat. Grill says choosing the bands was a process. He wanted to pay tribute to the Cajun/Zydeco/New Orleans vibe – enter groups like Dumpstaphunk and brass legend Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue – while rewarding loyal attendees with fan-favorites like Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys and Donna the Buffalo. He also believes in bringing new faces to the stage, and this year turned to acts like Greensky Bluegrass, the Infamous Stringdusters and JJ Grey & Mofro.
“We want to keep it fresh, give new groups exposure,” Grill says, noting that more bands are still being signed.
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In addition to music on three stages – one specifically for dancing – the Rhythm & Roots Festival has a curated food selection with everything from fair standards like ice cream and kettle corn to more worldly fare such as crepes, dumplings and Greek delicacies. In a separate area, two dozen crafters set up offerings that range from clothing to art to jewelry.
Daily schedules and tickets for one, two or all three days of the festival are available at rhythmandroots.com.
5 acts not to miss at this year’s Rhythm & Roots Festival
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, funk rock horn sound
Greensky Bluegrass, bluegrass jam band
The Robert Cray Band, blues legend and five-time Grammy winner
Shinyribs, Texas blues and Memphis soul
Tuba Skinny, New Orleans street music, country blues and ragtime
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 2023 Rhythm & Roots Festival will mark 25th anniversary in Charlestown
