NIAMH PARSONS and GRAHAM DUNNE

You can call in your reservations for our October 7, 8:00 p.m. concert with Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne to 401-725-9272 or BUY TICKETS ONLINE VIA SQUARE. Ticket pricing includes all service fees.

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 brt@riverfolk.org

ALASDAIR FRASER and NATALIE HAAS

You can call in your reservations for our October 14, 7:00 p.m. concert with Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas to 401-725-9272 or BUY TICKETS ONLINE VIA SQUARE. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. 

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!

ED SWEENEY with CATHY CLASPER-TORCH: CD release!

You can call in your reservations for our October 15, 3-4:00 p.m. CD release with Ed Sweeney and Cathy Clasper-Torch to 401-725-9272 or BUY TICKETS ONLINE VIA SQUARE. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. 

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.

MARI BLACK TRIO

You can call in your reservations for our October 21, 7:00 p.m. concert with the Mari Black Trio to 401-725-9272 or BUY TICKETS ONLINE VIA SQUARE. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. 

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.

SOGGY PO BOYS

You can call in your reservations for our October 22, 3:00 p.m. concert with the Soggy Po Boys to 401-725-9272 or BUY TICKETS ONLINE VIA SQUARE. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. 

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.

THE MUSIC OF JIMMY DEVINE

You can call in your reservations for our October 28, 3:00 p.m. matinee concert celebrating the Music of Jimmy Devine to 401-725-9272 or BUY TICKETS ONLINE VIA SQUARE. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. 

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.

NEWBERRY & VERCH

You can call in your reservations for our October 29, 3:00 p.m. matinee concert featuring April Verch and Joe Newberry to 401-725-9272 or BUY TICKETS ONLINE VIA SQUARE. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. 

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. 

HARVEY REID and JOYCE ANDERSEN

You will NOT be able to purchase tickets by credit card for the Fall/Winter season until Sept. 7th. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. You CAN call in your reservations for our November 4, 3:00 p.m. matinee concert featuring Harvey Reid and Joyce Andersen to 401-725-9272.

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. 

PATRICK BALL – Celtic Harp & Story

You will NOT be able to purchase tickets by credit card for the Fall/Winter season until Sept. 7th. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. You CAN call in your reservations for our November 11, 3:00 p.m. concert with Patrick Ball to 401-725-9272.

Patrick Ball is one of the premier Celtic harp players in the world as well as a captivating storyteller. In playing the legendary brass-strung harp of Ireland with its crystalline sound, and in performing tales of wit and enchantment, Ball not only brings new life to two cherished traditions, but blends them to create a richly theatrical and hauntingly beautiful performance. Patrick now lives in County Clare, Ireland with his wife and dogs. He continues to tour extensively throughout the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Canada and he has recorded nine instrumental and five spoken word albums which have sold well over one-half million copies collectively and earned national awards in both the music and spoken word categories. In "Celtic Harp & Story" Patrick Ball rekindles the fire and wonder of an evening of Irish storytelling. And as always, amidst the storytelling, there will be music. Jigs, reels and haunting airs grace the spaces between the tales. And first among Irish instruments, and the most honored, was the legendary Celtic harp designed to soothe its listeners and lead them deeper into the realms of the imagination.

LARRY & JOE

You will NOT be able to purchase tickets by credit card for the Fall/Winter season until Sept. 7th. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. You CAN call in your reservations for our November 12, 3:00 p.m. matinee concert featuring Larry & Joe to 401-725-9272.

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. 

DAMN TALL BUILDINGS

You will NOT be able to purchase tickets by credit card for the Fall/Winter season until Sept. 7th. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. You CAN call in your reservations for our November 18, 7:00 p.m. concert with Damn Tall Buildings to 401-725-9272.

In their early days as students at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Damn Tall Buildings didn’t rehearse – they busked. Now, whether live or on record, the trio still radiates the energy of a crew of best friends playing bluegrass on the street. Anchoring that energy is their instrumental chops, their strong songwriting, and their varied influences that stretch beyond bluegrass, even beyond American roots music altogether. Whether sharing lead vocals and instrumental solos or blending their voices into high-spirited harmony, Damn Tall Buildings is a tight unit that contains more than the sum of its parts. Primary vocalist and lyricist Max Capistran’s singing recalls old blues and The Band-style roots-rock, whereas Sasha Dubyk’s time studying musical theater is evident in her rich vocal tone and soulful flair. Avery Ballotta’s fiddle brings stratospheric dimension to the churning rhythm section of Capistran’s guitar and Dubyk’s bass. The band’s harmony singing is tight without being too slick – they sound like three individual voices joined together in celebration, not a perfectly polished machine. The band has  relocated to Brooklyn, NY and tour widely, appearing at festivals like Grey Fox, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Freshgrass, Blissfest and Merlefest. “Bluegrass at heart, but pulling from a wide range of influences including swing, ragtime, jazz, and even a hint of contemporary perspective in the songwriting, they offer virtually unmatched energy and enthusiasm, underpinned by intelligent songs that don’t skimp on the infectiousness…” – Savingcountrymusic.com . Don't miss their Blackstone River Theatre debut!

JAMES KEELAGHAN

You will NOT be able to purchase tickets by credit card for the Fall/Winter season until Sept. 7th. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. You CAN call in your reservations for our November 19, 3 p.m. matinee with James Keelaghan to 401-725-9272.

Dave Marsh, the award-winning American music critic and historian not so long ago stated that James Keelaghan is “Canada’s finest songwriter,” and those few but powerful words of praise say it all about an artist who continues to set the bar at a lofty height. As the calendar pages have turned, for almost 25 years now, this poet laureate of the folk and roots music world has gone about his work with a combination of passion, intent and intensity, and curiosity. His recent album, “Second Hand” was named in the Top 10 Folk Charts of 2022. Admiration and respect for his work amongst his peers is best summed up by David Francey who recently stated that, “James Keelaghan is a voice in contemporary Canadian songwriting that has helped us define who we are as a people. He writes with great humanity and honesty, with an eye to the past and a vision of the future. He has chronicled his times with powerful and abiding songs, with heart and eyes wide open.” Don’t miss this JUNO and CFMA award winning singer-songwriter returning to Blackstone River Theatre for the first time in more than 10 years!

BRT HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR AND FESTIVAL

You are invited to Blackstone River Theatre's 15th annual Holiday Craft Fair and Festival which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is FREE!

Please come out and support future Blackstone River Theatre programming as well as area craft vendors and home-based businesses while you do your holiday shopping locally! We will have 25 vendors on site between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and the event will also feature continuous live music with Bob Drouin, Josh Kane, Ed Sweeney, Dean Robinson, Cathy Clasper-Torch, Atwater~Donnelly, The Vox Hunters, and The Broad Street Fiddlers, plus raffle prizes and a bake sale table including Welsh cakes! Door prizes will be raffled off from each vendor with the proceeds to benefit BRT's future programming. Think out of the box (store!) 

LUNASA – IRISH SOLSTICE CELEBRATION

You will NOT be able to purchase tickets by credit card for the Fall/Winter season until Sept. 7th. Ticket pricing includes all service fees. You CAN call in your reservations for our December 8, 7:00 p.m. concert with Lúnasa to 401-725-9272.

We are thrilled to bring back our friends Lúnasa with their "Irish Winter Solstice Celebration" concert featuring special guest vocalist Dave Curley! Named for a Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lúnasa is indeed a gathering of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. For more than 20 years, its members have formed the backbone of some of the greatest Irish groups of the decade. Bassist Trevor Hutchinson was a key member of The Waterboys. Kevin Crawford, considered to be among the finest flutists in Ireland, played with Moving Cloud and piper Cillian Vallely comes from the same talented musical family as brother Niall, of Buille and the Karan Casey Band. Dynamic guitarist Ed Boyd will be joined by fiddler Colin Farrell whose 2015 CD "Make A Note" was awarded Instrumental Album of the year by LiveIreland. Inspired by the legendary Irish group The Bothy Band, Lúnasa uses melodic interweaving of wind and string instruments pairing flutes, fiddle, whistle and pipes in breathtaking arrangements. They are universally acclaimed as one of the best Irish bands in the world. Dave Curley, a multi-instrumentalist, singer and dancer from Corofin, Co. Galway, has been making big waves in the Irish music scene in the last number of years. After graduating from the University of Limerick’s groundbreaking Irish Music and Dance programme with 1st class honours, Dave became a creative member of award-winning bands SLIDE and RUNA.