Okee dokee folks…Last week I was fortunate to attend the 2021 edition of Farm Aid. For those of you who don’t know about Farm Aid it’s a fundraising and awareness raising concert/organization dedicated to helping family farmers and promoting good food. Farm Aid was started by Willie Nelson in 1985 and was inspired by an […]
Okee dokee folks… It’s pumpkin spice season. Not that I am a fan but I am at least glad that the summer is over. I saw a meme that read “pumpkin spice vaccines available”. If it was real maybe more folks would get it. Here I am eager to get vaccine #3 and there are […]
It’s the Eve of All Hallows Eve, and the fires of Devil’s Night will be roaring bright at club Dusk for the first ever BURLESQUE N’ ROLL! This two-stage indoor/outdoor carn-evil event will feature bloodcurdling bands and burlesque dancers. Getting mummified up for the night could “payoff” for a few lucky winners of the […]
As one of Mike’s closest friends for more than sixty years, I’ve felt that I should express my feelings and share it with the rest of Motif’s readers. He was an inductee to the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.Mike Renzi was among the top international jazz accompanists in the musical world. He owed his […]
Local jazz bass-guitarist Joe Potenza’s dad provided a cool variety of instruments for his family, while growing up in Providence. He tried them all, and got to favor the bass-guitar.Joe began gigging with several of Rhode Island’s excellent musicians, including legends, trumpeter John Allmark, pianist Mike Renzi and reed great Dino Govoni. They taught him […]
This summer, Miraya Shah, aka @mirayavibes, a 10 year-old rapper, had her stage debut alongside Chachi Carvalho. Diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 7, she had been writing stories and songs for a while, and when it came time to choose what she wanted to do after treatment ended, she chose a creative endeavor. […]
Burt Jagolinzer, who has attended the Newport Jazz concerts for 67 years writes: George was my friend and my association with him was very important to me, each year… I would always congratulate him, after each Newport performance.… George Wein discovered jazz, as one of his most important loves of his life. (The other love […]
Okee dokee folks… Back in July I was invited to open for the band The Fools in New Hampshire. I thought it an odd pairing but I took the gig nonetheless. I remembered the band from the early 80’s and loved their songs “Psycho Chicken”- a “Weird Al-esque” spoof of the Talking Heads’, “Psycho Killer”, […]
By Cathren Housley Stefan Couture creates a party wherever he goes. During the long COVID lockdown when venues went dark, he gathered fans and found a growing crowd of new friends at his Virtual Campfire every Saturday night in North Smithfield, RI. Now that the club and concert stages have reopened, Couture has been spreading […]
My first few years at the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals were spent standing behind a cart, selling ice cold drinks to festival attendees. I’d chase the shade with my umbrella, while listening to legends and newcomers play, and daydream about what it must look like from up there on the historic stage. As I’d […]