At the time of this writing, it is 60 degrees and cloudy with the promise of summer’s arrival in the next few days. Like many of us, I am very much looking forward to warmer days to get out and do things, one of which is the annual Concert in the Park series coordinated by the West Broadway Neighborhood Association.
The WBNA was created in 1983 by folks who lived in the neighborhood between Broadway, Rte. 10 & Rte. 6, Cranston Street, and the Service Road near I-95. Their initial idea was to build a community for members to connect, share resources, and exchange information. These days, the nonprofit is involved with an assortment of community issues, and they partner with Farm Fresh RI to co-present the Armory Park Farmers Market in the West End of Providence.
The free concert series takes place during market days on Thursdays. It started about 15 years ago and is in partnership with Farm Fresh RI, Moniker Brewery, the Providence Tourism Council, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. It is volunteer-powered, so if you are ready to roll up those sleeves to help bring the concerts to life, be sure to check out their website and sign up for the newsletter that includes an option to get involved with the event.
Building community is not an unfamiliar activity for the WBNA, so the concert series is one of the many events it coordinates to bring neighbors (and even folks from the other side of town!) together to reconnect after being stuck indoors all winter. I love gathering a few friends to join me for a potluck in the park on concert nights. Food trucks and a beer garden are also available during the concerts.
This year’s lineup features a few favorites, including a Caribbean Heritage Celebration on June 11 with RI vocalist and steel drummer, Becky Bass, who has performed at many events in the state, including the ShePVD festival I co-founded in 2024, and racked up numerous RI music award nominations. A native of St. Croix and a graduate of Brown University in Theatre Arts & Performance Studies, she is a two-time Urban Music Award winner as well as an accomplished film, stage, and TV actress. She plays regularly with the groups Zili Musik, Natural Element Band, Sidy Maiga, and Afrimanding, at venues throughout New England. Past performances include appearances at the National Gallery of Art, New York City’s Lincoln Center, Chicago’s Underground Wonder Bar, and the Off-Broadway theater LaMaMa.
Poet and storyteller, Marlon Carey is also performing on June 11. He is a hip-hop artist and the co-founder of Shakespeare to Hip Hop, a RI nonprofit that cultivates and nurtures students’ love of words and understanding of language’s power.
Sol y Canto performs on July 9. The group is the award-winning pan-Latin ensemble led by Puerto Rican/Argentine singer and percussionist Rosi Amador and New Mexican guitarist, singer, and composer Brian Amador. The group is known for making its music accessible to Spanish- and non-Spanish-speaking audiences of all ages.
Kim Trusty, a jazz musician, takes the stage on August 13. She draws on jazz, R&B, vocal improvisation, soul, and roots, bringing her life, heart, and work experiences into unforgettable and unique performances. Her foray into songwriting started at a young age and eventually brought her to New England to study songwriting at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Country music band Ghost Cat Rodeo rounds out the series on September 10. Described as “truckstop twang and hippie country,” the RI-based band is the winner of Motif Magazine’s 2026 RI Music Award for Favorite Country Act, and a guest on “Ocean State Sessions,” a program produced by Ocean State Media.
All performances take place from 5:30 to 7:00 pm and are free. To learn more about the series and other WBNA events like the house tour reboot coming up on September 19, see WBNA.org. Follow Dennise on IG @TheAdventureBroad.
Resource Links
- Bio provided by Becky Bass for ShePVD in 2024.
- Bio on Marlon Carey: https://markbinderbooks.com/blogs/american-story-theater-blog/posts/7055747/marlon-carey & http://www.shakespearetohiphop.com/about.html
- Bio on Sol y Canto – https://www.solycanto.com/
- Bio on Kim Trusty – https://www.kimtrusty.com/about
- Bio on Ghost Cat Rodeo – https://ghostcatrodeo.com/