As you’ve probably heard, PVD Fest, the multi-cultural, multi-format behemoth, takes over downtown Providence this weekend. The fest strives to bring together artists from everywhere and throw you out of your comfort zone. Musically, it seems like there may be fewer high-profile acts than last year (2016 featured Screaming Females, The Heavy and Joy Formidable), but there will still be plenty of quality acts to take in.
Motif has brought you coverage of the Mini Maker Faire and the contributions of poet Christopher Johnson. Now here’s a preview of the musical offerings (please note that we don’t have nearly enough room to go through all the artists).
Grandiosity is part of the mission statement of PVDFest: some may remember the time a dude played a giant harp attached to the Superman building. The weekend of festivities will feature a musical event called En Masse, led by renowned composer and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, who was at last year’s fest collaborating with local student musicians. En Masse is described as a “large-scale composition created for up to 500 musicians that is entirely new every time it is performed.” It is set to feature marching bands, street musicians (including What Cheer? Brigade), Girls Rock RI and music students from all over the state. I have no sense as to how this will play out, but seems like it could be epic.
I’m probably most excited about Pallbearer, a doom metal band from Arkansas that will most likely blow the eardrums off any casual festival-goers that happen by. With their slow, bone-crushing riffs, they are one of the more notable doom acts of the last few years, and continue to push the boundaries of the genre. With comically bleak album titles like Sorrow and Extinction and Foundations of Burden, you know you’re in for a rollicking good time.
Betty Bonifassi out of Montreal is one to watch out for. Her sound is sort of a blues/hard funk with an electronic backbone, and she’s got a big voice with tons of vibrato. Kind of like Edith Piaf on acid. Or maybe more like Nina Simone on PCP. You’ll have to go to find out.
Los Cafeteras from LA bring a bright, danceable dose of Latin folk music. It’s a fun, old-school vibe, and their performances feel like an impromptu street party. They have acoustic guitars, assorted percussion and joyous vocals.
Showcasing traditional west African styles, Kalifa and Koliba will surely inspire movement in their audiences with booming vocals and a substantial rhythm section. Band leader and Berklee professor, Mohamed Kalifa Camara, expertly pulls from myriad genres, including ska, reggae and funk.
Etienne Charles is a Trinidadian-born, Juilliard-educated trumpeter who will lend an air of sophistication to the event. He’s known for his eclectic style, particularly a mastery of Creole and Pan-Carribean music. In a similar vein, Aurelio Martinez, billed as “The Musical Ambassador for a Traditional Caribbean Culture,” is a Honduran singer-songwriter known for his expressive voice, as well as skillful fretwork.
If electro pop is your thing, you’re in good hands. JLine is a electronic dance artist who you may expect to hear in the club, with a new-age haircut to match. Providence’s Bellerophon, an alternative synth-pop project, is similarly catchy, but a little more atmospheric and experimental.
PVD Fest even found room for some traditional country in Grant Maloy Smith, a singer with a super smooth voice, and whose new album details the experience of living in the Dust Bowl in the 1950s.
It wouldn’t be a festival without some acts from our fair city, and PVD Fest doesn’t disappoint: alt-country stalwarts The ‘Mericans, Liberian-American rapper Skylett White and local composer and songwriter Ben James will be strutting their stuff. Keith Munslow, an RI-lifer known for his acclaimed children’s songs and his work with Superchief Trio, is also on the bill. And of course Big Nazo, the alien puppet funk band that throws down harder than anyone, will be in attendance, so definitely check out their set on the 3rd at 4:30pm.
Even if you’re no more than peripherally interested in any of the above, you really should check out PVD Fest; the sheer magnitude of what they bring into the city is extremely impressive and worth at least a stroll downtown to take it all in.
For more info, head to pvdfest.com/artists, where you can filter artists by performance, day, and stage.