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PROVIDENCE – Providence neighborhoods will be filled with music, live theater and performing arts this summer as Celebrate Providence gets underway.  Mayor David N. Cicilline joined Providence Black Repertory Company Artistic Director Donald W. King and local artists to kick off the 2009 summer season with a mini parade through Brown Street Park and a live gospel concert.

“Thanks to our talented artists and strong arts and culture organizations, Providence, the Creative Capital, is becoming well known throughout the northeast as a vibrant and dynamic tourist destination,” said Mayor Cicilline.  “This summer promises to have something for everyone, from live opera and big band music to live theater and dancing in the streets during Sound Session.”

The 2009 City-sponsored programming includes Sound Session, a weeklong multi-stage festival that draws performers from all over the world and attracts thousands of people to downtown Providence; the award-winning Neighborhood Performing Arts Initiative and the Friday Night Concert Series at Waterplace Park.

“SoundSession is a community-wide celebration that just keeps getting better thanks to our strong collaboration with the City’s Department of Art, Culture and Tourism, generous corporate support and the vibrancy of our city that embraces individual expression and cultural diversity,” said King.  “Sound Session brings together people from all walks of life and fosters a strong sense of connectedness long after the festival ends.”

“Celebrate Providence Neighborhood Performing Arts Initiative and Sound Session have a tremendous impact on our neighborhood and it’s a privilege to take part in these events,” said Wendy Nilsson, Co-chair, Friends of Brown Street Park.  “This park will be filled with families, groups of seniors, college students and children all dancing, grooving and enjoying the synergy of our thriving arts and cultural community.”

Major sponsors for this years summer festivities include Bank RI, CW28, WBRU, Providence Tourism Council, Providence Economic Development Partnership (PEDP) and the Providence Phoenix.

“Bank RI is thrilled to continue its support of Sound Session, an event that brings people together from all over our state and celebrates diversity,” said Steven M. Parente, Senior Vice President & Director of Retail Banking, Bank RI.

The lineup for Celebrate Providence: 2009 Summer Arts & Cultural Festivities is as follows:

Celebrate Providence! Neighborhood Performing Arts Initiative/July 1 – August 18

Brings music, dance and theater into neighborhood parks throughout Providence. All events are free to the public.

• Live music that reflects the cultural & ethnic diversity of the neighborhood in St. Johns Park on Atwells Avenue – July 1,8,15,22,29 and August 5 from 6:30 – 8pm.  Performers include Dominic DiPasquale, Italian tenor who will be accompanied by Bill Moretti, Ron Murray and others; Stephanie Piraino, soprano; Timothy Steele performing Cole Porter; the Greg Wardson Quartet and much more.
• Opera Providence in Hopkins Square Park (intersection of Charles Street and Branch Avenue) – July 5,12,19 & 26 beginning at 5pm.  Features exceptional talent from around the region under the direction of Timothy Steele and is accompanied by Jean Anderson Collier, Michelle Beaton and Timothy Steele on piano.
• RPM Voices, Rooted Soul & Flambeau Works in Burnside Park (adjacent to the Bank of America City Center).  RPM Voices will perform gospel music on July 8 at 12pm and the Providence Black Repertory Company will present Rooted Soul from 5pm – 7pm.  Flambeau Works featuring a steel pan will perform on July 9 from 5pm – 7pm.
• Night Life Orchestra, RPM Voices, Symmetry, Below the Roots and films at Dexter Training Grounds every Thursday sponsored by the West Broadway Neighborhood Association.  Night Life Orchestra will perform big band music on July 2 at 6pm.; RPM Voices will perform on July 9 at 6pm; Symmetry will perform on July 16 at 6pm; Below the Roots, the Bob Marley Tribute Band, will perform on July 23 at 6pm and Film At Dusk will be shown in association with the Rhode Island International Film Festival July 30 through August 13.
• Live performances at Fargnoli Park in Elmhurst every Tuesday at 6pm sponsored by Friends of Elmhurst.  Performers will include Stephen Plaumbo on July 14, Cobra Mantics on July 21, Infusion Experience on July 28, the Complaints on August 4, the Gnomes on August 11 and the End of the Summer Fete with the Big Nazo Puppets on August 18.
• Live performances at Brown Street Park every other Monday at 5pm.  Performances include Infusion Experience on July 6; Magnolia, a Cajun band, on July 20; Zili on August 3 and Superchief Trio on August 17.

Sound Session – New England’s premier genre-defying summer music festival featuring musicians from around the world//July 5 - 11

• The weeklong, multi-stage festival will feature performances at venues across the city, including The Providence Black Repertory’s Xxodus Café, and outdoor Main Stages at Kennedy Plaza’s Skating Center, the Back Lot Stage behind Black Rep, the Westminster Street stage, and Bank RI’s Main Stage at Waterplace Park.
• Sound Session ‘09 will feature brass bands, Reggae artists, Jazz, R & B, and Hip-Hop with headlining acts such as Chilean jazz vocalist Claudia Acuna, Dance Music pioneer Wumni, and Trinidadian-based percussion ensemble Village Drums of Freedom.   Fat Joe, a popular hip hop artist from the South Bronx, is also on the lineup along with a roster of local and national up-and-coming talents, who competed in Sound Session Sound Search, a weekly competition held every Thursday night at Black Rep.
• Sound Session culminates with a carnival-style parade on July 11 that will weave through the streets of downtown Providence.  This year’s parade will be dedicated to the Native American Tribal Nations of New England. 
• Sound Session expands this year with over 50 participating venues including restaurants, hotels and businesses that will be presenting music all week long.
• For more information, visit www.providencesoundsession.com.

Friday Night Waterplace Park Concert Series – free outdoor concerts at WaterPlace Park/July 17 – August 14

• July 17, Santa Mamba, a complex fusing of musical styles, kicks off the Friday Night Concert Series at Waterplace Park. Elements of rock, salsa, funk, rumba, jazz, merengue, bachata, bolero and hip-hop can be heard in their music.
• July 24, Celtic act Pendragon takes the stage. Having embraced New England’s rich tradition of Celtic-inspired music, Pendragon has created a timeless sound of its own, performing roots music with an unmistakable contemporary edge. Pendragon's music celebrates the lives and lore of generations of New Englanders who brought traditions from Ireland, Scotland, French Canada and other distant shores to the banks of the Blackstone River.
• July 31, alternative rockers Route .44 come to Waterplace Park. These eight unique personalities define their own genre of music by blues, jazz, folk, rock and country into a cohesive sound.
• August 7, Cajun sensation Magnolia takes the stage. For twenty years, Magnolia has been New England's hometown Cajun band. Playing high-energy two-steps and sultry waltzes, the band's twin fiddles, accordion, guitar, bass and rich vocals keep the audience on its feet.
• August 14, local Cape Verdean legend Zérui De Pina closes out the series.

Playing since age ten, Zérui has enchanted audiences from Providence to the     Hollywood Bowl with captivating melodies of the Cape Verde Islands.

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