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A Rollicking Good Time 13 reasons to head to Rhythm & Roots Labor Day is a holiday
for most. Not for Chuck Wentworth of South Kingstown, who hasn’t taken that day off in 32 years. But he doesn’t mind laboring when the job is to produce a great music festival like Rhythm & Roots. This annual celebration of roots music, from blues to bluegrass and Cajun to zydeco, draws thousands to Ninigret Park in Charlestown every Labor Day weekend. In honor of the festival’s 13th anniversary, here are 13 reasons to make a beeline there. 13. Everyone else is doing it. Wentworth reports that folks from more than 30 states attended the fest last year. Southern Rhode Islanders need to join the party!
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12. It’s the end of bathing suit season, so you can eat as much as you want. Enjoy Creole and Cajun treats from The Chili Brothers, steaming chowder from Karma Seafood, or an oyster po’ boy from the Matunuck Oyster Bar. Save room for dessert from a certain New Orleans vendor whose pecan pie and red velvet cake must be devoured, at once. 11. No matter how much you eat, you can dance it off. Two wide wooden dance floors await you. Should you want to fine-tune your two-step, check out the daytime dance lessons. 10. The kids will thank you. On the Family Stage, the youngsters can listen to engaging musicians and nationally renowned storytellers Len Cabral and Marc Levitt. Children can also march in a Mardi Gras-style parade. And kids under 12 receive free admission.
9. The kids might even learn something. The Cajun Academy for Kids provides fiddle, guitar and accordion lessons in the traditional Cajun style. Helmed by Michelle Kaminsky of Magnolia, the Academy ends with a performance on the Main Stage on Sunday. 8. Heck, you might learn something too! In the Workshop Tent, you’ll find performers fielding questions, discussing and demonstrating their craft. It’s an intimate, informal place to learn more about the genres of music played at the festival and the players. 7. It bolsters the local economy. The festival staff encourages attendees to patronize local businesses, just as they do in building the infrastructure of the event. Out-of-towners also fill local campgrounds and motels. You can help to ensure the festival’s longevity just by buying a ticket. 6. You can squeeze it into your schedule. Individual day passes as well as weekend passes can be purchased. With activity on four stages at all times and bands playing from noon to midnight, any day you attend will be sure to pack a punch. 5. I t’s a chance to cheer on a native son. In addition to local groups Magnolia and the Occidental Gypsy Jazz Quartet, the Westerly-born Johnny Nicholas returns to the festival. He brings his Texas All-Stars for a Friday performance, coordinates a jam session on Saturday night, and plays with Geoff Muldaur and the Texas Sheiks on Sunday.
4. You can feel the love. Wentworth and his business partner Mary Daub transformed the smaller, now defunct Cajun and Bluegrass Festival at Stepping Stone Ranch in Escoheag into the bigger, more musically diverse Rhythm & Roots Festival years ago. “It’s kind of like one of my children,” Wentworth explains. “It’s our job to look over it, nurture it, and keep it alive.” 3. The atmosphere is great. Here’s a place to hear live music, dance your heart out, and eat everything in sight. What’s not to like? 2. The music is better than ever. Among the highlights of this year’s line-up is a new host band — Horace Trahan and the New Ossun Express, bringing their rousing zydeco outside of Louisiana for the first time. Guitar great Robert Randolph and the Family Band play on Sunday, while the recently re-formed Texas Tornadoes headline Saturday with their only Northeast appearance of the year. 1. It’s basically in your backyard. Of course, with 10,000 attendees expected, your backyard might require a bit of remodeling.
Rhythm & Roots Festival September 3-5 Ninigret Park, Charlestown For tickets & info, call 888-855-6940 www.rhythmandroots.com