The kickoff this Saturday (the 9th) at 8 pm will feature Joyce Katzberg, THE GNOMES, RYAN FITZSIMMONS, and CORINNE WAHLBERG. This is customarily the Soup’s fundraising event with all proceeds for the evening going to support the venue. The performers also contribute their time and talents. Call 401.457.7147. The following weekend (the 16th and 17th), it’s the Annual Stone Soup Fest in Slater Memorial Park as part of the Pawtucket Arts Festival. Performing on Saturday will be TIM GRIMM, JOSE GONZALEZ AND THE CRIOLLO CLASICO, and GANDALF MURPHY AND THE SLAMBOVIAN CIRCUS OF DREAMS. Sunday’s slate will feature JOANNE LURGIO, THE HOMEGROWN STRING BAND, AZTEC TWO-STEP, and VIVA QUETZAL. Performances begin at noon. Go to www.pawtucketartsfestival.org for more info.
But now back to that change. This year, Soup MC/luminary RICHARD WALTON will be stepping away from his duties after two decades on the job. “It’s hardly stop-the-presses news,” Walton, 78, demurs in an e-mail, “but the few people who know of my decision seem to find it interesting and even sad.” Indeed, many of those who dwell in the world of church basement acoustic music, at least in these parts, equate Walton, a founder and former president of the organization, with Stone Soup.
“It was not an easy decision, for I’ve had an awful lot of fun over all those years,” he writes. “I’ve met lots of wonderful artists and over those years lots of people have come up to me and said, in effect, “I know you from Stone Soup.” Indeed they do, Mr. Walton, indeed they do. See ya ’round, and enjoy your free Saturdays!
Wandering eye
On Friday (the 8th) at AS220, it’s TIM O’KEEFE’S TFO, ERGO, and THE SECRET INK. Tim is working with his longtime friends and collaborators guitarist/ bassist Ryan Rooney and violist/cellist Matt Everett. The “Your Roots Are Showing” series returns to AS220 on Saturday with another twang bar thang, this time featuring SCARY WAGON from Nashville, THE CAN KICKERS from New London, Connecticut, THE WRONG REASONS (in one of their last shows ever), and series founders LUCKY 57. The show gets underway at 9 pm. Call 401.831.9327.
At Providence Black Rep on Westminster Street, there’s another outdoor event on Saturday, with local heroes ZAWADI playing their poetry-fueled hip-hop jazz-funk, along with RIDERS AGAINST THE STORM and CERTIFIED BANANAS. MISS FAIRCHILD, a Nantucket-based 21st-century soul quintet, and APSCI, an electro-hip-hop duo from NYC New York City, also get slots. The whole thing is called Creole Royale, and it begins at 6 pm. For more information, call 401.351.0353.
