Arts & Culture

Here’s this week’s Sour Grapes;

Enjoy an artful summer evening with July Newport Gallery Night on Thursday, July 8th, 2021 from 5:00 – 8:00pm. For the continuation of the 2021 season, Newport Gallery Night will be hosting an expanded July Newport Gallery Night featuring DeBlois Gallery and Beach Studios. DeBlois Gallery will be featuring their latest show:  Wild Things.  Four […]

Happy Independence Day weekend! Along with parades and fireworks, there’s a lot of live music busting out all over. Check out some local favorites around town this weekend! Friday: Rising country star and RI native Charlie Marie is playing the Bristol 4th of July concert series at Roger Williams University at 5:30PM. Details here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfyYFDGQe0I […]

Did she do it? Did Doris Duke, the country’s wealthiest woman, a philanthropist … did Doris Duke, owner of Newport’s Rough Point mansion … did Doris Duke murder one of her closest confidants?  Peter Lance thinks so, and he’s written a book about it, “Homicide at Rough Point.” Peter, who is author in residence at […]

The Newport Art Museum will be accepting work for jurying for The Newport Biennial 2022 exhibition. Artists should submit their work through SlideRoom between July 19 – September 5, 2021. Submitting artists will be notified of the jurying results on October 11. An exhibition of chosen work will be on view from January 8 – May 29, 2022. The […]

Here’s this week’s Sour Grapes; Tim will be a guest artist at the North East Comic Con & Collectibles Extravaganza in Boxboro, MA this weekend, July 2-4. Necomiccons.com

 For the 39th year year, Newport in Bloom will recognize and honor those who plant and nurture flower gardens and flower containers throughout the city. Awards will be given for first, second, third place and honorable mentions. Winners will be recognized at the Annual Newport in Bloom Awards Ceremony, 5:30 pm, August 17,at the Horseshoe Piazza at the International […]

Friday: Tonight, 80’s/90’s pop star Tiffany plays the Greenwich Odeum in a low capacity show. Known for #1 hits “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Could’ve Been,” the show promises to be a lot of fun! Details here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Q3mHyzn78 Friday: The Melissa Chaplin Family, a Newport-based folk group, plays a free outdoor show. Also performing, […]

The gallery at the Block Island Airport, a partnership between the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC), announced the opening of its summer exhibit featuring works by RI artist Allison Bianco, born and raised in Smithfield. On display at the Block Island Airport Gallery are works […]

The Rhode Island Film & TV Office announced today that prime-time Emmy winner Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) is directing Rebecca Banner’s acclaimed 2016 Black List screenplay Space Oddity in the Ocean State.  The independent production stars Kyle Allen (West Side Story), Alexandra Shipp (X-Men franchise), and Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid’s Tale). This is the second feature film for director Sedgwick after Story of a Girl for which she received a Director’s Guild of […]

The Preservation Society of Newport County today announced that the following awards were presented during “Back In Bloom: A Ballroom Floral Fantasy,” which was held at Rosecliff from June 18-20. THE GARDEN CLUB OF AMERICA The Certificate of Excellence in Floral Design, awarded for an exhibit of great distinction to an entry that placed first, second or […]

Boston, MA (June 15, 2021) – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are performing at Boston’s Boch Center Wang Theatre on Saturday, September 18. Tickets available at bochcenter.org starting at 10:00am local on Friday, June 18. About Jason Isbell and the 400 UnitWhat happens after an artist has achieved his dreams? That was the major […]

What’s Up Newp is pleased to announce that Sour Grapes – A Comic Strip by Tim Jones will now be run weekly on WhatsUpNewp.com. Tim Jones is the creator, artist and writer of the widely popular, self-syndicated comic strip, “SOUR GRAPES”; a comic about “Aesop”, a miserable flying dog and his odd friends, all living […]

The Hope Tree Art Exhibition is an exhibition of artworks that share messages of hope and community and will be on view in the largest green space in Newport’s North End neighborhood, Miantonomi Park, from July 9 – October 9, 2021. The Arts & Culture Working Group of the Newport Health Equity Zone and Newport […]

By Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee On April 29, 2021, the Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee was notified that the National Park Service has made Butts Hill Fort a location on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail.  The Trail follows the route taken by French forces under command of Lieutenant General le comte de […]

Sean Galvin returns today with another entertaining comic for What’s Up Newp. Keep an eye out for Galvin’s work on a regular basis here on whatsupnewp.com. Follow Sean’s work on Instagram and Facebook.

The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) announced a new art exhibition on display at TF Green Airport’s GREEN SPACE Gallery, a partnership between RISCA and the RI Airport Corporation (RIAC). The gallery now features works by Rhode Island artists Pascale Lord, Barrington, Sarina Mitchel, Providence, and Jill Stauffer, Wakefield, and will be on display through […]

The Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County (ACA) today announced that the DeBlois Gallery in Middletown has been awarded the spring 2021 Artist Award. The $500 award is given twice-yearly to grantees who propose art projects to benefit the community. The Artist Award will support an effort by the DeBlois Gallery to “take the […]

Applications for a new round of funding for arts and culture workers from the Artist Relief Fund (ARF) are now available, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts announced on Wednesday. The application deadline is June 14 at 8 p.m. To apply for a grant, sign up through the Artist Grant Portal or visit https://risca.online/grants/artistrelieffund/ for more information. Since […]

As part of their educational outreach, the Newport Performing Arts Center (NPAC) is releasing a Newport String Project performance of the children’s classic “The Story of Ferdinand the Bull” free for schools, educators, and community organizations.  “It’s very important to connect children to the arts and music of all kinds,” says Marlena Horan in a statement, a […]

For the last four weeks, Greg Abate’s Magic Dance: The Music of Kenny Barron has been number one on Jazzweek, and was an editor’s pick in a recent issue of Jazz Times. Greg is consistently rated among the top alto saxophonists in polls in Jazz Times and Downbeat. A native Rhode Islander, who often plays […]

The Newport String Project is a chamber music performance and youth mentoring initiative committed to making inspiring musical experiences accessible for all in Newport, RI. On Saturday, June 5, the Project will present Resounding 2021, a day of micro-concerts for one musician and one listener or pod of listeners. Members of the Newport String Project […]

The Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County (ACA) today announced that the fifth annual Tinney Family Arts Scholarship has been awarded to Mariela Minino, a Rogers High School graduating senior. Ms. Minino received a certificate of achievement and a check for $2,000 during the school’s Honors Night on May 23, 2021. The Director of […]

Live music is back! And its busting out all over this Memorial Day weekend. Saturday, May 29th, a group of singer-songwriters gathered at Askew in Providence for a nice evening of music, dubbed “Serenity Under The Stars.” Unfortunately, due to the miserable weather, the previously planned outdoor show had to move inside. Fortunately, those in […]

★★★ It’s not controversial to say Disney’s recent string of live-action reboots, despite routinely making enormous amounts of money, have been pretty weak. Even when there are talented creatives behind them applying a vision that shouldbe interesting, the final product usually feels weirdly diluted, a mildly entertaining two hours that you’ll struggle to remember after […]

Like many serious musicians, John Stein was trying to find a way to reach his audience following the Covid-19 breakout. He had just released Watershed, a career-defining recording to mark his planned retirement from Berklee College of Music, where he was an acclaimed educator. Of course, as with live music in general, the tour in support of Watershed was scrapped. Prior […]

Blues-Rock duo GA-20 tore it up Saturday, May 22 at Nick-A-Nees in Providence. The outdoor concert drew a large crowd to the best dive bar in Rhode Island, known for bringing the best live music to the “Creative Capital.” Pat Faherty and Matthew Stubbs formed GA-20 in 2018, naming the band after a legendary Gibson […]

★★★★★ Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad, a ten-episode miniseries available to stream on Amazon Prime, is the latest example of what I like to call the chaptered movie. It’s a form that, with its union of auteur-driven vision and episodic storytelling, sits right on the line between film and television, and is a big reason […]

Litchfield, CT – Seven-time Grammy® winner Paul Winter’s 26th annual Summer Solstice Celebration will take place virtually on June 19, 2021 at 4:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time from the cathedralesque loft of Paul Winter’s barn in the hills of northwest Connecticut. The concert will be livestreamed, with on-demand video available following the event. World-renowned cellist Eugene Friesen will be a special guest at this concert. Friesen has […]

Common Fence Music will present the Dedicated Men of Zion in their Online Concert on the Common Fence Music virtual stage on May 23, 2021. The Dedicated Men of Zion came up out of this singing land of eastern North Carolina, around the city of Greenville and its small neighboring town of Farmville. Each trained in the […]