Arts & Culture

Chariho Regional High School’s Virginia Keister is the 2021 winner of the Poetry Out Loud state championship held Sunday, March 21, on YouTube. In announcing the winner, Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of RI State Council on the Arts (RISCA), said that Keister will be representing the state in the regional competition, May 2, and national […]

The Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County is accepting applications for its 5th annual Tinney Family Arts Scholarship.  Graduating high school seniors who have demonstrated artistic talent and the ambition to strive for excellence are invited to apply for the annual $2,000 scholarship.  Applicants must live in Newport County, no matter where they attend a school or […]

Join Barrington Books for a virtual author event with New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak celebrating the release of her new book Bookstore on the Beach. Brenda Novak will be in conversation with New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer. An evening of banter, books, and the perfect beach read to kick off our […]

Its Grammy Awards weekend, and we’ve got you covered with a few streaming and a couple of in-person shows in the area. Look for our coverage to shift to more indoor concerts as conditions continue to improve! Friday: When all is said and done with Covid 19, we may look back on Adam Ezra (who’s […]

High school students from seven Rhode Island schools will perform during the virtual 16th annual Poetry Out Loud Rhode Island state finals on Sunday, March 21, at 1 p.m., presented via Facebook live  (https://www.facebook.com/Poetryoutloudri/events/?ref=page_internal). Seven schools submitted videos to the Rhode Island state finals this year. During the Facebook live event on March 21, attendees will see the recitations […]

New Impressions, a print show, opens at the Jamestown Arts Center on March 26 with both an on-site exhibition and an online gallery of the artists’ work at the JAC’s website.  The exhibition features sixteen Rhode Island-based artists exploring printmaking. New Impressions encompasses exciting and diverse ideas both in terms of processes and expressions. Participating […]

March is Youth Art Month, and as the month begins the RI Council on the Arts (RISCA) is partnering with arts educators throughout Rhode Island to kick off a national campaign to punctuate the ongoing value of arts education for pre-K-12 students.    Entitled Arts ARE Education, the goal of this educational campaign is to emphasize the importance […]

Slowly but surely, clubs and concert venues are making plans to re-open with live music. Until that happens, we’ll continue to list some of the top livestream shows coming up this weekend. Here’s this week’s listing. Friday: Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye bring their “50 Years of Words and Music” to the people. The show […]

Woonsocket native saxophonist Greg Abate is releasing a new album “Magic Dance: The Music of Kenny Barron” on April 2, a tribute to the keyboard legend Barron. An inductee in the RI Music Hall of Fame, Abate has played and recorded with artists as diverse as Phil Woods, Richie Cole, Jerome Richardson, as well Kenny […]

RI-based actress Marilyn Busch will join What’s Up Newp for a live virtual video conversation on Tuesday, February 16 at 7 pm. Born in Boston, Busch is a member of SAG-AFTRA and has made her career playing working-class women, chock full of sunshine and laughter – until they burn you with shade. Busch was an […]

RI’s State Council on the Arts (RISCA) announced today that applications are now available for grants in the following program areas, arts and culture organizations; artists in education and healthcare; and teaching and individual artists. The deadline to complete an application is April 1. To assist in the grant-application process, Arts Council staff members have […]

Gillian Friedman Fox, the newly appointed executive director of the Newport Music Festival, joins WhatsUpNewp for a videocast on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m.  The Festival Board chose Fox to lead the festival in its 53rd season. She comes to Rhode Island from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where she was Director of Contemporary & […]

Providence, RI – J.L. “Lynn” Singleton, President and CEO of the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), is pleased to announce that BankNewport is the title sponsor for PPAC’s Arts Showcase series.   The 2020/2021 Arts Showcase series is being offered virtually to Rhode Island students in elementary and middle schools. The series has included performances by David Gonzalez […]

Live-streamed concerts have come a long way since the pandemic began last March. This weekend features some Newport Folk favorites and several Valentine’s themed concerts from around the world. Friday: Local Family performer and Grammy winner Bill Harley streams “Walking Each Other Home” at 7PM with help from Noah and Dylan Harley. Details here. Friday: […]

The Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County is accepting applications for its 5th annual Tinney Family Arts Scholarship.  Graduating high school seniors who have demonstrated artistic talent and the ambition to strive for excellence are invited to apply for the annual $2,000 scholarship.  Applicants must live in Newport County, no matter where they attend school or are […]

February 5, 2021—Me & My Guitar, a new compilation album created by Charlie Overbey to benefit NIVA’s Save Our Stages, is out today exclusively via Bandcamp. Purchase HERE. In addition to Overbey, the album features 25 acoustic tracks only available here by Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Chris Vos (The Record Company), Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke), Marcus King, Adam Slack (The Struts), Micah Nelson aka “Particle Kid,” Duane Betts, Suzanne Santo, Jesse Malin, Sam Morrow, Langhorne […]

The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) this week announced a new art exhibition on display at TF Green Airport’s GREEN SPACE Gallery, which RISCA manages on behalf of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC). The new exhibition features works of art by Rhode Island artists Karen Drysdale Harris, of Cranston, Felicia Megginson, of Providence, and Pneuhaus Collective, of East […]

Rogers High School has announced the winners of the annual science fair. This year’s fair was conducted entirely in a virtual environment. More than 50 students presented to over 65 judges. Scoring was extremely close as many projects were judged to be outstanding by the volunteer judges from the community including NUWC, URI professors, the […]

Peter Krasinksi, House Organist of the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) will join What’s Up Newp for a live virtual video conversation on Thursday, February 4 at 4 pm. Mr. Krasinski is a conductor, organist, and music educator who consistently delivers imaginative performances that elevate and inform diverse audiences. He is well respected in both […]

New Bedford Folk Festival today pulled the plug on their 2021 event, which has been scheduled for July 10 and 11. “We want you to feel safe and comfortable attending the silver anniversary of the New Bedford Folk Festival, so it has been rescheduled for next summer, July 9 & 10, 2022,” New Bedford Folk […]