Welcome to the dog days of summer, as our team here at NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley leans into every inch of this wonderfully musical season with our free and family friendly Levitt AMP Woonsocket Music Series!
As part of this year’s Summer Learning Initiative program, we invited our incredible Woonsocket youth to celebrate “Family Day” with Levitt AMP Woonsocket at River Island Art Park on Friday, July 28!
Family Day youth participant
Funded by the United Way, youth from Connecting for Child & Families and the NWBRV C3 summer camps got a behind the scenes program with the opening act musicians from 1– 2:30pm in River Island Art Park. Local opening Hip Hop artists Big Frank and Scribe hosted a fabulously interactive workshop for the programs that was huge hit for both staff and students alike.
“As students exited buses and entered the park, they were greeted by the artists with music playing over the loudspeaker,” NWBRV’s Director of Neighborhood Learning & Community Building Brandon Soum said. “After they made their way to the stage which held Big Frank and Scribe, the artists began the workshop by hyping the kids with group dance songs! When the Cupid Shuffle song came on, nearly every single youth joined the group and danced together!”
As Big Frank and Scribe introduced themselves to the youth, each demoed their own singles, giving campers the opportunity to hear samples of their music. The workshopped proved to be a huge success with musical instruction and inspiration from both artists coming through loud and clear.
Family Day youth participant
“When Big Frank started to rap his single ‘Won’t Stop’, the kids bopped their heads and began clapping to the music,” Brandon said. “He would shout ‘Don’t stop, keep makin’ it hot!’ and look for the kids to repeat it back. They fumbled the first couple of times, but after a few attempts the kids were able to follow along, getting in the groove and responding back!”
Next up Scribe performed his single “Help.” He opened up by having the kids chant “we need a little bit of help!” and he followed up with the words “Don’t forget, you are not alone,” as he moved into his performance. Once the performances were done, they began the music writing portion of the workshop.
“They asked the kids if they knew what a bar, verse and chorus are,” Brandon said. “Kids raised their hands and the artists called upon them to answer the questions.”
Dividing into teams, Big Frank vs. Scribe, the kids were instructed to craft a song consisting of a verse and chorus. With looping background instrumentals plying, Frank and Scribe visited each group and offered tips and feedback to support campers in their creative process with support of the camp teachers–with the occasional group giving the artists a preview of their songs and receiving pointers in exchange.
“As Frank and Scribe navigated the space, they were building fun competition between the kids,” Brandon said. “When the time was up, each team took the stage one at a time to present their songs. The artists handed over the mics and played the beat for groups to rap to. In some groups, each youth got to say one line from the song, passing the mic down the line of kids, while other groups had their camp teachers perform their songs. In other groups, the bravest kid would perform the whole song. At the end of the workshop, the youth received a free Levitt shirt. It was awesome!”
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, it’s great to see how relevant hip-hop is in today’s landscape. Seeing how the kids took their time to write a song and to even compete with each other shows the level of enthusiasm each child had regardless what type of music they listen.”
Local Hip-Hop Artist, Big Frank
From all of us here at NeghborWorks, we’d like to extend our sincere gratitude to the United Way for affording such an amazing opportunity for our Woonsocket youth. Without our dedicated area partners, these moments wouldn’t be possible.
This summer’s Levitt AMP Woonsocket acts have ranged in musical genres and included Reggae, Ska, Zydeco, Celtic Rock, and Blues. Artists have traveled from as far as Los Angeles, California to perform at the weekly concerts complete with food trucks, local craft vendors, and an on-site bar provided by Ciro’s Tavern. Concerts occur Friday nights through August 18 at River Island Art Park in Woonsocket.
