The third annual Sound Session festival took place in July 2006. The yearly event, co-sponsored by the Providence Black Repertory Company and the Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism, has quickly gained national and international acclaim. Canadian magazine Novus called Sound Session “New England’s most dynamic summer music festival.” In our last issue, we printed excerpts from an interview with PBRC’s Don King. Here’s some cool stuff we left out:
This city has a significant international community for its size. I’m hoping that Sound Session is a part—not the catalyst, but a part of the catalyst for a movement that can bring Providence into another kind of city. We have some things we’re dealing with right now that are about growth and maturity. In the third year of Sound Session, the things that I thought would be much harder are not. People are very receptive, the business community is extremely receptive.
We heard that this year it is supposed to be 35,000 people. Were you surprised by its growth?
I am going to be honest. Yes. I am surprised, because we live in New England, and there is a certain kind of provincialism around parades, festivals and other celebrations. Other organizations have had a hard time. A thing that we do really well, though: You can go out on Westminster Street the day after Sound Session, and my street will be cleaner than it is right now. I think we partner well, and it doesn’t hurt that we’re working with the City of Providence.
The parade making its way around Kennedy Plaza, up Westminster Street, towards the massive crowd in front of The Black Repertory Theatre.
The Sound Session parade procession leaves Waterplace Park and dances past the Mall, carrying banners, musical instruments, and loads of noisemakers. Photos by Frank MullinI’ll never forget this: I was working at this ad agency, and they were talking about the top ten reasons it’s important to have new immigrants in your city. And one reason is, more international festivals. When I travel to New York, there are certain things that I see and experience, and all of that has the potential to exist in Providence in its own unique way—not in any way trying to replicate what’s happening in New York. It would be really nice if everybody came out and just enjoyed and took a tour of Sound Session.
I’m as excited about seeing Lightning Bolt in my backyard as I am seeing Black Stalin at Waterplace Park, as I am hearing Utopia Pan Soul in the parade, as I am Drums of Freedom on the Westminster Street Stage. I think at the end of the day this festival has an opportunity—again in some real quiet, silent way, I’m not being a romantic here—to build bridges. That’s the exciting thing.
We’re an arts and culture organization trying to stay away from politics as much as possible and trying to bring people together as best we can. This city’s not gonna work if it keeps marginalizing people, if it keeps disenfranchising people, if it keeps making people feel that they don’t have a stake in what’s going on. For every criticism that we see, this organization’s presence has given certain people—Black people in particular, but Latinos have said it to me, and poor white people and Asian people—they’ve gained a sense of pride; they have a stake in what’s happening, and that’s important. You talk about politics. You want somebody to vote? Well, why should they vote if they feel like they can’t impact change? What I can do is bring people to the table, and hopefully I’m not just bringing the usual suspects to the table but I’m bringing more to the table. And that’s what it’s all about. If there’s anything I want to come across here it would be that.