Hot stuff This summer’s festival season sizzles BY BOB GULLA

As summer drops, it brings with it a variety of pleasantly altered behaviors. Dress codes get more liberal, schedules change for the better, vacation days free up, entertainment options multiply. The bleccchy weather no longer has a vise grip on what we do or where we go. It’s summer, and we’re free to do as we please. Or at least that’s what we like to think.

One of the staples of summer is the festival season, that musical concept that features people gathering in all sorts of places to listen to all kinds of music. The summer festival season in Rhode Island is a storied one, if only for the fact that our Newport festivals are known far and wide for their gorgeous setting and fine bookings — and have been since the ’50s.

This year, the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals have characteristically intriguing lineups. The Apple & Eve-sponsored Folk Festival kicks things off with a weekend full of talent. The faithful will gather on Friday, August 6 at the Hotel Viking for Ron Sexsmith, a compelling singer-songwriter somewhere between the introspection of Nick Drake and the melodicism of fellow Canadian Gordon Lightfoot, plus Josh Ritter. On Saturday, Crosby, Stills & Nash take the top spot and on Sunday it’s Jeff Tweedy and Wilco with the headlining responsibility, a beguiling position for a band that has become the ultimate acquired taste. On Saturday you also get Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle, two of our most insanely accoladed performers, while Doc Watson, Rufus Wainwright, and Joan Osborne support Wilco on Sunday.

The fest will also spotlight some great new talent, with Slaid Cleaves, Mindy Smith, Corey Harris, and Ollabelle bringing blues, roots, and gospel sounds to the table.

The Jazz Fest is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer, an incredible achievement by any standard. Experts say that fest founder George Wein established the template for jazz festivals internationally and helped the genre and its musicians gain respect as artists.

Harry Connick, Jr. will entertain the crowd at the Tennis Hall of Fame on Friday, August 13, always a fun time and the atmosphere is inspired. To help the organization celebrate its golden year back at Fort Adams State Park, Dave Brubeck will headline on Saturday. Brubeck first performed at the festival way back in 1955, so it’s pretty meaningful to have him back 50 years later. Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter get the honors on Sunday, along with a quartet performance by free-jazz chieftain Ornette Coleman.

Newport isn’t just about roots and jazz, though. The Newport Yachting Center will host the 7th Annual Snapple Sunset Music Festival from Tuesday, June 29 through Sunday, July 4, and its folk is nicely balanced with pop, rock, and roots. The headliners are (in order): America, Something Corporate, Howie Day (solo acoustic), Ben Folds, Lyle Lovett, and festival fave Livingston Taylor, who will wrap things up on the Fourth.

Tickets, which range from $20 to $40, can be ordered on the web at newportfestivals. com or through the Newport Yachting Center box office at (401) 846-1600. Partial proceeds will benefit the Autism Project of Rhode Island. In addition, the Newport Marriott will sponsor a silent auction each evening to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.

But Newport, of course, isn’t the only setting for festivals in the area. Down at Ninigret Park, the Rhythm and Roots Festival has quickly established itself as an annual destination for thousands of roots and dance music fans over its first seven years. If you’ve been in Charlestown to enjoy the ambiance, well, then you’re probably planning on going back. It’s a great way to spend a nice day — hell, even the whole Labor Day weekend — and pretty darn kid-friendly to boot. Tickets go on sale June 30.

This year, producer Chuck Wentworth and Lagniappe Productions will welcome Donna the Buffalo, the sizzling roots-dance-groove band, as host of the main stage. "We have one of our most diverse lineups ever," says Wentworth. "As the appeal of roots music grows, we’re trying to reflect that in our festival lineup by presenting a more eclectic mix of music. Instead of just one daily headliner, we have three or four bands each day that deserve that status."

Bill Kirchen and roots heroes the Gourds lead the way on Friday night. Texan Robert Earl Keen and Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Leftover Salmon, and C.J. Chenier highlight the day on Saturday. And if that’s not enough, NRBQ and the Radiators are on the Sunday night bill. Another surprise includes Peter Rowan and Crucial Reggae, who’ll do a special set with the Burning Spear Horns from Jamaica. It’s one of three shows the band will play in this country. Oh, yeah, Rosie Flores and Beausoleil also play that night. It doesn’t get much better than that, all in our very own ocean-side playground.

Also worth mentioning is that the Red Hook Dance Pavilion, after expanding 50 percent last year, will grow another 25 percent due to popular demand, to a full 7200 square feet of dance floor, doubling its size in two years. So when you go, bring an extra pair o’ shoes, ’cuz you might burn right through that first pair.

A little ways south on Route 1A at the Town Beach in Westerly, the Blues On the Beach series kicks off this Wednesday, June 30, with Roomful of Blues. You can count on some great blues, R&B, and dance, as only Westerly can present it, every single Wednesday throughout the summer. July performers will be Sugar Ray (7/7), Dave Howard (7/14), Johnny Nicholas (7/21), and Greg Piccolo (7/28). All shows run from 6 to 8 p.m. There are also rumors that PBS RI might be taking an interest in making a documentary of the roots/blues scene in the area. I’ll keep you posted on that one.

WANDERING EYE. On Friday (the 25th), Providence’s monthly roots-twang-Americana music series, "Your Roots Are Showing," will showcase the Lonesome Brothers, a country pop/roots rock staple from western Massachusetts, featuring Ray Mason, Jim Armenti, and Tom Shea (ex-Scud Mountain Boys) at the Century Lounge. The Brothers will be supporting their new Spirithouse Records release, Fences. Also on the bill will be the Pogues-inspired Los Diablos from Boston, the Boris McCutcheon Band (fresh off their Netherlands tour), and local twang-pop hosts Lucky 57. The series is sponsored by Soniccord Amplifiers of Pawtucket (www.soniccord.com).

Also on Friday, Mastamindz headline a show with the Blackstone Valley Crew, Rich Polseno, and Universal Breakdown at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Pascoag. It’s all ages, 300 will be admitted, and the entry fee is $5. Get there early.

A biggish highlight this weekend is the CD release party from pickin’ grinners Sasquatch and the Sick-a-Billys at the Green Room on Saturday. Bring a little extra scratch to swap for the band’s new disc, which I hear is scorching.

Been to Cav lately? The place is looking great, the food is wonderful, and live music happens every Friday and Saturday night. This Friday it’s Slow Drive with Arna, and on Saturday it’s the Justin Holden Trio.

Congrats to RISA member Marcy Lang. Last month she received an honorable mention in the SongPrize International Songwriting Contest for her tune "The Glory In Me," and it was just announced that she is one of 10 finalists in the Songwriter Showcase/Contest that goes down at SolarFest in Poultney, Vermont. The final competition will be held at the festival on Sunday, July 11. Check out her website at www.marcylang.com.

Incidentally, the Rhode Island Songwriters Association’s own website is up and running. Direct your browser to www.risongwriters.com.

E-mail me with your music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.