Music, Music Everywhere

NEWBURYPORT – If you like music from drumming by local indigenous musicians to Grammy winning Zydeco from Louisiana, this is the place to be this Saturday.
Newburyport’s 3rd Annual Indigenous Peoples Day Event will be held along the downtown waterfront park, starting at 10 a.m. Come for the fun that includes Indigenous music, drumming, dance, cultural presentations, artisans, advocacy, hands-on activities and workshops.
At 8 p.m., the Belleville Roots Music Series opens its fall program with Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas.
“If you don’t get up and shake a leg, you better call an undertaker – because you’re dead,” Nathan Williams said in Living Blues magazine.
Bring your dancing shoes, and join the Belleville crowd on the church stage room floor for the concert and dance.
“Nathan Williams and his band are simply sensational,” wrote Frank Malfitano, founder of the Syracuse, NY, Jazz festival. “Beyond being great musical ambassadors for Louisiana and zydeco traditions, they are artists and entertainers of the first magnitude and true gentlemen. Their energy is non-stop, and their talent is un-paralleled. Their on-stage charm is as captivating as it gets and, in a word, they were brilliant.”
In Syracuse, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas closed out the 2022 festival with the crowd dancing, smiling and were overjoyed. “And why not?” Malfitano asked, “They had just witnessed a 75-minute thrill ride from the pre-eminent zydeco ensemble on the planet.
“Every festival in the nation that cares about preserving and presenting American Heritage Music should book these guys tomorrow. They literally define American culture, and they’re a national treasure.”
Hosted by Imagine Studios, the Newburyport Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alliance, city officials, schools, organizations, businesses and individuals, this free family-friendly outdoor gathering celebrates traditional and contemporary Indigenous cultural arts, knowledge and diversity.
The events that run to 5 p.m. at Market Square Park honor all Native Peoples and supports recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day at the city, state and national level.
Among the participants this year will be:
Nicholas Paul, a Passamaquoddy from Motahmikuk Indian Township, ME, and Pauochau Nohkunnawai Waupi.
Onega Waya White Wolf, a Tsalagi Cherokee, who is a drummer, dancer, storyteller, artist and educator.
Seth J. Willey, a storyteller and drummer who lives in Amesbury, where he facilitates drum circles.
Willow Greene, a Missisquoi Abenaki storyteller.
Claudia Fox Tree, a Iukaieke Guainia Taino-Arawak, who is an educator and board member for the state Center for Native American Awareness.
Wampum and Corn Husk Doll Making Workshops with Darius Coombs, the Cultural Outreach Coordinator for the Mashpee Wampanoag Education Department.
Darius Coombs, a Mashpee Wampanoaga, is an award-winning presenter.
The Wolf Cry Singers, a women’s drum group that will perform traditional and contemporary songs.
Dan Speers, Haverhill’s Poet Laureate and award-winning novelist and poet.
Other presentations include:
A family art and culture table with Sarah Small Turtle, Melanie Currier (Rocking Cradle) and Daniela Currie-Gutierrez.
Robert Whitehead, Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum educator, will present a table of Indigenous cultural artifacts.
Liz Greene Charlebois, an Abenaki culture bearer, who is a powwow dancer, traditional bead worker, ash basket maker, and bitten birch bark artist.
Joseph Gray will present his sculptures.
For more information on the Belleville Roots, visit bellevillroots.org or call 978-234-4515.
For more information about the Indigenous People’s Day, visit www.imaginestudios.org for a complete schedule.