New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
CT company takes over R.I.’s Rhythm & Roots music festival Festival
For the past 23 years, the Rhythm & Roots music festival in Charlestown, R.I., has delivered high-caliber roots performers that include the likes of Dr. John, Doc Watson, Lake Street Dive, Richard Thompson and Little Feat.
Despite weathering the pandemic and putting on a festival in 2021, owner Chuck Wentworth announced in February that due to health concerns, the 2022 iteration of Rhythm & Roots would be canceled. Additionally, Wentworth’s company, Lagniappe Productions, was to cease operations, suggesting that Rhythm & Roots may never be held again.
With the future looking bleak for Rhythm & Roots, Goodworks Entertainment, an entertainment production company based in Hartford, stepped in to revitalize this oncethriving festival that saw upwards of 5,500 people per day.
Goodworks Entertainment, which got its start in Fairfield, has become a staple in the live music scene in Connecticut, producing shows for the likes of Fairfield Theatre Company and Infinity Music Hall & Bistro in Norfolk and Hartford. In 2019, Goodworks Entertainment acquired the Infinity Hall venues.
Tyler Grill, co-founder of Goodworks Entertainment, told Hearst Connecticut that the team started negotiations with Wentworth and Lagniappe Productions approximately a month after the announced cancellation of the 2022 festival.
Last week, it was announced that Goodworks Entertainment had purchased the festival and now intends for its return on Labor Day weekend.
“It’s running full speed to get everything back into place for this year,” Grill said. “[This is] another step in Goodworks Entertainment’s growth.”
Grill said the festival was “originally completely booked,” but with the cancellation the team has had to start from scratch in terms of bookings.
Goodworks is attempting to secure a mix of musicians previously booked for the 2022 iteration with some new acts. In addition to taking over the operation of Rhythm & Roots, Goodworks Entertainment will be joined by Wentworth, who will return and stay on for a few more years to consult with the team through the next steps of the festival.
“Goodworks is a perfect fit to take over the festival,” Wentworth said in a statement. “Their underlying philosoph[ies] mirror that of those exemplified by Lagniappe Productions for the past 23 years.”
For Grill and the Goodworks team, the goal of acquiring the festival is to “keep the legacy alive and to continue the programming of roots music and the incredible community that Chuck and his family have built.”
In addition to keeping it alive,
Grill said he hopes to keep evolving the festival and expand its age demographic, something that Wentworth had been working on. Grill hopes to get more creative with the festival in future years.
While he said he wants to expand the potential of this festival, he also wants to keep it central to what made it successful in the first place — its intimacy and familial connection.
“What makes Rhythm & Roots Rhythm & Roots, is the intimacy of the festival,” Grill said. “It really is the community. It’s the people that attend the festival every year. The fans who attend the festival every year are die-hard fans. They go every year. This is on their calendar every year.”
“I think that really stems from the fact that this is put on by a family,” Grill added.
Rhythm & Roots will be held in Ninigret Park in Charlestown, R.I., from Sept. 2 to 4. Information regarding ticket sales and the lineup will be available in the coming weeks.