Review

Level Exchange has successful debut with first annual concert

By Matt Bower
Posted 2/4/16

This past Saturday, Providence entrepreneur Lindsey Lerner, a former Warwick resident and Bryant University graduate, got a chance to unveil her latest venture, Level Exchange, by organizing the …

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Review

Level Exchange has successful debut with first annual concert

Posted

This past Saturday, Providence entrepreneur Lindsey Lerner, a former Warwick resident and Bryant University graduate, got a chance to unveil her latest venture, Level Exchange, by organizing the first annual Level Exchange Music Festival.

Lerner said, “Level Exchange is the marketplace for music and performing artists to connect with local establishments for mutual profit based on Fair Trade principles.” The festival not only provided an opportunity to get the name out there and introduce people to what Lerner is trying to accomplish with Level Exchange, but also to showcase local musical talent from Rhode Island and New England.

The festival was held at Hope Events on Main, a second floor event space located within the Hope Artiste Village next to The Met on Main Street in Pawtucket. Hope Events on Main features a large, open room with plenty of windows looking out on the street below. Large enough to accommodate hundreds, the space includes a bar on the left-hand side that not only serves drinks, but features a menu with a number of finger foods. For the festival, a series of tables and stools were set up throughout the room, allowing attendees to sit and relax while enjoying drinks and appetizers, such as pizza, chicken wings, hot dogs or hamburgers, while listening to the performances. For those wishing to stand or dance, there was plenty of floor space to do both.

Assembling a variety of musicians, including everything from singer-songwriters and collaborations to full-fledged bands, the festival offered attendees a wide range of performances to take in throughout the day.

K&M Music, an acoustic covers duo consisting of Bryant University students Kendra Hildebrand on vocals and Max Karsok on guitar, kicked off the festivities at 11 a.m. Unfortunately, due to heavy traffic and taking some time to find parking upon arrival (a sure sign the festival was well attended), I missed K&M’s performance.

Perhaps it was fitting that the next act, The Silent Shoals, featuring Mike Maven and Aubrey Mable armed only with two acoustic guitars and harmonizing voices, was one of the first performances of the festival. Maven and Mable met each other for the first time while performing as solo artists at one of Lerner’s previous concert showcases last year and quickly formed The Silent Shoals and started writing original material together. Since then, The Silent Shoals have performed in Colorado, Texas and throughout Providence. They closed with the humorous yet catchy “Digital Age (The Tinder Song)” about the modern day dating scene.

Indie acoustic singer-songwriter Beth Killian was up next, and with the help of her friend and percussionist Alonzo, she delivered a set of acoustic folk rock, dominated by original material, including the sing-along friendly “Hallelujah.” Killian possesses a soulful grittiness in her voice that lends depth and weight to her songs.

Killian was the first of three female solo artists to perform. The other two were alternative, acoustic rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Tammy Laforest, who also serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Dust Ruffles, and Peyton Judge. A student at The Met School, Judge may have been the youngest performer at the festival, but that didn’t stop her from having one of most powerful voices, which she used to great effect while also playing piano. Judge reminded of Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) sensation Kayla Reeves, who debuted with TSO when she was a teenager and continues to record and perform with the world-renowned group years later, while also now balancing a solo career. If Saturday’s performance is any indication, Judge certainly has a bright future ahead of her.

In addition to the female singer-songwriter solo performers, there were also a variety of male singer-songwriter performances, including the subdued, laid-back vagabond tales of self-described neo post syncretic artist Nick Cozzolino and The Lost Arts; Boston singer-songwriter Alex Navarro, whose vocal delivery bears a resemblance to John Mayer; Caleb Ezra, who took a break from introducing acts and running sound throughout the festival to perform a few songs of his own on acoustic guitar alongside percussionist Matt Brown, including an Iron and Wine cover; and finally blues-influenced solo artist Sean Murphy, who performed double duty, as he is the lead singer and plays guitar for folk rockers Nobody’s Boyscout, which also featured Brown on drums and backing vocals.

Two of the performances that stood out from the festival did so for almost opposite reasons and came from Sun of Sound and Jetty. Sun of Sound is a band that very much resembles Rage Against the Machine when they are in their element, with vocalist Solace spitting rhymes over a metallic, aggressive hip hop beat, however Sun of Sound decided to strip everything down for the occasion and instead delivered an acoustic set closer to a street performance, complete with drummer Jeff Bernier playing a bucket instead of an actual drum set. Jetty, on the other hand, was the loudest band of the festival and closed out the event with their eclectic blend of electronic, R&B, rock and synth sounds.

Throughout the day, acts transitioned seamlessly from one set to the next, with minimal time in between bands, except for Jetty’s closing performance, which required some prep time to ensure both keyboards and the various effects pedals were all in working order.

Beyond the mix of local artists and musical acts, Level Exchange featured a morning farmer’s market, as well as a couple community organizations with Youth In Action and The Met School, both of which had set up tables at the festival with informational brochures for attendees to learn more about what each does. When she wasn’t performing, Peyton Judge manned the Met School table, as she is currently a student there. A portion of the festival’s proceeds went to benefit Youth In Action, an organization where “youth share their stories, practice leadership, and create change in their communities.”

The Level Exchange Music Festival truly embodied the spirit of community, while exposing the audience to a number of talented musicians and artists from throughout Rhode Island and New England that saw a steady flow of attendees throughout the day enjoying themselves. With Lerner’s tenacious work ethic at the core of Level Exchange, it’s surely headed in the right direction and promises to be a worthwhile endeavor. Keep an eye out for the next Level Exchange event, as it’s something you won’t want to miss.

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