We hope you’ve marked your calendar for Saturday afternoon, September 14^th from  2:00 – 5:00 PM for a Free RISA workshop called, ‘Reaching Your Public’ at the Brooklyn Coffee, Tea, and Guest House  - 209 Douglas Ave, Providence, RI.   Three seasoned RISA members share their passion and wisdom:

Grant Maloy Smith is a Billboard Top 10 singer/songwriter of COUNTRY/ROOTS music - an artful blend of country, bluegrass, folk, and pop music. His latest album, Dust Bowl - American Stories rode the Billboard charts for 17 weeks, including eleven weeks in the Top 10 on the Americana/Folk Album Sales chart and reaching as high as #12 on the Country Album Sales Chart.  The "Bible" of American Roots music, NO DEPRESSION magazine, raved: “Grant’s ability to capture the heartland masterpiece ... lyrics and music as potent as Woody Guthrie ... sent chills down my spine ...bound to become a classic ... A reminder of the darker period of Bob Dylan, and it’s that good, that memorable…”.

Grant has performed at Carnegie Hall and several national PBS shows - SONG OF THE MOUNTAIN, and WOODSONGS OLD TIME RADIO HOUR, which are broadcast to 150 million households. He has won numerous awards, including two Grammy® certificates and top honors in his genre at the Indie Music Channel Awards several times. One of his songs was turned into an award-winning children’s book, launching him into a whole different world. He is also an actor, appearing in the feature film OILDALE, currently in film festivals around the world.  Grant will speak on, “Branding Yourself” at this workshop.

Kim Moberg was born in Juneau, Alaska, the daughter of a classical pianist mother of Alaskan Native Tlingit descent and a US Coast Guard veteran father from Kansas.  Music was the constant in Kim's childhood, helping her to adjust to the frequent moves associated with growing up in a military family. At the age of 14, Kim began playing acoustic guitar on a borrowed nylon 6 string. A few years later, Kim taught herself to strum and finger pick to her favorite songs by singer/songwriters of the 1970’s, but debilitating stage fright kept her from pursuing her own dream of becoming a professional performer.

In 2014, after a hiatus from music to raise her two daughters with her husband, Kim set out to overcome her stage fright and wrote her first song. 

Kim's debut CD entitled "Above Ground”, celebrates the achievement of her goal to bring her music out of the basement. 

RECENT RECOGNITIONS

* Above Ground:  CD reached #23 Folk Alliance International Folk DJ Charts with 2 songs in the Top 20 Category July and August 2018 

* Winner: 2018 Rose Garden Coffee House

    Performing Songwriter Competition

* 2nd Place: Linden Tree Coffeehouse

   Winter Potpourri American Idol Folk

* 2017 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance(NERFA) 

Joanne Lurgio is a long time member of RISA and served as Treasurer/Membership Coordinator for 8 years. She’s just released her 4th full length recording project, named “Crossing Jordan”.   Additionally she’s a 5 time motif music award winner, including; Best Singer/Songwriter, Best CD, Best Female Vocalist.  Joanne will speak on “Kickstarter Campaigns”.

Here’s the word on Joanne and her music:

”Joanne’s talent lies in its strength to survive on its own merits, embracing many flavors. Not familiar with Joanne? Allow me to draw a parallel: She’s in that Shawn Colvin, Allison Moorer, Cris Williamson, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Cindy Bullens, Wendy Waldman, Deborah Holland mold. But, then again, she’s not...” John Apice / No Depression Magazine

On Crossing Jordan: "Lurgio has outdone herself. Her two originals and ten arrangements show her at her highest level of achievement. That she accomplished that while tackling more gospel and spiritual material shows she’s an artist on a high level of ability, a true musician who can utilize instruments, support players, multiple vocal techniques to put her message across." Bill Copeland Music News