Revels RiverSing 2024 - Two Dragons Dancing

One of Revels’ flagship seasonal events, RiverSing is a family-friendly program held on the banks of the Charles River. Come sing with us!

Hosted by Revels Artist-in-Residence David Coffin and Revels Music Director Elijah Botkin, this year’s RiverSing promises to be a magical evening filled with singing, puppetry, dance, folklore, and joy! The evening kicks off with a puppet parade put on by The Puppeteers Cooperative through Harvard Squre, followed by performances from Stan Strickland, David Coffin, Isaura Oliveira, Tom Pixton, the Pinewoods Morris Men, The Good Trouble Brass Band, and the Boston City Singers youth choirs. And of course, RiverSing is not complete without YOU! Bring your best voices – song sheets will be available online and onsite so we can all sing along.

In the event of unsettled or severe weather, Revels will post updates on its website at www.revels.org and on its social media channels. The rain date performance will take place on Sunday, September 29.

This is a general admission event – no tickets required! ($5 Suggested Donation)

Schedule

4:45 PM – Puppet procession begins at Winthrop Park and travels to the Weeks Footbridge
5:00 PM  – Pinewoods Morris Men
5:15 PM  – Good Trouble Brass Band
5:30 PM  – Performances and Singalongs led by David Coffin, featuring Paddy Swanson and the Boston City Singers
6:00 PM – Equinox Waltz on the Weeks Footbridge, featuring Stan Strickland and Oshun
6:30 PM – Celebrations and Finale!

Follow us on Social Media

Meet the Performers
Nigel and Desmond
Revels Dragons
Nigel and Desmond
Revels Dragons

Desmond the Day Dragon was born, one spring morning, many decades ago. Once sporting four segments and a tail, he is now a scarred but undefeated unidragon. Missing a few of his ferocious teeth he can still flash that winning smile that has carried him through a thousand battles.

Nigel the Night Dragon is long, red and a slippery character. Born at midnight in a Welsh castle he swam across the Atlantic Ocean (he hates flying) and has been prowling the shadows of Cambridge for many years. His eyes are sensitive to the slightest movement.
He is a hip reptile.

Normally these two dragons are natural enemies but at the equinox, when the day and the night are of equal length, Oshun the river spirit summons them to a bridge over the River Charles where, intoxicated by the sound of people singing, they meet and dance the Equinox Waltz.

Oshun
Yoruba River Goddess
Oshun
Yoruba River Goddess
David Coffin
Soloist and Songleader
David Coffin
Soloist and Songleader

David Coffin has performed throughout New England since 1980. He is widely known for his rich baritone voice and his impressive collection of musical instruments, which includes concertinas, recorders, penny-whistles, bombards, gemshorns, cornamuse, shawm, rauschphieffe – or, as he explains, “generally anything that requires a lot of hot air”. At the heart of David’s work is his extensive collection of songs from the Maritime tradition. To date, David has recorded four solo CDs; his latest, Last Trip Home, was released in the Fall of 2009 and features his daughter, Linnea, who is also a Revels performer.

David has performed with Revels since 1980 as a singer, instrumentalist and, since 1991, as Master of Ceremonies. Since 2014, David has served as Artist in Residence at Revels and has presented his acclaimed School Enrichment Programs to schools across the region as an extension of Revels Education. He runs tours of Boston Harbor during the summer months, leading over 5,000 inner-city children on boat trips to George’s and Spectacle Islands. He also directs the narration program for Boston Harbor Cruises and hosts the Brunch Cruises every weekend from May to October.

Stan Strickland
Saxophone
Stan Strickland
Saxophone

Singer, saxophonist, flutist, actor, Stan Strickland has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, New Zealand and the former Soviet Union. . He has performed with the Boston Pops, the Village People, Aretha Franklin, and jazz greats Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Shirley Scott and Marlena Shaw, and opened for Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Natalie Cole and The Bare Naked Ladies.

Stan is an associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music and executive co-director of Express Yourself, a multi-cultural arts organization that serves mentally ill youth through the Department of Mental Health. He received a MA degree from Lesley University in Expressive Arts Therapy with a major in dance therapy.

He has performed and worked with many modern dance companies including members of the Alvin Ailey, Jose Limon, and Bill T Jones companies and Dance Collective of Boston.

His one-man show “Coming Up For Air, An Auto-Jazzography”, tells the story os his near-death experience swimming in Hawaii and received the prestigious Eliot Norton Award in theatre for best solo performance.

Isaura Oliveira
Choreographer and Featured Dancer
Isaura Oliveira
Choreographer and Featured Dancer

Ms. Oliveira was born in Salvador-Bahia, the cradle of African Brazilian culture, where African traditions and the arts are constantly maintained and nourished. This is exactly from where and how Isaura built her cultural-artistic experience. She has devoted her extraordinary talents to work in academic, artistic, community, educational and health venues.

Isaura appeared in a PBS and BBC-TVs documentary “Dancing #5: New Worlds, New Forms” in 1993, as the representative for Brazilian dance. Her classes, lecturers, and performances left a lasting impression at Smith, Radcliffe, Wellesley Colleges; Brown, Wesleyan University, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Stanford, UC Riverside University; as well, at Motion Pacific in Santa Cruz-CA, Spontaneous Celebrations and The Dance Complex in MA.

Isaura performed ANCESTRAIS – her acclaimed solo performance of dance, theater and multi-media, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Kresgie Auditorium in 2001. This program is available for performing arts theaters and festivals. ANCESTRAIS investigates the African Divinities of the Condomblé – the Orixas. Condomblé is the religious system transported by African slaves to Brazil through the state of Bahia. ANCESTRAIS affirms the right of people of the African Diaspora to celebrate, teach and learn their own culture, technique and philosophy as a part of the larger multicultural context of contemporary art. Directed by Isaura Oliveira and Professor Thomas DeFrantz.

Tom Pixton
Accordion
Tom Pixton
Accordion

Tom Pixton has been active in a variety of traditional music scenes for more than 30 years. He is a dear friend of Revels and has been a regular Revels performer since 1997, appearing on stage and working behind the scenes as an accordionist, arranger, singer, and bandleader. He’s worked closely as a dance musician and musical leader for organizations such as the Pinewoods Band, the Folk Arts Center of New England, and the Boston Branch of the Royal Scottish Dance Society. Tom is an accomplished recording artist, with CDs produced in collaboration with Flying Tomatoes, BiCoastal Band, and Pinewoods Band, amongst others. He also publishes the Pinewoods International Collection, a 400-page book of folk dance tunes and songs from around the world! Learn more about Tom on his website at https://www.pixton.org/.

The Pinewoods Morris Men
Featured Ensemble
The Pinewoods Morris Men
Featured Ensemble

The Pinewoods Morris Men are, by all accounts, the oldest morris team in North America (and showing it more every day).  An outgrowth of the Pinewoods dance camp, PMM was organized in 1964.  Although we usually say we are from Boston, our members are scattered across greater Boston and beyond, and we dance annually throughout New England (and occasionally old England).  Pinewoods have also been a definitive part of Midwinter Revels since its inception in 1971.

Boston City Singers
Featured Ensemble
Boston City Singers
Featured Ensemble

Since 1995, Boston City Singers’ mission has been to provide the highest level of creative youth development opportunities to underserved young people, ages 4 – 18, in the very communities in which they live. Their programs inspire personal journeys, bridge opportunity gaps, celebrate diversity, and foster goodwill. Boston City Singers’ strengths lie in an unwavering commitment to social justice and acceptance of differences across socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and gender preference. They emphasize, diversity, inclusion, and respect; innovation and possibility; and responsibility for the communities in which they operate.

Boston City Singers performs music from many ages and cultures, while learning concepts (melody, rhythm, harmony, timbre, dynamics, form, style, and performance practice) and skills (theory, sight-reading and vocal technique).

Good Trouble Brass Band
Featured Ensemble
Good Trouble Brass Band
Featured Ensemble

The Good Trouble Brass Band is a large, not-for-profit, “raucous, stomp-your-foot-and-belt-out-the-choruses” activist New Orleans-style street band based in Somerville and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Our mission is to fight for social justice causes and support community events while having fun and spreading joy through our music. We are also a part of the organizing force behind the HONK! Festival of activist street bands that takes place every October in Somerville’s Davis Square.

Rave Reviews

Modern life tends to separate us from one another. Yet nowhere is the strength of diversity expressed more completely than when our voices come together in song. I am inspired by Revels’ reminder of our commonality and delighted to celebrate the gifts of nature and community at RiverSing.

Noel Paul Stookey

I have treasured memories of being at RiverSing, of bringing folks together. We need this uplifting salve more than ever.

Mary B
Event Information
Revels RiverSing - Two Dragons Dancing

September 28, 2024 5:00 pm ET

This general admission event – no tickets required!

Admission: Free ($5 Suggested Donation)

Location: On the Charles Riverbank by the John W. Weeks Footbridge (near Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA)

While much of the event will involve standing and dancing, audience members are also welcome to bring blankets and lawn chairs to sit on. In the event of unsettled or severe weather, Revels will post updates on its website at www.revels.org.

Schedule

4:45 PM – Puppet procession begins at Winthrop Park and travels to the Weeks Footbridge
5:00 PM  – Pinewoods Morris Men
5:15 PM  – Good Trouble Brass Band
5:30 PM  – Performances and Singalongs led by David Coffin, featuring Paddy Swanson and the Boston City Singers
6:00 PM – Equinox Waltz on the Weeks Footbridge, featuring Stan Strickland and Oshun
6:30 PM – Celebrations and Finale!

Our Sponsors

Our generous sponsors make it possible for Revels to produce world-class performances and educational programs for our audiences.

Let us know how we can work together to promote music, dance, and community!

Learn More