RISA News

Sunday August 24 looks like a beautiful day for music along the bay .
FREE!!!! RI Folk Festival 12-6
Stop by the RISA tent at the top of the main stage hill and say HELLO!!
We have RISA members hitting the stages this year, including Mary Pierce, Jan Luby & Michelle Saylors playing on the Songbird Stage and MaryAnn Rossoni is playing the mainstage.
Plus lots of fabulous acts all day!!
See you there!
Let the music play!

Hi All! 

Joanne Lurgio here.

IT IS TIME TO START BOOKING RISA’s SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND (SITR), 2026, Season 23! 

If you are interested in submitting to perform, please read the following info and respond by EMAIL to me at jmlurgio@verizon.net. Put SITR2026 in the subject line, and let me know your availability from the dates below.

What Is Songwriters in the Round (SITR)?

It is our RISA monthly songwriter series. Four Songwriters sit on stage together (RISA host, 2 RISA members & 1 non-member/touring artist )

The show is all acoustic (No PA). 4 Rounds of original songs. All levels of writers are encouraged to participate.

ATTENTION In round 3, songwriters perform a NEW song written for the show based on a theme/prompt selected by the previous month’s audience. You will get the prompt about 3 or 4 weeks prior to your SITR session.

It is a great illustration of the songwriting process. It is all about the song. It is FUN and a great night of music & friends.

Spots are limited so FIRST PREFERENCE GOES TO THOSE WHO DID NOT PERFORM IN 2025.

See Songwriters in the Round for more info about SITR.

***

Songwriters in the Round is held the 2nd Thursday of the every month, 7pm at Artists’ Exchange , 50 Rolfe Square, Cranston, RI

Dates for the 2026 Season:

January 8, 2026

February 12

March 12

April 9

May 14

June 11

July 9

August 13

September 10

October 8

November 12

December 10

****

If you are interested in playing or have questions, please email me at  jmlurgio@verizon.net with SITR2026 in the subject line.

Let me know if there are dates you can not perform and/or any preferred dates and I will keep it in mind when arranging the seats.

THANK YOU Very Much!

Regards,

Joanne

Hello, 

We’re excited to announce that our new website is now live! It uses the same domain URL as the old one:
risongwriters.com

If you are a member, you can use your email address to log in to your member profile. If you would like to become a member, just click Join/Renew on the top menu. You can pay with a credit card, or mail us a check for your membership fee.
 
If you forgot your password, or if this is your first time logging in, please click on the Forgot Password link to reset it.

Once logged in, members can click on their name at the top of the web page to go to their profile. There they can update and verify their contact information. Be sure to read Members => Info for New Members for more detailed info. 

While you are there, visit some of the other website pages. The website will evolve as we become more familiar with it and add new features. We think this will help us build on an already great songwriting community.

If you have difficulty logging in or have other questions about our website, please contact Tom Smith, who is assisting us with the launch. His email is Tom@TomSmithMusic.com.

Our new website gives members more control over the information they share with other members and the public, allows us to communicate more effectively with members and the public, provides improved event management, online payments, and more. It may take us a while to get used to these new website features, so thank you for your patience. 

All the best,

The Rhode Island Songwriters Association Team

SAVE THE DATES

We have some great events coming up. Check the Events page for details and to register.

Aug. 14, 7:00 pm:
Songwriters in the Round, Cranston, RI

Sept 6, 1:00-5:00 pm:
Joe Doyle Songwriting Workshop, N. Scituate, RI

Sept 13, 2:00-6:00 pm:
RISA Potluck and Play, Fundraiser, Norton, MA.
(Rain date: Sept 14)

Oct 4, 1:00 - 5:00 pm:
Lilly Cataldi Performance Workshop, N. Scituate, RI, 

Nov 6 - Nov 9:
Northeast Regional Folk Alliance, Albany, NY,
This is not a RISA event, but as a RISA member, early registrants to NERFA get a discount. See NERFA Conference for more info. 

Hope to see you at some of these great events!

In exchange for the use of the Artists' Exchange for the RISA Songwriters in the Round series, each month RISA hosts a sing-along for trhe good folks there. We need volunteers to host. These sing-alongs take place the first Wednesdays at 9:30 am, and you get to pick the songs.

Can you help? If you would like to host, or just attend, please contact Jan Luby, the event organizer (janlubysongs@gmail.com). 

The Artists' Exchange is located at 50 Rolfe Square, Cranston, RI. Here is their website.
https://www.artists-exchange.org/