Support Massachusetts Walking Tour

Since 2010, co-founders Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards have organized an annual grassroots bipedal concert tour of Massachusetts in support of arts and culture for towns throughout the state. Each free community concert collaborates with local artists, musicians, educational programs, trail managers and land trust groups to highlight both artistic diversity and recreational land use. With each visit, a community has pulled together and taken part in a dialogue which serves to strengthen local investment in the arts.

People still ask “so you actually walk?” YES, with our instruments, and camping gear, to each and every show – and after 8-13 miles of hiking roads and trailways, we perform a concert.

“Well, how does that support the arts?” Each WT event is a collaboration of cultural movers and shakers such as local artists, art organizations, trail volunteers, cultural council members, and school systems for an evening of shared ideas, stories, and song – thanks to state grants and private trusts, the concerts are always FREE for the communities we visit.

The Massachusetts Walking Tour has performed over 140 concerts in 123 towns across the state, partnering with the National Parks Service, Mass Audubon, Trustees, DCR, Freedoms Way and AMC to hike sections of the Appalachian Trail, Mid-State Trail, New England National Scenic Trail, Bay Circuit Trail, Cape Cod Rail Trail, South Coast Bikeway and many of the region’s smaller recreational greenspaces. In 2017, Senator Ed Markey officially recognized the Massachusetts Walking Tour in the congressional record for an annual commitment to promoting trails, arts and culture throughout the state.

“Our intention is simply to help people understand the importance of greenspace in our busy lives by inviting them out for a walk, to see younger and older folks hiking together, sharing thoughts on a nice day out in the woods,” states co-founder Mark Mandeville. “As for the concerts, we do our best to create a respectful listening environment which highlights local performers, artists and folks with good work to announce – in that way, each concert is unique.”

Aside from organizing the Massachusetts Walking Tour, performing and recording their original compositions, Mandeville and Richards have served for over a decade as music teachers in central MA and in 2024 the couple helped form the nonprofit Blackstone Valley Music and Performing Arts Collaborative (officially a registered 501(c)3!! ) to assist the operation of their music school, continuing all the great programs there such as individualized music lessons, Rock Band Camp and Community Coffeehouse night. The Massachusetts Walking Tour is now also managed by BVMPAC so any donations are tax deductible!