"Kemp Harris is a thief, a tease and a heartbreaker. He knows too much. And it’s all right there when he sings. Beautifully there. He'll take your breath away."
- Tom Ashbrook, Host of NPR's On Point

Down By Riverside is incredibly excited to present Kemp Harris to the Spirit of Music Community. He is a composer, musician, children’s author, actor and teacher. Born in North Carolina, Kemp taught himself piano and was writing songs at age 14. As a musician and composer, Kemp has shared the stage with Taj Mahal, Gil Scott-Heron and blues artist, Koko Taylor. He wrote and performed “If Loneliness Was Black” for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Complexions Dance Company. Kemp has also composed for WGBH Public Television/Boston.

Jonathan Gramling and Toussaint the Liberator will be performing their healing harmonies and rhythms. They take the audience on a deep examination of history, Black culture and experience in America. Drawing from spirituals, blues, soul and reggae they invoke their upbringing as the sons of preachers in Philadelphia and Indiana. Our spirits become tangible and entwined with this duo.

About the Spirit of Music Events:

Our goal is for everybody that wants to come, to be able to come. One of the core missions of Down By Riverside is TO MAKE MUSIC AND COMMUNITY MORE ACCESSIBLE. Please contact us if you need assistance in being able to come to this event! We want you here with us.

Spirit of Music Potluck Concerts are organized by Down By Riverside, Inc. a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit based in Medford, MA. We use music and food to create feelings of connectedness and community. The music and performers are curated to engage the spirit, educate participants and to transport the listeners to a safe place. Our goal is to make these events easy to attend and free to anyone who wants to come. If you can afford to help us provide this experience to all, we appreciate your donations!

We would love for you to bring a contribution to the Potluck! Previous attendees have said that they love the stories about the recipes as much as the food! We will ask potluck questions during the donation and ticket purchase process. You can also email our founder, Hendrik, with any questions.

Tickets for Free, Tickets for Donations and Donations

People can financially support our events in 2 ways: Buying Tickets or Making Donation. We have FREE TICKETS available as well as our SUGGESTED DONATION TICKETS, which cost $15 for adults and $7.50 for elders and children.

For example, if you want to make a donation of $50 for your family of 6, then just order 6 free tickets and then make an additional optional donation of $50 when you check out. In order to capture the data of the demographics of participants who are coming to our events, we want to know the number of children, adults and elders that are coming.

We are part of the Card to Culture program for folks with ConnectorCare, EBT, and WIC programs. We are also a pilot CULTURAL PARTNER of ART PHARMACY, an organization that is pioneering using art and culture to IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH.

The church is accessible and meets ADA standards. There is limited free parking at the church and attendees can park on the streets, because permit parking is not enforced on Sundays.

Spirit of Music Potluck Concert

June 9 Special Guest Kemp Harris