An ice rink hosting an R&B block party while a gospel choir prepares to perform with Big Freedia sounds less like a carefully coordinated civic festival than a particularly busy Providence group chat. That may be the clearest way to understand PVDFest this year. The festival returns September 18 and 19 with a lineup that places local DJs, gospel voices, makers, cultural groups, and a New Orleans bounce icon within a few downtown blocks. Both nights now stretch until 10 pm, giving the city more time to settle into the music.
Friday belongs to LUV U BETTER, stay silent’s all-R&B party, which takes over the Providence Rink from 5-10 pm. The setting makes for an especially Providence transformation. A space better known for winter skates and shortcuts through downtown becomes a dance floor built around slow jams, throwbacks, club records, and the songs that can send half a crowd into the same chorus.
Launched in 2015, LUV U BETTER has grown alongside stay silent, the Providence creative company behind events spanning R&B, hip-hop, African, Caribbean, Latin, and global club sounds. Slick Vick, King Marie, Mozes, Charlie Tunes, and Where’s Nasty will rotate through Friday’s lineup…