Welcome the holiday weekend with easy reggae vibes from Toussaint the Liberator at the Payomet Performing Arts Center, 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro, on Saturday, July 3rd, at 4 and 7 p.m. Toussaint plays djembe drum with impassioned vocals reminiscent of Dennis Brown. Tickets are $20 at payomet.org.
Payomet Performing Arts Center
Class Clown
Payomet Performing Arts Center’s Cirque by the Sea Circus Camp returns for its ninth year at 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro. Aerial arts, acrobatics, juggling, trampoline, physical comedy, improv, and rope climbing for children ages 7 to 14. It runs July 5th through August 20th, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration is $380. There is also Nature Ninjas, for children ages 5 to 14, on Wednesdays, July 7th through August 18th, 10 a.m. to noon. Registration is $30 per class at payomet.org.
Best Alternative
The all-female Latin alternative group LADAMA will perform live at the Payomet Performing Arts Center, 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro, on Saturday, June 26th, at 7 p.m. The concert, part of Payomet’s “Open Arms” global music series, will blend traditional and contemporary music from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and the U.S. Tickets are $25 at payomet.org.
Gettin’ Groovy
The Grammy-nominated GroovaLottos are performing their brand of “Southcoast Thump & Soul” at the Payomet Performing Arts Center, 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro, on Saturday, June 19th, at 7 p.m. The band is composed of Chuck V on bass, Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor on keyboard and vocals, and ZYG 808 on drums and vocals. Tickets are $20 at payomet.org.
MUSICIANS
From Brooklyn With Love
Alexis P. Suter brings her booming voice to Payomet
If thunder could sing, it would sound like Alexis P. Suter. The big-voiced blues belter from Brooklyn is a singer whose power and presence bring to mind Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.
Suter — who is coming with her band to Payomet’s drive-in stage for two shows on Saturday, June 5 — isn’t simply a shouter. She’s a nuanced vocalist with subtlety and substance who connects emotionally with the lyrics. In that way, she follows in the footsteps of her mother, Claire Suter, a gospel singer who performed with many of the greats, including Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Mavis Staples.
“She always encouraged my siblings and me,” Suter says. “We were all sort of led on that path.”

Suter’s earliest performances were singing at church functions and as a member of Brooklyn’s Emmanuel Baptist Church choir. There are those who, upon hearing the force and emotion in her voice, still categorize her as a gospel singer.
“I started out singing gospel because that’s my background,” says Suter, “but I sing all music.
“I’m open to different music because I want to reach everybody,” she continues. “And I can’t reach everybody if I’m just doing gospel. I’m more of a spiritualist now, with a lot of Christian beliefs.”
Suter’s professional start was in a musical genre far removed from gospel. In 1990, the pulsating rhythm of house music was the hottest thing on the dance club scene, and Suter, inspired by its four-on-the-floor beat, recorded her first song, a dance track, “Slam Me Baby,” which caught the ears of execs at Epic Records and garnered her a recording contract.
The music brought her in contact with two kindred spirits: Vicki Bell and her husband, drummer Ray Grappone. The three began recording house music together, but, in time, Suter found the genre too confining.
“One day I sat down with Vicki and I said, ‘Vicki, we are so much more.’ Because her and Ray have a Broadway background, I knew that they were musically open to doing other things,” Suter says.
“I said, ‘We can get a band together and we can do some really magnificent things.’ Not long after that, we got a band together and we’ve been doing it ever since.”
The group got a big break when singer Amy Helm, daughter of Levon Helm, the legendary drummer for The Band, heard them perform and introduced them to her father. He, too, was taken by Suter and her group, inviting them to appear at one of the Midnight Ramble music sessions he held at his home in Woodstock, N.Y. That led to a longtime relationship with Helm that had the group touring with him as his opening act.
“I’m grateful to him for giving us that platform,” Suter says. “And he gave us that platform because, in his words, ‘If we weren’t good, we wouldn’t be there.’ ”
The group has released nine albums, including an early house recording. The most recent issue is Hat Trick, a compilation culled from the band’s first three recordings. The latest release of new material is 2019’s Be Love, which concludes with Suter’s mother singing the gospel standard “I Just Got Off the Devil’s Train.” Suter’s own selections on the album are all original numbers that blend elements of rock, blues, soul, funk, and gospel.
Suter draws from a large pool of artists she has covered, with songs ranging from backwater blues to arena rock. Often, the selections have a concealed message. A particularly significant choice is George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity,” which Suter dedicated to Trayvon Martin, whose killing, in 2012, set the spark for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“That was a very sad time and that song, in my opinion, said a lot about people,” says Suter. The lyrics are “Isn’t it a pity, isn’t it a shame? How we break each other’s hearts, and cause each other pain?”
“I wanted people to look at the song,” continues Suter. “Not only listen to it, but look at the song and think about what part do you play in the healing, and what part do you play in wanting to help?”
Music is how Suter plays her part — using her talents to facilitate healing. “My main thing is love — if you can show that or give it,” she says. “Sometimes people have a hard time — love is the one thing that will get us through it no matter what the religion is. Love will get us through any and everything.”
A Worthy Suter
The event: The Alexis P. Suter Band plays a live drive-in concert
The time: Saturday, June 5; two shows, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The place: Payomet Performing Arts Center, 29 Old Dewline Rd. in Truro
The cost: Tickets are $25 at payomet.org
Worthy Tribute
The Garcia Project, an acclaimed Jerry Garcia tribute band, will be rocking the Payomet Performing Arts Center’s Ballfield Drive-In, 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro, on Saturday, May 29th, from 4 and 7 p.m., as well as Sunday, May 30th, at 4 p.m. They will be joined by special guest artists Maria Muldaur and Greg Anton. Tickets are $35 at payomet.org.
Up Beat
Aurelio Martinez plays a virtual concert via the Payomet Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, May 26th, at 7 p.m.; pre-concert workshop at 6:40 p.m. Born in Honduras, Martinez specializes in Garifuna music. The concert is the first in Payomet’s “Open Arms” global music series. Tickets are pay-what-you-can at payomet.org.
A ‘Fiesta de Musica’ to Benefit Payomet
Clear out the living room and put on your dancing shoes. Payomet Performing Arts Center will present “Fiesta de Musica!,” a virtual concert featuring the Los Angeles band Las Cafeteras, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5th. This Cinco de Mayo benefit for Payomet beams directly into the dance hall of your choice, with a moderated virtual meet and greet with band members in the half hour leading up to the show.
The music is infectious, fusing traditional instrumentation with Afro-Mexican, hip-hop, and folk influences in a message that’s socially and politically conscious — a musical mirror of the band’s East L.A. community. Las Cafeteras will get your feet moving while opening your heart and mind. Their music transcends borders.
“They’re phenomenal. They’re electric,” says Payomet’s artistic director, Kevin Rice. “They’re immigrants, and dreamers. They’ll sing Woody Guthrie’s ‘This Land Is Your Land,’ and they start in English and segue right into Spanish. It’s powerful.”
Tickets are available at payomet.org. The concert itself is $35; add the meet and greet for $100. The Fiesta Party Package includes all of the above, plus chips and salsa, glasses, and margarita fixings, for $150. —André van der Wende
Johnny Spampinato Rocks the Payomet Drive-in
Johnny Spampinato and the Value Leaders — Mark Usher on guitar, Jay Cournoyer on bass, and Sam Wood on drums — a rock ’n’ roll group formed from members of popular local bands, will perform live in concert at the Payomet Performing Arts Center’s Ballfield Drive-in at 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro on Saturday, October 31st, at 5 p.m.
Tickets are $20 to $50, on a pay-what-you-can scale, at payomet.org. The first 10 first responders or essential workers will get in for free.
Also at Payomet: Jimmy Tingle will perform his show “20/20 Vision: Why Would a Comedian Run for Office?” live at the drive-in on Sunday, November 1st, at 5 p.m. Tickets are same as above.
Cash Plus
Payomet Performing Arts Center is putting on its virtual gala, “The Beat Goes On,” this Saturday, October 24th, at 5 p.m. There will be appearances by Judy Collins, Rosanne Cash, Suzanne Vega, and others. Registration is free, but donations encouraged, at payomet.org.
Triple Header
Cirque by the Sea’s Sandman continues live at the Payomet Performing Arts Center’s Ballfield Drive-in at 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro, on Friday, October 2nd, and Sunday, October 4th, at 5p.m; tickets are $20 for adults, and $10 for kids at payomet.org. Also at the Drive-in, Toussaint the Liberator is back on Saturday, October 3rd, at 4 and 7 p.m; pay what you can between $20-50. And Suzanne Vega will do a live-stream benefit performance for Payomet on Wednesday, October 7th, at 9 p.m, for $24. All month long, Payomet is offering free tickets to the first 10 essential workers who call.
Triple Header
Cirque by the Sea’s Sandman continues live at the Payomet Performing Arts Center’s Ballfield Drive-in at 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro, on Friday, October 2nd, and Sunday, October 4th, at 5p.m; tickets are $20 for adults, and $10 for kids at payomet.org. Also at the Drive-in, Toussaint the Liberator is back on Saturday, October 3rd, at 4 and 7 p.m; pay what you can between $20-50. And Suzanne Vega will do a live-stream benefit performance for Payomet on Wednesday, October 7th, at 9 p.m, for $24. All month long, Payomet is offering free tickets to the first 10 essential workers who call.
Triple Header
Cirque by the Sea’s Sandman continues live at the Payomet Performing Arts Center’s Ballfield Drive-in at 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro, on Friday, October 2nd, and Sunday, October 4th, at 5p.m; tickets are $20 for adults, and $10 for kids at payomet.org. Also at the Drive-in, Toussaint the Liberator is back on Saturday, October 3rd, at 4 and 7 p.m; pay what you can between $20-50. And Suzanne Vega will do a live-stream benefit performance for Payomet on Wednesday, October 7th, at 9 p.m, for $24. All month long, Payomet is offering free tickets to the first 10 essential workers who call.
Live in Truro
Payomet Performing Arts Center continues its run of Cirque of the Sea’s Sandman, live at the Ballfield Drive-in, 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro, on Friday, September 25th, and Wednesday, September 30th, at 5 p.m. Tickets are $20, or $10 for kids, at payomet.org. Tianna Esperanza and pianist Roberto Acosta are in concert at the Drive-in on Saturday, September 26th, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20.
Live in Truro
Payomet Performing Arts Center continues its run of Cirque of the Sea’s Sandman, live at the Ballfield Drive-in, 29 Old Dewline Road in Truro, on Friday, September 25th, and Wednesday, September 30th, at 5 p.m. Tickets are $20, or $10 for kids, at payomet.org. Tianna Esperanza and pianist Roberto Acosta are in concert at the Drive-in on Saturday, September 26th, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20.