FirstWorks, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting art with audiences, is hosting its 2024 Summer Beats Concert Series over the next week-plus in Providence. Presented in partnership with Roger Williams Park Conservancy and Providence Parks Department, the free outdoor concerts at the Roger Williams Park Bandstand feature a global journey of danceable headliners, including the Ivory Coast’s queen of modern Afropop, Dobet Gnahoré, on Thursday, July 11, tropical Afro-Latin combo QUITAPENAS on Sunday, July 14, and Salsa Dura greats La Excelencia on Sunday, July 21.

For details visit https://firstworks.org.

“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with FirstWorks to bring dynamic, world-class talent to Providence's backyard for the entire community to enjoy this summer, no passports needed,” said Bonnie Nickerson, executive director of Roger Williams Park Conservancy.

The virtuosic singer, dancer, percussionist and songwriter Dobet Gnahoré kicks off the summer series with a 6 p.m. show. Gnahoré has taken the modern Afropop sounds of her home country in exciting new directions and is a 2010 GRAMMY Award-winner for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. She is known for her jaw-dropping dance moves, powerful stage presence and richly emotional vocal style.

Up next is the six-piece, tropical Afro-Latin combo QUITAPENAS, hitting the Roger Williams Park Bandstand stage on Sunday, July 14, 2024 at 6 p.m. with a smile-inducing rhythmic contagion borrowing aesthetics from the radical 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. The Spanish name QUITAPENAS means “to remove worries.” Everybody has a “pena” (worry), and the mission of the band is simple: to make audiences dance and leave them without a worry.

The third concert of this year’s Summer Beats global journey transports audiences to the dance floors of New York City’s Salsa scene with an electrifying performance by La Excelencia on Sunday, July 21, at 6 p.m. The 12-piece Salsa Dura band is inspired by the salsa sounds of the 1970s and the sociopolitical landscape of today. La Excelencia’s in-your-face sound and energetic live performances reach outside of the salsa norm and have propelled the band to mainstream audiences around the world.