The Blackstone

About me:

.. .. .... .. The Blackstone was a live music venue, arts space and restaurant, most recently located in the ..Hope Artiste Village.. in Pawtucket, R.I., where we moved in 2007 after 8 years in Cumberland and, previously, 2 years elsewhere in Pawtucket... .. The Blackstone closed its doors on March 31, 2010. As some of you may know, former co-owner and booker Marion Davis recently moved to Boston to focus on writing and PR, and this is too large an operation for a single person to run alone, not as a family business. The economy and other factors also contributed to our decision... .. At this point, we're not sure what lies ahead. John Lefrancois, who founded the club in 1996, remains in Rhode Island and will continue to be active in music circles – and will reopen The Blackstone if the right opportunity arises. When we closed our Cumberland location, in 2006, it took us nine months to return; this time, we don't know. .. .. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with so many fantastic musicians, and we're very proud of what we built. We thank you all for supporting our club, and for supporting the bands, some of whom we've seen grow for years. Rhode Island has an extraordinary talent base, and we hope it continues to thrive, whether or not our stage is part of it. .. .. We're also grateful to our wonderful clientele, who've often treated The Blackstone as a second home, even jumped in and helped us. We're quite aware that what we had was rare – a place where so many different kinds of people could feel welcome, enjoy food and drinks and music together, and make new connections. We became friends with many of our neighbors; we'll still come back for the hospitality of Rosinha's. .. .. Last, but not least, we want to thank our staff, who brought life and energy to our bar, held the place together, and in many cases also became like family. Some have done yeomen's work in our last weeks, and we deeply appreciate it. .... If you'd like to reach us, the contact form and email addresses are still active; Marion gets marion [at] and info [at] blackstoneclub.com, and John gets john [at]. All the best to all of you, and again, thank you! .... John Lefrancois & Marion Davis .... ..