All Boats Rise Entertainment is the community outreach and event-programming arm of Bigger Beast Records, built around a simple idea: when artists, businesses, organizations, and communities work together, everybody has an opportunity to rise.
What began as a need to create more meaningful live-performance opportunities for independent artists has grown into a network of concerts, festivals, listening rooms, songwriter gatherings, educational programs, and mission-driven events designed to strengthen the communities surrounding the music.
All Boats Rise works with independent venues, local businesses, nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and community partners to create experiences that serve multiple purposes at once: giving artists meaningful stages and new audiences, bringing people into local businesses and communities, supporting charitable causes, reinvigorating historic music spaces, and creating memorable experiences for performers and listeners alike.
From intimate house-concert-style performances and songwriter rounds to multi-stage festivals and large-scale benefit concerts, the format may change, but the philosophy remains the same: live music is at its most powerful when everyone involved has something to gain - and something to give.
Through these events and partnerships, our collective efforts have helped raise more than $100,000 for charitable causes, while creating hundreds of performance opportunities for independent artists and helping build stronger connections between the people who make music and the communities that sustain it.
Great music. Stronger communities. All boats rise.
The Events, Venues, & Concerts We Currently Curate Are:
21 Songwriters (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, & West Virginia)
Part music festival, part artist conference, and part community fundraiser, 21 Songwriters is a free, public-facing celebration of original music built to serve the artists, the audience, and the community hosting it.
Each 21 Songwriters experience begins with educational programming designed for the songwriting community, including workshops, panels, and conversations covering songwriting, the music business, career development, and the realities of building a sustainable life in the arts. Artists and industry professionals share knowledge and experiences in an environment designed to encourage learning, collaboration, and new relationships.
Then the conference turns into a festival.
A carefully curated and diverse group of 21 singer-songwriters takes over two stages, with three artists performing together in the round. Across seven rounds, audiences experience original songs and the stories behind them while artists share listeners, discover one another’s work, and build connections that continue long after the event.
When the scheduled performances end, everyone is invited into the circle. Each festival concludes with an All Are Welcome After Hours Song Circle, where artists from the official lineup and songwriters from the surrounding community can pull up a chair, share songs, collaborate, and keep the music going late into the night.
And while all of that is happening, the event is working for the community around it. Admission is free, with donations and proceeds supporting a nonprofit organization local to each festival. Through All Boats Rise Entertainment, we also work alongside host venues, small businesses, community organizations, and local partners so that every edition of 21 Songwriters is rooted in—and gives something back to—the place that welcomes it.
The result is something intentionally difficult to categorize: a music conference for artists that the public is invited into, a festival where collaboration matters as much as performance, and a community gathering that uses original music to raise money and awareness for causes that matter.
21 songwriters. Seven rounds. Two stages. One community. All boats rise.
Paws & Listen (Rhode Island & Connecticut)
Paws & Listen is where songwriting meets animal advocacy - a one-of-a-kind music project that gives shelter animals a voice through original song.
A carefully selected group of songwriters visits a partnering animal shelter or rescue organization, where each artist is paired with an animal waiting for a home. They spend time learning that animal’s story, personality, and journey before taking on a unique creative challenge: write an original song from the animal’s perspective.
Those songs become musical portraits of animals looking for their next chapter, culminating in the Paws & Listen Music Festival, where participating artists perform their compositions for a live audience while introducing the animals, encouraging adoption, and shining a light on the work of the partnering rescue organization.
The inaugural Rhode Island event showed just how powerful that combination can be, welcoming a sold-out audience of more than 400 people, raising over $35,000 for animal rescue, and helping nine shelter animals find homes.
Following that success, Paws & Listen will expand into Connecticut in 2027, bringing the model to a new community while continuing to grow in Rhode Island. The long-term vision is to create a program that can partner with shelters, artists, businesses, and animal advocates in communities throughout the region.
At its heart, Paws & Listen uses creativity to build empathy - bringing artists, animal advocates, local businesses, and music lovers together to raise critical funds, encourage adoption, and create real-world impact through original music.
Every animal has a story. We give a songwriter the chance to tell it.
Shelter From The Storm (Connecticut)
Shelter From The Storm is an annual benefit concert where the independent songwriting community comes together around the music of Bob Dylan to help families facing housing insecurity.
Presented by All Boats Rise Entertainment in partnership with Family Promise of Central Connecticut, the event brings together more than a dozen singer-songwriters for a unique shared-songbook experience. Each artist performs one original song alongside one song from Bob Dylan’s legendary catalog, creating an evening where some of today’s independent voices sit beside the work of one of history’s most influential songwriters.
The connection goes deeper than the music. Inspired by Dylan’s Shelter From the Storm, the event uses the power of song and community to support families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, with 100% of event proceeds benefiting Family Promise and the families they serve.
What makes the night special is the community that forms around it. Songwriters, music lovers, volunteers, local businesses, and Family Promise supporters all gather under one roof—not simply to attend a concert, but to contribute to something larger than the performances themselves.
It’s a celebration of great songwriting, a tribute to an extraordinary catalog, and a reminder of what can happen when a music community rallies around its neighbors.
Great songs can give us shelter. Together, we can help provide it for someone else.
THE RISING (Connecticut)
The Rising is an annual benefit concert where the independent songwriting community comes together around the music of Bruce Springsteen to help neighbors in need.
Presented by All Boats Rise Entertainment, the event brings together more than a dozen singer-songwriters for a unique shared-songbook experience. Each artist performs one of their own original songs alongside one song from Bruce Springsteen’s legendary catalog, creating a night where the voices of independent artists meet the songs of one of America’s most influential storytellers.
Like the music that inspired it, The Rising is rooted in community, resilience, hope, and the idea that we have a responsibility to look out for one another. The event supports Neighborhood Promise and its mission to provide a hand up to individuals and families in need, with proceeds from the concert benefiting that work.
The result is more than a tribute show. It’s a gathering of songwriters, music lovers, volunteers, local businesses, and community members using a shared love of music to make a tangible impact beyond the stage.
Artists sing their songs. They sing Springsteen’s songs. And together, we use those songs to help our neighbors rise.
Great songs. Shared purpose. A hand up to those who need it.
SILK CITY MUSIC FESTIVAL (Connecticut)
Silk City Music Festival is a celebration of independent music, local culture, and the creative community—bringing multiple stages of original music to the heart of Manchester, Connecticut.
Produced through a partnership between All Boats Rise Entertainment, Imagine Manchester, and the Town of Manchester, Connecticut, Silk City brings together a diverse lineup of regional artists spanning Americana, folk, rock, soul, blues, and beyond for a full day of live original music and community connection.
Bigger Beast Records and All Boats Rise Entertainment curate and manage the festival’s multiple stages, bringing an artist-first approach to the event while working alongside our community partners to create an experience that serves artists, audiences, local businesses, and the town itself.
The goal is bigger than simply filling a lineup. Silk City creates an environment where artists meet other artists, audiences discover their next favorite songwriter or band, and original music becomes part of a larger community gathering that brings people together in downtown Manchester.
The festival represents the All Boats Rise philosophy in action: independent artists, community organizations, local government, businesses, and music lovers working together to create something none of us could build alone.
From the first song of the afternoon to the final performance of the night, Silk City is built around discovery, collaboration, and the belief that a thriving regional music scene helps create a stronger community.
Multiple stages. Original music. One community coming together.
Bigger Beast Stage @ CT FOLK FEST (Connecticut)
The Bigger Beast Stage at CT Folk Fest is a celebration of the extraordinary songwriting and independent music being created throughout our region.
One of New England’s longest-running traditions in the folk and Americana community, CT Folk Fest has spent more than three decades bringing artists, audiences, and community together through original music. Beginning in 2025, Bigger Beast Records and All Boats Rise Entertainment joined that tradition by curating and producing the Bigger Beast Stage as part of the annual festival.
The stage focuses on regional artists and songwriters, highlighting original voices whose music reflects the spirit of folk, Americana, roots music, and the broader singer-songwriter community, while maintaining a meaningful connection to the musical community CT Folk has cultivated for more than three decades.
For Bigger Beast and All Boats Rise, the partnership represents exactly the kind of work we believe in: collaborating with an established community organization, supporting an important piece of New England music history, and using our platform to create meaningful opportunities for independent artists.
We’re proud to play a small part in carrying the CT Folk tradition forward while helping shine a brighter light on the incredible music being made throughout our region.
Regional artists. Original songs. A stage built to celebrate both.
The Restoration Songwriter Series @ The Marketplace (Connecticut)
Restoration is an intimate acoustic concert series built around a simple mission: restoring and revitalizing the New England songwriter community by creating spaces where great songs are truly heard.
Now housed at The Marketplace at Guilford Food Center in downtown Guilford, Connecticut, Restoration transforms a beloved family-owned local business into an intimate listening room, bringing nationally touring artists and exceptional regional songwriters into a setting designed around connection, storytelling, and the songs themselves.
Presented by Bigger Beast Records and All Boats Rise Entertainment, the series reflects our belief that meaningful live music doesn’t always require a traditional music venue. Sometimes it means bringing the venue to the community—partnering with a local business, temporarily transforming a familiar space, and creating a concert experience that feels more like gathering in someone’s living room than attending a conventional show.
The name Restoration remains at the heart of the mission. It represents our desire to help restore the culture of the listening room, strengthen the infrastructure available to independent touring artists, and remind audiences of the power of experiencing original music without the distractions that so often surround live performance.
Every Restoration concert is intentionally intimate, artist-focused, and built around the stories behind the songs—creating an experience where artists are listened to, audiences are connected, and a local business becomes part of the music community.
Restoring & revitalizing the New England songwriter community, one show at a time.
Bigger Beast House Concert Series @ Cantean Coffee - Hamden, CT
At Bigger Beast Records and All Boats Rise Entertainment, we believe in ecosystems -places where artists, small businesses, nonprofits, educators, music lovers, and communities can work together to create something greater than any of us could build alone. Our partnership with Cantean Coffee & Tea in Hamden, Connecticut, brings that idea to life.
A small, woman-owned café with seating for fewer than 30 guests, Cantean was lovingly built by owner Sarah with the hands and heart of an artist. The space radiates creativity and warmth. Too intimate to function as a traditional music venue but far too special to ignore, we saw an opportunity to create something different: the intimacy of the American house-concert tradition blended with the spirit of the legendary listening rooms of 1960s Greenwich Village.
The result is one of the most intimate listening experiences in Connecticut—a twice-monthly series built around original songs, storytelling, and the connection between artist and audience. Each concert is curated like a house show while maintaining the comforts of a full-service café offering coffee, wine, beer, food, and desserts. When the music begins, service pauses and the room becomes pin-drop quiet, allowing every lyric, story, and note to have its moment.
More than a concert series, Cantean represents what All Boats Rise is built to do: support a local business, create a meaningful performance opportunity for independent artists, and give audiences a place to experience original music the way it was meant to be heard.
Twenty-four seats. Original songs. No distractions. Just listening.
Tip of The Hat Songwriter Series (Connecticut)
Tip of the Hat bridges the gap between the songs audiences already love and the independent artists they may be hearing for the first time. Part songwriter round, part tribute concert, the series brings artists together to perform their own original music alongside songs from the legendary writers and performers who inspired them.
Each edition centers around a different musical icon or songbook, with participating artists reimagining familiar songs through their own voices while introducing audiences to the original music they’re creating today. The result is a listening-room experience where discovery feels familiar—giving casual music fans an entry point into the independent songwriting community.
Presented several times throughout the year by Bigger Beast Records and All Boats Rise Entertainment, Tip of the Hat has celebrated the music of artists including Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Marley, Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Joan Baez, Billy Joel, Van Morrison, and more.
At its heart, Tip of the Hat is about the lineage of songwriting: the artists who inspired us, the artists creating today, and the songs that connect them.
The Revival Songwrter Showcase @ The Brownestone - Hartford, CT
With more than 1,000 performances behind him and a career spent connecting artists, audiences, and ideas, nationally touring singer/songwriter Lee Totten brings his experience, creative energy, and deep belief in musical community to the heart of Hartford, Connecticut.
The Lee Totten Revival is an intimate monthly songwriter series built around discovery and connection. Hosted and curated by Totten at a cozy neighborhood pizza bar, each edition brings together a handpicked group of independent songwriters—often artists Lee has encountered through years of touring and working throughout the music community. Lee opens each evening himself before turning the room over to the artists and songs he believes deserve to be heard.
Presented by Bigger Beast Records and All Boats Rise Entertainment, the series reflects one of the ideas at the center of everything we do: meaningful music communities can grow almost anywhere when the right artists, local businesses, and listeners are brought together.
Part concert, part gathering, and unmistakably Lee, The Lee Totten Revival is a monthly celebration of original songs, new connections, and the independent artists keeping Hartford’s creative community moving forward.
Monthly All Are Welcome Songwriters Open Mic @ Cantean - Hamden, CT
Some of the most meaningful moments in music happen after the scheduled show is over - when the stage disappears, a guitar gets passed around, and everyone in the room has an opportunity to share a song.
Inspired by the campground and after-hours song circles that have long been part of the folk festival tradition, the All Are Welcome Open Mic brings that same spirit to Cantean Coffee & Tea in Hamden, Connecticut.
The series grew directly from the All Are Welcome After Hours Song Circles that close every 21 Songwriters festival, where artists from the official lineup perform alongside songwriters who simply showed up with something to share. The idea is intentionally simple: your music belongs here whether or not your name is on the poster.
Presented by Bigger Beast Records and All Boats Rise Entertainment, the recurring Cantean open mic welcomes songwriters and performers at every stage of their creative journey—from someone sharing an original song publicly for the first time to seasoned touring artists trying something new. Hosted by members of the regional songwriting community, the evening is built around encouragement, discovery, connection, and listening.
In a room of fewer than 30 people, there isn't much distance between the performer and the audience—and that's exactly the point. All Are Welcome is about creating the kind of grassroots space where artists meet, songs begin, collaborations form, and a music community grows from the ground up.
All are welcome. All are heard.
What Venues And Partners Have To Say About All Boats Rise Entertainment…
Cantean Coffee & Tea
“In November of 2024, Bigger Beast Records in conjunction with All Boats Rise Entertainment organized a Songwriters Open Mic at my small business, Cantean Coffee and Tea in Hamden, Connecticut. Shortly thereafter another project formed—and on March 15, 2025, Bigger Beast/All Boats Rise launched their House Concert Series at Cantean, transforming the café into an intimate listening room. Several months and several shows later, we remain thrilled over this collaboration. The All Boats Rise events have boosted sales and expanded our customer base. In addition, working with the whole Bigger Beast team has been an absolute joy. The house concerts are thoughtfully designed and gracefully executed. The architecture of the evening provides ease of operation for the Cantean staff as well as a superb listening experience for the attendees. It has been so exciting to co-develop a supportive space for a diverse and carefully curated lineup roster of singer-songwriters to engage with an attentive audience”.
— Sarah Gardner Borden (Owner, Cantean Coffee & Tea)
No Worries Brewing
Working with All Boats Rise Entertainment has been an ideal partnership for No Worries Brewing. We are big advocates and fans of music but as a unique location we struggled to maintain consistency in our live music schedule in regards to preferred style and sonic quality. All Boats Rise worked closely with us to define a consistent lineup of artists that work well in helping us create our desired atmosphere and become a consistent place for patrons both new and existing to enjoy live music. They are organized, detail oriented, and consitent in their approach to ensure we are beyond happy with the artists performing in our space”.
— Kevin Mark (Owner, No Worries Brewing)
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To Check Out Some Of The Incredible Artists Bigger Beast / All Boats Rise Ent. Is Proud To Have Booked…
Here’s What The Artists Have To Say About Working With All Boats Rise Entertainment…
“So Often In The Music Trade, Artists Must Do Business With Less-Than-Honorable Characters Seeking To Diminish The Value of Live Performance, Who Wring Out Every Cent And Minute They Can Out of The Artist, And/Or Create An Atmosphere of Parasitic Behavior Which Serves No One - Not The Venue, Not The Artist, Not The Audience. But Every Once In A While, Good, Decent People Rise Above The Noise And Hold The Best Interest of Everyone Involved. The Team At All Boats Rise Entertainment Are Such People. They Ensure The Venue And Artist Are A Good Match, That The Collaboration of Entertainment, Venue, And Patrons Are in Sync, And That All Parties Are Treated With The Respect That Frankly, Everyone Deserves. Simply Put, The Folks At All Boats Rise Are Good People Doing Good Work.” (Seth Adam)
“All Boats Rise Entertainment has been a wonderful asset to the CT music scene. Their communication has always been prompt and professional. I’m grateful to have connected with them as they have provided intimate spaces for original artists, like myself, to try new material to attentive audiences.” (Riley Cotton)