Rain postpones JCCA opening concert, doesn’t dampen spirits

There is only one thing wrong with the Johnston Community Center Association’s Summer Concerts and Movies in the Park series.

“Unfortunately, our events depend upon the weather,” said Glenn Carroll, the non-profit’s long-serving president, on Sunday. “With the weather forecast being what it is, tonight’s concert has been postponed.”

Carroll, like many other Johnstonians who were looking forward to a return visit by the popular Billy Harpin Band, was disappointed and announced that “we’ll reschedule the group for another night once they can fit it into their schedule.”

That’s because Harpin and company, who now have five members instead of the original three friends from Foster, have an extremely busy schedule due to the fact the leaders, Amanda Loffredo and Art DelFino, have been honing their craft for nearly five years together and performing shows across the New England music scene.

Now, the band – which goes under the official tag of BHB – is a more versatile group having added a new rhythm section and becoming a more powerful “new groove machine” as Harpin related the other night, with Joe Milia on drums and Ben Ramos on base guitar.

With the addition of Ramos, DelFino, who was the former drummer, can show off his many musical talents by playing the guitar.

“We were disappointed that Sunday’s concert was postponed,” Harpin said. “We were really looking forward to presenting our new look.”

Carroll said the JCCA will set another date to showcase the BHB in concert once the now five-member troupe can set a date in stone given its demanding schedule.

When that date is indeed finalized, it could mean that BHB will treat concert goers to a sample of its first EP that is scheduled to be release this summer.

And that, JCCA officials and the BHB’s many fans will concur, will also include the vast library of cover and original material, including but not limited to 60s pop, classic rock and top 40 music the BHB cast plays while guaranteeing a memorable show no matter where the venue is located.

The JCCA’s next scheduled concert will feature a band named Edge of Dreams on Sunday, Aug. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. inside Johnston War Memorial Park. The group’s highly-popular Movies in the Park will debut next Saturday, Aug. 4 beginning at 8 o’clock. Other movie nights are set for Aug. 18 and Sept. 8.