ASG Festival, October 16
Stories With True Facts | Do It Now

Stories With True Facts
Paul Richmond, Beat Poet Laureate of Massachusetts hosts an evening of local story tellers weaving truth with untruths.

Paul Richmond hosts and promotes monthly and annually spoken-word poetry events & festivals including the Greenfield Annual Word Festival as well as the Now The Great Falls Word Festival in Turners Falls among others.


Do It Now
A trio fusing spoken word and improvisational music, Do It Now features poet Paul Richmond, and musicians John Sheldon and Tony Vacca. Returning to the Pioneer Valley after a recent performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the trio fuses spoken word and improvised designed to encourage action. Whether advocating for social change or looking to improve the personal, Do It Now’s message is to never put it off!

Paul Richmond is the Beat Poet Laureate of Massachusetts for 2017 to 2019. Best described as political, deadpan and wryly humorous, his unmatched gift for words always energize. He has performed nationally and internationally on stages from the Austin International Poetry Festival, in Texas, to Gödör Klubban in Hungary. His work has been published in books, journals, magazines, anthologies and poetry collections.

John Sheldon is a master guitarist. He played lead in Van Morrison's band at the age of 17, wrote songs for James Taylor, and unknowingly drew praise from Jimi Hendrix. Using a blend of storytelling and guitar, John’s ironclad belief in the power of sound pervades all of his performances. For Sheldon, music is not just entertainment, but a soul saving enterprise, worthy of a lifelong commitment.

Tony Vacca, an innovative percussionist with Jazz and World Music roots has made a habit of pushing the conventions of World Music into new territory. As the leader of his World Rhythms Ensemble, he is part of a wave of musicians whose work has fueled efforts to build global common ground. His trips to West Africa have influenced his approach to playing the balafon, and to his knowledge of African and American musical traditions. He has recorded and/or performed with Sting, Baaba Maal, Don Cherry, Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets, Massamba Diop and others.