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“The Creative Capital:” Voices from the Providence Music Scene 8.14.20 Providence, RI, capital of the tiniest state in the U.S., makes up for its small size with an overflowing personality and a fertile arts community. Many of its residents are quick to remind you that this city is the self-proclaimed “Creative Capital” of the country, and the nickname is hard to deny. Artists of all kinds, and especially talented BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) musicians, have long made Providence a city to know. In the mid-twentieth century, Providence boasted New England’s first ever interracial jazz club, the Celebrity Club. Musical legends such as Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday stopped in Rhode Island to perform for audiences of all races at the Club on Randall Street in Randall Square, a historically vibrant Black neighborhood. Local historian Tom Shaker, who made a documentary about the Celebrity Club, explains how these jazz musician ....