Take It To The Bridge at the Charlestown Rathskeller 2026
Take It To The Bridge at the Charlestown Rathskeller 2026 brings an eight-piece Rhode Island band built for the dance floor to Charlestown on Friday, September 11. The band takes the stage from 8 to 11 p.m. with a mix of funk, soul, pop, and rock & roll spanning decades.
Tickets are $10 in advance, plus Eventbrite fees, or $15 at the door. The Rathskeller encourages concertgoers to arrive early for dinner and drinks before heading Down Back for the show.
For anyone who has only encountered Take It To The Bridge at a wedding or private party, this is a chance to see the full band in its natural public-show setting, with horns, multiple vocalists and a rhythm section designed to keep people moving.
Take It To The Bridge Started With a Wedding
Take It To The Bridge traces its beginnings to Rhode Island in 2014, but it didn’t begin with a plan to create one of the state’s established event bands.
Founders Greg and Christyn Marcotte met while serving in the Rhode Island National Guard in 2009 and married in 2012. A couple of years later, friends Jill and Aquila asked them to provide the music for their wedding.
The Marcottes decided to build a band for the occasion.
They recruited musicians Greg knew through teaching and performing around Rhode Island, including Carl and Scott. Carl recommended former bandmate Colby as lead vocalist, only for the group to discover that Colby had independently been asked to serve as master of ceremonies at the same wedding.
The coincidence helped create the core of a band that stayed together after the wedding was over.
Another Rhode Island National Guard connection expanded the lineup in December 2016. John joined the musicians onstage during a New Year’s Eve performance at the Newport Blues Café, and his performance led to a permanent place in the group.
More than a decade after that first wedding, Take It To The Bridge remains based in Rhode Island and performs at weddings, private functions and public shows throughout New England.
What’s With the Name?
There’s a little music history tucked into the band’s name.
“Take it to the bridge” is a phrase famously associated with James Brown’s Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine. Brown calls out instructions to his musicians during the performance, including directing the band toward the song’s bridge.
A bridge is the section of a song that breaks away from the repeated verse-and-chorus structure, often introducing a new progression or musical idea before returning to familiar territory.
For Take It To The Bridge, the name fits the band’s funk and soul roots as well as its approach to live performance: a band less interested in quietly reproducing a playlist than in creating a party around it.
An Eight-Piece Band With a Big Repertoire
The full Take It To The Bridge lineup performing at the Rathskeller is an eight-piece ensemble.
Founders Greg and Christyn Marcotte remain part of the group, with Greg on lead guitar and Christyn contributing trombone and vocals. The current core also includes drummer and general manager Josh DeFedele and lead vocalist Sarah Van Pelt, along with longtime members and a network of Rhode Island professional musicians.
The instrumentation is one reason the band’s repertoire can move around so freely.
Take It To The Bridge works across funk, soul, pop and rock & roll, rather than limiting itself to a particular decade or artist. Its public performances draw from the same broad repertoire that has made the group a regular choice for weddings and large events.
That means the September 11 show isn’t a tribute concert where the audience knows precisely which catalog is coming. The appeal is the opposite: recognizable music from different eras connected by arrangements built around a live rhythm section, vocals and horns.
The Rathskeller describes the result simply as a night of non-stop dancing.
The Full Band, the Bridge and the Trio
Take It To The Bridge has expanded into several configurations over the years, which is worth knowing when looking at its local schedule.
The September 11 performance is the full Take It To The Bridge band, not one of its scaled-down versions.
The group also operates The Bridge, a four-piece configuration with a complete rhythm section and vocals intended for smaller rooms, and a Take It To The Bridge Trio that strips the music down further for more intimate performances.
In fact, the Trio returns to the Rathskeller just nine days after this show, playing a free Sunday afternoon set on September 20.
For Friday night’s performance, however, the Rathskeller is getting the larger eight-piece version and the fuller funk-and-soul sound that comes with it.
Down Back at the Rathskeller
The setting is a big part of the night.
The Charlestown Rathskeller sits back from Old Coach Road on a wooded property that feels considerably more secluded than its address suggests.
The restaurant itself combines a historic tavern atmosphere with a large seasonal outdoor entertainment area known as Down Back. During the warmer months, the grounds become one of South County’s more distinctive live-music spaces, with a stage, outdoor seating, lawn games and a large fire pit surrounded by trees.
The Rathskeller runs live music Down Back throughout the season, generally from May into October.
Take It To The Bridge is already familiar with the venue. The full band has made multiple Rathskeller appearances during the 2026 season, including shows in May, July and August before returning for the September 11 date. The Trio has its own dates on the schedule as well.
So this isn’t simply a touring act dropping into Charlestown for one night. It’s a band with an established relationship with the venue and its audience.
Come Early and Make Dinner Part of the Night
With music beginning at 8 p.m., there’s plenty of time to turn the concert into dinner and a show.
The Rathskeller opens at noon on Fridays, and its kitchen operates until 10 p.m.
The menu leans into hearty tavern food, with burgers, wings and fries alongside New England seafood such as clam chowder, stuffies, calamari and fish and chips. Entrées expand into dishes including steak frites, linguine and clams and jägerschnitzel.
The Rathskeller’s fries have become something of a house signature, while the bar offers draft beer, wine and cocktails.
Friday and Saturday nights run later than the kitchen. The Rathskeller remains open until 1 a.m., giving anyone who isn’t ready to call it a night when the band finishes at 11 somewhere to stay for another drink.
A Friday Night Built for Dancing
There’s an important distinction between Take It To The Bridge and plenty of bands that play familiar songs.
This is an event band.
The musicians have spent years playing weddings and celebrations where their job isn’t simply to perform well. They have to read a room, maintain momentum and convince people who weren’t necessarily planning to dance that sitting down suddenly seems like the less interesting option.
The Rathskeller gives that kind of band a fitting setting.
Come early enough and September 11 can begin with dinner at a table in a wooded Rhode Island tavern. By 8 p.m., the action shifts Down Back, the eight-piece band takes over, and the rest of the evening belongs to funk, soul, pop and rock & roll.
Details
Event: Take It To The Bridge at the Charlestown Rathskeller 2026
Date: Friday, September 11, 2026
Time: 8–11 p.m.
Performer: Take It To The Bridge
Band: Eight-piece Rhode Island event band
Music: Funk, soul, pop and rock & roll spanning multiple decades
Venue: The Charlestown Rathskeller
Address: 489A Old Coach Road, Charlestown, RI 02813
Advance Tickets: $10 plus Eventbrite fees
Door Price: $15
Refunds: No refunds
Food: Full Rathskeller restaurant menu available; kitchen open until 10 p.m.
Friday Venue Hours: Noon–1 a.m.
Phone: 401-792-1000
Upcoming Return: Take It To The Bridge Trio performs a free show at the Rathskeller Sunday, September 20 from 4–7 p.m.
More information is available at the Event Website link below.
To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.
Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.