Eastbayri.com

Jacob Haller knows how to play to a crowd.

The Providence songwriter’s concerts are usually filled with quirky, very funny songs about robots, crack, hybrid cars and browsing online for photos of adorable kittens. But on Saturday night, he pulled out a newer number that drew a deafening round of applause from the nearly 200 people who came out for the annual Gathering of Fiddlers and Fishermen concert at the Common Fence Point Community Hall.

His “The Ballad of Anne Hutchinson” tells the story of the co-founder of Portsmouth, who was charged with heresy in 1637 for preaching in public, when a women’s place was surely not at the pulpit, but in front of the stove. Being that he sang the song not a mile and a half from Portsmouth’s Founder’s Brook, the story of the governor’s persecution of the religious and social pioneer couldn’t have been a better choice for the night.

“They argued for days into evenings,” he sang.

“The governor was losing his cool.

“Despite all his learning, this self-taught midwife

“Was making him look like a fool, lord lord.

“Making him look like a fool.”

It was a perfect moment on a night full of them:

There was Bristol resident Mickey Scoscia, a whelk (also known as conch) fisherman from Bristol who sang a hilarious song about Noah’s Ark.

There was Allysen Callery, who joined upright bassist Brendan Whipple on stage to sing the traditional “The Saucy Sailor.

And among the nearly dozen other performers, there was Gary Fish, who sang a song in tribute of Mr. Whipple’s father, the late Capt. William Whipple. A legend around these parts, the commercial fisherman passed away late last year.

“He once hauled 40,000 pounds of lobster, 200 pots, all by himself,” Mr. Fish, a former lobsterman, said before he went onstage. “He was a hero to a lot of people.”

The night was a great one for Tom Perrotti, who helped found the annual tradition about 20 years ago and has seen it sell out pretty much every year since. A true community event, there’s few others like it around these parts. The talent travels from across Rhode Island Southeastern Massachusetts to perform, and being named to the bill is considered an honor. Back in the kitchen, volunteers serve up chowder (Rhode Island, of course) and other sea and land-lubbing fare. And guests, those who have been going for years and others coming for the first time, crowded the tables, bringing their own snacks and beer and wine for the night.

Halfway through Saturday’s show, Mr. Perrotti was busy as usual, running around and making sure everything was OK. He also took time to play a few numbers with friends, both during the Irish session before the main bill started and during the show itself.

Musing on the packed house, he said organizers could likely sell a lot more tickets to the fundraising concert if they held it in a different hall. But it wouldn’t be the same.

“This is perfect,” he said. “It’s intimiate. This is where it belongs.”