Citywide Blackout

Between winning awards and releasing a new album, Boston’s Elisa Smith has a lot to talk about, so kick back and enjoy the stories! Back in November, Elisa was at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville to accept the Female Country Song of the Year at the 2025 Josie Music Awards. To describe the venue as legendary would be a tremendous understatement, and Elisa shares how it felt stand on that stage. She...

Citywide Blackout is your source for the best musicians, writers and filmmakers from around the world! 

Who’s ready for a quest?! Comic creator/writer DM Ray joins us to talk about his debut fantasy comic series, “The Madcaps,” being published by Philbo Entertainment. It’s a medieval fantasy mini-series about the reunion of four friends interrupted by a local drug problem. Ray, Curtis and Max talk about the making of the four main characters—Dunnan, Sarlac, Chasgo and Medrakus. We dive into backstor...

Founded in 2021 by Shawn Hainsworth, SHP Comics is a blend of different styles and stories, from children’s imagination to horror set at Woodstock. Shawn joins us to introduce the company and how it came to be, as well as the different titles they’re working on. One of those is “Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King,” out on April 14. Deep underground, Zicky plunges into the lair of the Rat King—a tyrant a...

Victoria Dillon’s new novel “Ava” (She Writes Press, March 3) asks a pivotal question: What if the only way to reclaim reproductive freedom was to rewrite the very nature of birth itself?  Ten years after Roe v. Wade is overturned, 22-year-old comparative biologist Larkin finds herself unexpectedly pregnant in a country where choice is no longer an option. Initially uncertain, she embraces motherh...

Kimberly Behre Kenna has become a familiar name on this show, having been featured twice already. So of course, I knew we had to have her back on for the third book in her Brave Girls Collection, “Lola Gillette and the Summer of Second Chances” out on March 3. In this episode, Kimberly talks about the theme of second chances and how it’s featured in the book. We’re introduced to Lola, who’s desper...

Some of it comes from real life, some of it from her imagination. The result—the Carolina Crossfire Mystery series, now two books in….and more to come! In this episode, author Wendy Gee joins us to talk about her newest addition, “Side Hustle,” and you’re going to love the story. Charleston’s top investigative TV reporter, Sydney Quinn, lives to expose the city’s darkest secrets. So, when a former...

From years spent as a backup singer for the Moody Blues, Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge, and Janiva Magness to releasing her albums “Redeemed” and “Walking Around This Town,” Bernie Barlow has had quite the music career. In this episode, we dive into her time with these musical legends and how this influenced her as an artist. She talks about her recent release, “Walking Around This Town,” and...

Horror author John Ward is back, but instead of killer clowns, we’re talking about dark entities in his new book, “A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul,” now out through Crystal Lake Publishing. John Tinsley’s life was shattered as a child when he lost his mother in a tragic car accident—but that was only the beginning. From that moment, a dark entity marked him, one intent on destroying everything...

After a decade of working in Hollywood on shows like “Arrested Development” and a project with Danny DeVito and Jeff Goldblum, writer Jake Korell took what started as a “truly awful adult animated TV pilot,” then transformed it to a podcast series and finally into his first novel, “The Second World.” “Mars has declared its independence from Earth. But building a country takes more than a new flag,...

On her 18th birthday, Sandy Netburn marked the occasion with the release of her 14-track debut album, “Issues.” Soon after, she released the music video for the single “I’ve Got Issues,” she also directed. And that’s just the beginning! Sandy joined us to talk all about the different themes she takes on in “Issues,” including politics and what it means to be human. She shared the creative process...

Welcome to the first Citywide Bytes for 2026! Joining me is Toronto-based singer-songwriter Henry Lees to talk about his new single “Smoke,” which he co-wrote and produced with Sean Thomas, a Vancouver-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. In this interview, Henry talks about the origin of the song, the creative process with Sean, and what he has planned for 2026.  Closing o...

Over the years, Citywide Blackout has featured music, books, film and comics—but how about a musical audiobook. Join us as we talk with writer Jeff Flaster for his new musical audiobook, “Following Jimmy Valentine,” out on Feb. 2. Based on the story “A Retrieved Reformation” by O. Henry, the story blends jazz music, noir comedy and a timeless tale of redemption. At the heart of the book is reforme...

Citywide Blackout is back for 2026! Hosts Max Bowen and Curtis Hughes recap the highlights of 2025 and look forward to a new year with many more stories from artists from around the world.  Citywide Blackout episodes will return on Friday, Jan. 16, with our talk about the audiobook musical “Finding Jimmy Valentine.”

On Nov. 14, Crystal Lake Publishing released “The Night Crew 2: Bloodlust” by Brad Ricks , the sequel to “The Night Crew.” Here’s a look at what’s in store: The Night Crew thought they'd seen it all-werewolves, vampires, and things too monstrous to name. Michael and his team are about to face something far deadlier: a supernatural killer with an insatiable thirst for blood and a plan to unleash ch...

Can a loving relationship endure career setbacks, infidelities, and mismatched sexual desires? This is the question psychologist Bonnie Comfort addresses in her book, “Staying Married is the Hardest Part: A Memoir of Passion, Secrets and Sacrifice." In this episode, Bonnie talks about her 30-year marriage to Bob, a Hollywood screenwriter, and the various challenges they faced along the way. She al...

M.B. Courtenay joins us to talk about his soon-to-be-released thriller, “A Spy Inside the Castle” (Dec. 9, Castlemartin). The book follows “reluctant” operative Ethan Briar as he explores a secluded government estate as he tries to find a mole leaking secrets to the US’ enemies. M.B. talks about the inspiration for this book that came about during the pandemic, as well as his writing process. He d...

For this episode, I’m joined by Valerie Rachel and Greg Lawrence of the Americana/folk band Wayward Vine . They just released their debut album, “The Fall,” and we go into the songs they resonate with and plans for a second album. We also talk band origins, the band’s name and how they pivoted to the Americana style. They’ve got some cool shows coming up, including one with an old friend of the sh...

The year was 1986, and, perhaps unbeknownst to them at the time, Robert Ellis Orrall and his band recorded their final album together. Nearly 40 years later, the boys are back with “Wrong Thing,” a heartfelt collection of music that involves some powerful connections. In this episode, Robert shares what it was like to reunite with the band and be back in the studio after all these years. We go int...

With their sophomore album, “Fool’s Gold,” the Cape Cod-based band The Fool’s Agenda shows a more refined style and sound, and in this episode, vocalist Rhiannon Raine talks about how they got there and the new elements they got to try out. The band formed in late 2019, and Rhiannon shares what it was like to have to suddenly stop when the pandemic hit, and how they pivoted to remain present at a...

What if you could go back and do it all over again? That’s the premise of Olivia Cuartero-Briggs’ new comic , “The College Try,” out in February 2026 through Maverick, an imprint of Mad Cave Studios . Rachel, a desperately single Chicago comedian attends her 20-year college reunion in a disastrous attempt to win back the one who got away. But, in a magical twist of fate, she is sent back to 2003 -...

Vampires, demons, and a trip to Hell—there’s a lot to discover in author Jonathan Fortin’s Lilitu series , and in this episode, he’s sharing all the details about his recent release, “Bloody Caleb.” 22-year-old Caleb Schwartzenfeld is a vagrant violinist struggling to make ends meet in the cutthroat squalor of Victorian England. But when his hunt for a patron causes him to be sacrificed by an insi...

In July 2024, singer-songwriter Bess Chew released her debut single, “Getaway,” and since then she’s been performing, releasing new music and making plans for her future in the industry. In this episode, we’re talking about what got her into music, her new single “You Are” and what she has in store in 2026. Closing out this interview is her new single, “You Are,” and we’ll be talking about the ins...

In Alex Woodard’s book, “Ordinary Soil,” readers are introduced to a young farmer, burdened by a mysterious family legacy and modern-day despair, who attempts to take his own life, and in doing so, sets off a chain of events that uncovers long-buried secrets. Alex joins the show to talk about how he met Zach Bush, M.D., and how the unexpected conversation they would have would inspire the story of...

Let’s face it—clowns are downright terrifying and in John Ward’s new book, “Scareville 8: Food to Die For,” we’re introduced to Chunko the Clown and find out just why you never want to mess with them. Here’s why: Traverse City, Michigan, seems like the perfect small town—until a cheerful jingle and a pudgy clown mascot turn everything upside down. When the new burger joint, Chunko Town, opens its...