The Fabulous 413

We’re witnessing the creation of important amalgams, fusions of culture and preservation  At Mt. Holyoke College, a new opera entirely in the Chickasaw language will have its east coast premiere on Feb. 28. Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate combines elements of classical operatic styles with traditional songs, dances, and language of the Chickasaw people, and we chat wi...

Today, we have nostalgia in all sorts of flavors Especially if you grew up watching roller derby on tv like we did. And if your dreams see you getting up on wheels with your friends and neighbors and creating a little chaos on the track, you’ll be happy to know that Pioneer Valley Roller Derby is hosting two recruitment sessions in the next few weeks. We talk with players Bash-it Hound and 23rd Ce...

Today’s show is jam packed with FACTS Did you know that there’s a whole day to celebrate and encourage reparations? Professor Ousmane Power-Greene of Clark University tells us more about this grassroots holiday effort to get more folx more acclimated to the concepts being proposed in today's Power of History. And did you know that only last week DOGE stripped away contracts with agencies that will...

We’re celebrating a local band that is almost as old as we are, and that’s saying a lot because not many groups get to see 40 years. The Iron Horse is hosting the Lonesome Brothers ’ birthday party where they and their friends will take the stage. We hear a couple songs and tales from the journey as they join us for Live Music Friday.  And speaking of music to make your weekend bright, it’s gettin...

We’re drawing connections in both likely and unlikely places.  For instance the connection that those of the African diaspora have had with the land in the western hemisphere. The art exhibit Black Hands, Black Earth takes a look at the connections between people, earth, and the plants and people they’ve carried for generations. Artist and Educator Kerrita Mayfield walks us through her work and pr...

Congratulations parents, you’ve made it halfway through vacation week! Just in case you still need a little something to get your littles up and going, we get to take a totally age appropriate journey to the Holyoke Children’s Museum , where program director Emmy Garick and operations manager Julie Cologne let us run around like the kids we are at heart, and show us how the city itself continues t...

Malcolm X once said “Mississippi is anything South of the Canadian border.” And, when it comes to the legacy of slavery, northerners often tout our abolitionist history but overlook what happened above the Mason-Dixon line for the 200 years before abolition. So today, we introduce you to Charmaine A. Nelson , provost professor of Art History at UMass Amherst and founding director of the Slavery No...

It’s President’s Day. And what’s a thing that ties the two presidents we’re celebrating today? Slavery.  So, today we are going to hunker down and talk Black history for the whole hour with three local historians.  We talk with Smith College professor Jennifer DeClue on the overlooked histories those who were enslaved in the Connecticut River Valley, how women have been often left out of the slave...

Today we bring you 13 instruments to hear on both sides of the mountains this weekend. We head to Pittsfield to the 10 x 10 Upstreet Arts Festival where a celebration of short plays has grown to encompass the entire upstreet arts district and beyond. We chat with the director of the Office of Cultural Development of Pittsfield, Jen Glockner, and one of the festival performers, saxophonist Scott Ro...

Today we’re taking a closer look at the folx telling stories about themselves in new ways and through new avenues Including much beloved author of children’s books and more, local legend Jane Yolen . A new picture book has just been released about her earliest work titled " Janie Writes a Play: Jane Yolen’s First Great Story ", which proves there’s no age restrictions on coming up with a great tal...

It’s a pre-Valentine’s Day extravaganza for those of you celebrating, with wine and chocolate and innuendos We’ll take you to the heart of Thorne’s Marketplace in Northampton, where chocolate dreams are being made real from the worlds of pure imagination. Dan McKenney of Firetype Chocolate talks about his unlikely journey into confectionery, the impacts that climate change has on making sweets loc...

Today, we have live music, history and a cultural journey.  A virtuoso on the national instrument of Puerto Rico, cuatrista Fabiola Mendez , makes a visit to the studios. We find out about her call to educate the public on the cuatro and its versatility and the other projects her music has connected her to, including a children’s series you might have seen on NEPM TV.  And, we also speak with an e...

We’re giving lots back to the community in these very grey days of February while learning how greater community has helped us as well. The Lift Every Voice lecture series returns to the valley this week with a theme, "Resilience and Resistance: The Fight for Justice in the Age of Regression," bringing speakers from all parts of Black culture to Springfield all month. We talk with organizers Bisho...

We're bringing you a well rounded course of music and context.  Live Music Friday brings Le Vent du Nord to the studios ahead of their show in South Hadley this evening. The group has spent decades seamlessly blending new and old french folk songs into their repertoire, and they tell us about the appeal of preserving and growing those traditions. We also spend time with rising bass phenom Endea Ow...

We get to find out more about “ MORE LOVE ,” curated concert series put together by Secret Planet, De La Luz Soundstage and Original Ting Music to bring the best electronic dance music from around the globe to Holyoke. We speak with one of the folx taking to the turntables this Saturday, Deejay Theory , about bringing the sounds of the Bay area to the Bay state, digging into some of the lesser kno...

Today we get a little tricksy and build connections right underneath our very eyes Including a father son combination bringing folx together in communities near and far. We’ll speak with Tom and Stefan Weiner , who’ll bring a polar plunge raising money for Palestine and a queer centered concert both in Northampton this weekend. We’ll hear how they’ve come to their respective causes including the P...

Today, we have kids, food, drink, and an organization that connects them all! At Holyoke High School, the students are putting a William Golding classic on its feet as they perform Lord of the Flies this weekend. One might say that the presentation is an inspired choice and we’ll talk with Holyoke High School Theater Company director and theater teacher Bevan Brunelle  and cast member sophomore Da...

Now, more than ever, you probably need a good laugh and, perhaps, a reason to be hopeful. So we’re doing both with an added dose of science for good measure.  We head to Hadley where a comedy dream has come to life and has continued to grow in the past 10 years. Happier Valley Comedy may have started on a personal dare, but it has since become a philosophy of improv that can apply to any aspect of...

We’re recuperating a lot after this week and, in that renewal process, we’re getting more in touch with ourselves and others.  We bring local singer-songwriter Heather Maloney in for Live Music Friday to celebrate the release of her new album, “Exploding Star,” full of songs that almost didn’t see the public eye. We hear how art and grief have shaped her songwriting process in this new collection...

We’re putting the many in multi-disciplinary and putting on our party hats because there’s anniversaries ahead The LAVA Center in Greenfield is about to celebrate its fifth birthday this weekend, adjacent to the Winter Carnival festivities. Their scope is so broad that it’d be easier to narrow down what they don’t do, so we head up to the city formerly known as a town’s center to get a glimpse of...

We’re digging into a difficult time in the country’s history that folx are still reckoning with to this day, through a new novel from a multi disciplinary artist who has spent his whole life shining light on struggles like it.  We’re joined by actor, director, script writer, producer and most importantly in this case, Author John Sayles to discuss his latest novel “To Save the Man", and find out f...

We’re delving into how every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name. We kid.  But, the second-worst Disney movie has a point. CISA’s upcoming storytelling event, Field Notes , seeks to bring farmers, activists, makers, entrepreneurs and more together to tell their stories on stage and bring us all closer to the land we live in. We get to spend time with one of the storytel...

Today, we have happy cow stories, but uncertain science ones.  We head to Ashley Falls where 200 acres and 150 head of cattle co-exist happily at Twin Rivers Farm . Owner Bob Kilmer takes us on a tour with the ladies, the robots that milk them, the most challenging breeds and the cutest little calves the winter has ever seen. There, we’re also joined by Dan Carr, technical advisor for Berkshire Ag...

We're bringing in the bands today. Two of em. Count em two.  Westfield native Madison Curbelo joins us for Live music Friday. The sweet voiced singer songwriter is fresh off of her semi-finalist status on The Voice and fleshing out her sound beyond her red six string. We’ll hear the inspiration for the music she plays, and the lessons TV taught her before you can catch her set at the Drake Tomorro...

We hear that it’s warming up, but we’ll believe that when we feel it. Today we explore piles of delicious things to warm this extra cold day. We venture into Northampton to Local Burger and hear how its menu has evolved to center local produce and beef. We speak with Tabitha Salfrank, Joe Igneri, and Lexi Badelucci to help us discover what keeping local has meant for their expanding business, and...