The Fabulous 413

Today on the show, we're exploring the Americas.  Yes, plural. There are two continents after all, connected by both peninsula and aspirations. And bringing traditions from south of us is Columbia's Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, stopping by our studios before performing at the Marigold Theater in Easthampton this evening. The group has been bringing the sounds of cumbia, gaita, and porro to life si...

We accidentally get extra collegiate on the show today.  Hampshire College's Salman Hameed talks about the possible answer to Bowie's decades old question: "Is there life on Mars?" Rocks have been collected that show possible signs of life, and Mr. Universe helps us to explore more deeply the methods and answers that we are still seeking to all of those questions.  Clark University's Ousmane Power...

We head up to Mass MoCA to hear new sounds from explorative artists. For weeks a cohort of virtuosos have been incubating in North Adams and on August 1-3rd, the public will have a chance to hear some of the many pieces of music they've been working on.  We hear members of Bang on a Can All Stars: Pianist Vicky Chow and cellist Nick Photinos, and hear from bang on a can and loud weekend founders M...

We sit with Owen Elliot-Kugell, who has just written a memoir about her life, which inherently covers a good portion of her mother's life as well. "My Mama, Cass" taps family and friends of Cass Elliott, most famously known for her work with The Mamas & The Papas", and combines their knowledge with the memories and experiences of Elliot-Kugell for a well rounded look at both women's lives, and...

Everyone is going through some things. Today we hang out with some folks using music to help that process.  And that starts with a 200+ member multi city chorus that will be embodying the music of Queen this weekend in a concert at the Academy of Music. Rock Voices started small but is clearly mightier now, and we talk with some of the members to hear how the group has helped them and the greater...

We meet some of the folx behind THCC: The Heavy Culture Collective which is bringing more of the underground music scene together for both networking and finding new places to play. Jen Krassler of Flora and Fauna farm stops by to tell us about some exciting innovations happening at the Easthampton Farmers Market, which she manages, and Congressman Jim McGovern is a little hopeful. For reasons. 

We're always interested in folx taking their work farther.  Or is that further? Word Nerd Emily Brewster, Senior Editor at Merriam Webster launches us into a discussion about the origins and differences between the two words to see which one goes where.  But theater is definitely being pushed further in Ashfield, where the immersive Summer Spectacle from Double Edge Theater is starting its sold ou...

It's nearly someone's birthday! So we head to the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home to celebrate the person responsible for making this area part of the BSO's year round performances: Serge Koussevitzky. Live from the Tanglewood grounds we speak with Bridget Carr, Director of Archives and Digital Collections at the BSO about the maestro's history, with Anthony Fogg, VP of Artistic Planning a...

We love music around here.  And it's about the time that Amherst Cinemas launches into its summer series Sound & Vision, which looks at music through a cinematic lens. We speak with George Myers who does programming for the theater about the films that are coming to Hampshire County each wednesday through September, and hear how seeing the many perspectives and genres on screen can open up our...

Chris Pureka joins us for Live Music Friday just before their show at the Egremont Barn tonight,  Barry Goldstein lets us in on what he learned in this past week covering the RNC for NEPM's series "Red in a Blue State", and the Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome reads the signs on the horizon to see that it's gonna be good grilling weather, so Table & Vine Ambassador Michael Quinlan busts o...

We're digging into the political sphere today.  Folk punk author and humanist Billy Bragg joins us to talk about US and UK Politics, the rise of populism, and the evolution of his own work and views over his 40+ years of making music as he prepares to play at the Academy of Music in Northampton this coming Tuesday, July 23rd.  Our weekly chat with congressman Jim McGovern delves into the question...

Today is all about sweetness.  It's in the bounty at Yellow Stonehouse Farm in Westfield. As the only certified organic farm for produce in Hampden county, and a CSA program that meets more needs than many, owners Connie Adams and John Kelch have side-stepped back into agriculture providing healthy options for folx, a safe haven for ecologies to blossom, and much much more.  And it is literally th...

Today on the Fabulous 413 is a first for us because we’re pointing all of our focus on one tiny organism and making a big show about it. We're taking the time to focus on a very tiny arachnid can make a really big impact on our health and the whole laboratory in Amherst that studies them  Director of Education at Tick Report Paul Killinger gives us an overview of the impact ticks can have on the p...

It may be Monday, but we're still thinking up good ways to get down in the area.  Take for instance a chance to hear a veritable ton of heavy music heading to the woods of Millers Falls. RPM Fest takes place during Labor Day weekend bringing metal, rock and punk bands from all over the Bay State and beyond to western Mass. to elevate the volume for three days of music, food, and more. We chat with...

Summer brings wicked fun festivals with it, and this weekend brings the return of two extra fun ones.  There's Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, the main portion of which happens July 12 & 13th. The free music celebration has been going on for 10 years, driven and created by the Blues to Green non-profit , and has been getting bigger and better every year. We sit with Bianca Jimenez, proj...

Our guest Juliana Merullo created for senior capstone project at Brown University, a long-form audio piece looking at the impact of the July floods on Western Mass farmers, the recovery efforts (including state and community support), and these farmers' fears moving into the next growing season. We felt that everyone should have a chance to listen to the episode in its entirety, and so we're posti...

It's the anniversary of one of the worst agricultural disasters western Massachusetts has seen in years, so we look back at the floods of July 2023, and their aftermath with Piyush Labhsetwar ,  Farm and Land Stewardship Manager  for Grow Food Northampton, who we interviewed immediately after the waters rose, and reporter Juliana Merullo who created a piece about the floods as her capstone project...

We head to Great Barrington to check out the Berkshire Film & Media Collective and it's executive director Diane Pearlman, who has made her own moves through the film and effects industry and is hoping to teach more folx to do the same with their initiative for Kemble St Studios .  We also hunker down with a gritty, visceral, multi-faceted horror novel. Cuckoo is the latest work from Massachus...

Today is about reemergences.  One of those is with Hannah Mohan, formerly of the band And The Kids and Topsy, who is on the verge of releasing her first truly solo album. "Time is a Walnut" comes out on July 12th and will be celebrated with a concert at the Iron Horse on July 12th, so we bring the ingenue into the studio to talk about the evolution of her song writing, writing in community, and he...

And in the summer, all of western Massachusetts a stage.  We have the opportunity to meet a few of the thespians creating and developing works in the area.  There's a single performer show written and performed by Jay Sefton, that deals with a difficult subject with humanity and humor. "Unreconciled"  The play chronicles a survivor’s journey as he confronts his past and discovers the courage to us...

A holiday bonus revamp of all the EXTRA stuff we did at solid sound, including a chat with Mark Greenberg, studio manager of The Loft- Wilco's Chicago recording studio, extra songs from Americana/roots harpist Mikaela Davis, and a quick glimpse at the future director Kristy Edmunds has pictured for Mass MoCA and its place in the arts in the Northern Berkshires. 

We speak with journalist, teacher, and author G. Mike Dobbs about his memoir "What They Didn’t Teach You in Journalism School: The Memoir of an Ink Stained Wretch", hear from Ex. Director Brian Boyles and board member Aaron Vega about Mass Humanities and the organization's recent move to Holyoke, and stuff our faces full of the blueberry bounty at Birdhaven Blueberry Farm with proprietor Emily End...

It's summer reading season, so we speak with two local authors about their recent works: Rachel Lyon's re-imagining of the Persephone myth with "Fruit of the Dead" , and astronaut Cady Coleman's memoir "Sharing Space" . We also sit with NEPM Reporter Jill Kauffman to explore her contribution to the New England News Collaborative's series on fun summer trips across most of the 6 states in the regio...

America's birthday is this week, so we speak with someone about to become one of us, Rosa Cuevas Ortiz, Naturalization and Immigration paralegal Harleen Kaur Multani who helps with the process, and director Laurie Millman who's organizing their annual naturalization ceremony in Northampton this July 4th, we corner our musical hero Nick Lowe at Solid Sound to gush over his works and elate, and Mr....

We head to North Adams to speak with the folx behind the biyearly festival at MASS MoCa, Solid Sound! In this eighth iteration, we hear from Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy, his sons Spencer and Sam, Wilco Drummer Glenn Kotche and his band mate from the freeform Saccato Quartet Darin Gray.  We also chat with podcaster/musician Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder, listen to the melodies of the amazing Ame...