The Fabulous 413

There’s only 9 days left of February, so it’s time to really double down before we get back to reminding folx that every month is black history month.  And we’ll start just north of W.E.B du Bois’ birthplace at an organization that he co-founded. The NAACP still looms large in black culture and its Berkshires chapter i s being revitalized through a new office to house their archives of local black...

In Amherst, a musical meeting of cultures and landscapes is happening in a project from Sunny Jain . Wild Wild East is an exploration that blends ideas of expansion, cowboy mythos, the immigrant experience, and ritual. It’s a mesmerizing shift from his work in the brass focused Red Baraat, and we speak with the percussionist and composer about the pilgrimage into a more progressive sound.  We also...

It’s another one of those awesome rare live music Tuesdays with local saxophonist and more Mtali Banda, who’s been honing his craft for years in the valley and beyond and will present a concert next weekend at De La Luz in Holyoke. We’ll hear a bit from the musician and teacher himself as we dig into the themes of this latest show, which focus on Black History and Art, and hear from Damany Gordon...

Love is in the air and that love is taking many forms One of which is conservation. The Trustees of Reservations are on a mission to conserve 30% of the Bay State’s natural resources for public use. After their successful acquisition of Beaver Brook Golf Course, even more efforts are on the horizon. We speak with Katie Theoharides, president of the organization about their next initiative, how you...

Thursday continues to steal all of Friday’s thunder and today we have two musical guests making incredible sounds all over the area.  The Iron horse in addition to its recently announced Playing It Forward Campaign is launching a new series anchored by the Deep River Ramblers, a hit list of local musicians. The Happy Valley Bluegrass Church is far more secular than its name implies, but we’ll get...

Valentine’s Day is this Saturday so today we’re talking about love.  What is it? We’ll hear the answer to that question, at least in a lexicographical fashion, when Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster in Springfield defines love for us, and some of the disappointment the public has had with their etymology. Loves comes to town when the Springfield Symphony Orchestra hosts a...

Today we have a trio of badass women, all smashing proverbial ceilings and bringing us closer together in the things they are building.  Ashfield has been the home of a theater company that pushes the boundaries of how acting engages with community and the world for the past 27 years. Double Edge Theater ’s founder Stacy Klein has recently released An Alchemy of Living Culture , a book that outlin...

We’re boldly going forward with new projects The first of those is an effort to check in on the proverbial health of the 7 cities of Western Mass with a brand new segment, Mayor of the Month.  First up is the newly appointed leader of the Massachusetts Mayors Association , Holyoke mayor Joshua Garcia . We talk about the importance of connection to community with his city's very swift evolution int...

At Holyoke Community College nestled into the Taber Art Gallery is an exhibit bringing together organizations of many aspects and local artists to imagine a western Mass of the future. River Valley Radical Futures is a multimedia examination of post capitalist society and what it would need and encompass. We speak with curator Alix Gerber and gallery director Rachel Rushing about what the people i...

We sit with a pioneer in methods of modern history. Dr. Deborah Grey White , who in addition to elucidating the nuances of intersectional history before that was a more widely used term, has been confronting the gatekeepers of history throughout her entire career. We speak with her about the importance of archives and first hand accounts before you can meet the Rutgers Professor Emerita of History...

Today is all about reparations, because repair can build things better.  Aaron Vega is only a month into his tenure as the newly minted President and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council , but his ideas to restore the area as a sought after commodity for industries of all types are already taking shape and we’ll speak with him about his vision for the organization’s future...

The dance mecca of the Berkshires, Jacob’s Pillow has just announced that it is moving to a year-round model for its programming, launching with two online classes and two performances in its recently re-opened Doris Duke Theater. We speak with executive and artistic director Pamela Tatge about this shift and the inspirational work on display this spring .  We’ll also head to Ludlow where Jane Aus...

Today is about gathering together and enjoying what the season has to give.  For the United Way of Hampshire and Franklin Counties , that means gathering on a slope and tackling the powder at Berkshire east. Ski United is a multifaceted fundraiser for all that the organization does and we’ll chat with executive Director Geoff Naunheim, committee member John Ebbets about the power of community in w...

Next Sunday, the Super Bowl pits the Patriots and Seahawks against each other. Perhaps even more important is that this year's halftime show will feature global superstar Bad Bunny. We speak with Clark University Professor Juan Pablo Rivera and NEPM News Editor Elizabeth Roman about the cultural significance of this occasion to the greater Hispanic community, and where you can delve even deeper in...

We encourage you to engage your programming chops with the Global Game Jam happening at Hampshire College . Game developers of all experience levels and ages will gather in Amherst to create games over the course of 48hrs, starting on Friday Jan. 30th, and being presented on Sunday Feb 1st. We speak with organizer Violet Henriques about the appeal of this sort of creation, and how to get involved....

We head to Northampton where this year’s annual Ice Sculpting Event is taking on a contemplative tinge with the community coming together to celebrate the life of one of the artists whose absence will be felt among the produced work. Dave Rothstein was a lover of all things winter and especially where the cold season and art intersected and we’ll chat with Park Hill Orchard's Russel Braen and othe...

Today is all about learning.  For those beginning life’s journey, we look at a local television show that’s given them a platform to challenge themselves and each other and bring the whole community together in the process. As Schools Match Wits is western Mass. grown and sustained, and has been highlighting the knowledge excellence of students in the area for 65 years. We’ll chat with executive p...

Today amidst the snow, we give you two places in where you can learn new ways to interact with art in ways you may not have before For instance, it's not often that you get a chance to hear certain Bach works on the instruments that he originally composed them for. A new recording seeks to remedy that with modern sensibilities. The Bach Dialogues joins keyboardist of many tempers Christopher O'Ril...

Today is all about preparation, because we don’t know if you heard, but rumor has it that snow is a’comin’. So we bend the ear of local weather enthusiast Dave Hayes the Weather nut, to find out what this storm might entail, how much snow we’re expecting, and other meteorological phenomena that may descend upon us over the next few days. Plus we get to show you a new way to get his updates! Live m...

Today is a bit chilly. Especially in Westfield where the community is coming together to support a local organization by jumping into incredibly cold water. The Amelia Park Children’s Museum’s Penguin Plunge happens this Saturday at Hampton Pond State Park, raising funds for the operation and growth of the facility, of which we get a tour from director Diane Chambers to see why folx are freezin’ f...

It is all about clean starts in this new year.  In the case of education, that means sources of connection that can create long-lasting change in the lives and evolution of young students. Vilenti Tulloch is a local educator who not only is CEO of Academic Leadership Association , but has recently published a book about that work titled Engage to Excel: Building Trust, Belonging, and Success in th...

It’s cold. And after a full weekend of snowfall we can’t help but think of our neighbors in the winter who are facing heat insecurity So we’ll chat with newly minted Ex. Dir of Community Action Pioneer Valley , Lev Ben Ezra, about their Eat up for Heat up fundraiser, which has a full week of local restaurants donating to the Claire Higgins Fund for Community Resilience. We hear more about who’s pa...

A full weekend indeed.  There’s a brand new theater company bringing a much lauded play to Easthampton for their first production ever. Heartbeat Theater will perform the nuanced exploration of family, insight, and mental illness to the stage of CitySpace and we’ll talk with actor Kimberly Gaughan and director Jason Rose-Langston about both performance and process. We’ll also meet the president of...

Today, we celebrate the struggles of the past and present and top it off with art, because art is why we endure.  Let’s make a sandwich of it and start with the struggle of the past, because it is Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s actual birthday today, and the rights he pursued in his life loom large right now. Starting today, there’s a whole week of activities happening throughout the city to hon...

Today is about laughter, and changes in language, and how the history of each is important to us as a nation as well.  We’ve got one last best of word list for 2025 to address before we can fully commit ourselves to 2026 with word nerd Emily Brewster, as we look at the most democratic nomination and choosings of the American Dialect Society .  At Smith College, a history professor is offering a co...