During the month of February we’ll celebrate the contributions of African American musicians, writers, and artists on The Morning Show. Granted, this is something we make a point to do every day throughout the entire year. What is American music without syncopated ragtime piano, or classic, brassy blues; African American string bands, or urbanized, combo-based r&b of the wartime Great Migration? Who are we without electrified Chicago blues, socially-conscious soul, funk, or hip hop? Read More…

This is a great month to talk about love and Love Blues. We all know Valentine’s Day is February 14th, so here are some tunes old and new to put you in the mood. For Spinning the Blues on Sat Feb 8th, I’ll be playing some Love Blues to get ready for Valentine’s Day. Read More…

It continues to amaze me that fifty-six years later The Beatles continue to capture the imaginations of music lovers of all ages and from all over the world.

From the very first Beatles vinyl 45, “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” released in America in January 1964, to the recent release of The Beatles Singles Collection, a fantastic box set featuring twenty-three vinyl 45s. Beatles vinyl in its original form is a handful and an earful of joy! Read More…

Every February, my thoughts turn to a couple of things. First, I think of the month as the homestretch of winter, a season I do not enjoy. With cold weather setting in around November and snow/sleet/ice coming fast and furious from December onward, it feels like the cold and dark has been with us forever. With the next calendar flip being March, there is sunlight at the end of the tunnel. Read More…

A kind of homecoming (for one who’s never left), a film soundtrack project, and a clever stage revue for our times – and before. It’s…The Local Music Corner.

As mentioned in last month’s article, Dinty Child of Session Americana – and many more bands over the years – has released his debut solo album, Lucky Ones. It was released on January 17th, and what a show he had at Oberon in Cambridge to send his baby out into the world. With Dinty’s history in this town and the family of musicians he has worked with over the last couple of decades or so, this really had the buzz of a big homecoming…even though he’s never left. Sure, Dinty’s done gigs in New York and outside of New England. But he has stayed here. Read More…

We all work to provide an alternative to the goings on of politics and corruption, and we’ll continue to do that as this bizarre day-to-day national tragedy unfolds, threatening artists and musicians every bit as much as other minorities. Read More…

I had some tough choices to make for a set of music coming up on the February 16, 2020 edition of Sunday Morning Brew. It’s the 78th birthday of legendary engineer and producer Glyn Johns the day before, and because he has worked with a massive number of great artists over the past 50+ years, it is impossible to tell the whole story unless you play his music all day long. Read More…

So last month we discussed the Hawaiian steel guitar in early western swing music. Today you will also hear that referred to as Lap Steel, Non-Pedal Steel, or Straight Steel. There seems to be some confusion about the word “steel”, but that ONLY refers to the heavy metal bar used to select notes on the neck of the guitar. Unlike the regular “Spanish” style guitars, the strings never touch the neck of the guitar. Read More…

-hello again…

-we at WUMB/H61 central are excited about the new year and all it brings musically…we have a rarity this month of February 2020: a rare 5-Saturday occurrence starting with…on the 1st day of February, a stellar show digging deep into both Graham Nash and Al Kooper…on the 8th it’s local favorite Tom Rush with a H61 Guest DJ…for the 15th Eric Andersen and Tim Buckley will be feted, the 22nd Buffy Sainte-MArie and yet another H61 Guest DJ, and for the 29th… Read More…

WUMB’s Acoustic Music Camps program is your year-round source for fun, high-quality adult folk music instruction!  Just look at what we have coming up in 2020:

February 28-March 1: the eighth annual WUMB Winter Acoustic Music Weekend (WAMW) will be held at the Grotonwood Camp and Conference Center in Groton, Massachusetts.  There is ONE SPACE LEFT for a female at WAMW this year, so if you’re interested call Patty at 617-287-6915 ASAP!! Read More…