May is one of the most exciting 31 days of the year as far as important music-related birthdays go. As a radio host and producer I become giddy when I see a list of names like we have to dig in to for the month: Judy Collins and Little Walter (5/1), Pete Seeger and James Brown (5/3), Robert Johnson (5/8), Donovan (5/10), Stevie Wonder (5/13), Big Joe Turner (5/18), Pete Townsend (5/19), Bob Dylan (5/24), T-Bone Walker, Gladys Knight, and John Fogerty (5/28). The list goes on! All of these artists and their work will be featured on WUMB, either during the weekday or weekend programming. Sometimes both! Read More…

April has always been one of my favorite months. Usually, the snow is gone and the trees turn green. The whole idea of knowing that I won’t need to leave the house with a coat on a regular basis at some point soon makes me so happy.

One of the other things that I love about April is Record Store Day. If you’ve seen any pictures of my apartment on social media, you’ll know that my place is filled with lots of “collectible” things from my years in music and traveling. Any time I catch wind of “limited edition,” “one off,” or “numbered,” I’m like Pavlov’s Dog, surreptitiously on my phone trying to assess the availability, price point, & projected happiness generated by procuring said item. Upon thinking about this more, I probably should set up a matrix of price vs. happiness. My $6 box of Little Feminist magnets consistently bring me more daily joy than my $8000 car…but that’s another post for another day. Read More…

Hello, my fellow music fans. Before we get to the Local Music Corner, I just want to share with you that as I write this, I am still feeling the glow of two fantastic live shows WUMB was part of. Our member concert at the Belleville Church in Newburyport last April 13th with The Seldom Scene was a combination of superlative musicianship, goosebump-inducing harmonies, and disarming humor that brought everyone into the circle. And despite expecting it, the Chandler Travis Philharmonic’s performance at the April 18th 3rd Thursday At The Burren show was…wow. After the radio broadcast portion of the show they played a few songs for the people who attended in person. That included one song where the band got off the stage and walked around the audience, playing with no microphones. Read More…

I came home from work the other day, and all of a sudden the forsythias were all in bloom.  Next day, I came home from work and the trees were all budded out.  Yes, I’m ready for spring.  I hope some of you got down to the New England Folk Festival last month, that was a lot of fun.  We scored excellent weather all weekend, and got to have our jam sessions outdoors, a real stroke of luck.  April can be fickle in New England.  Read More…

Back in the late 80’s/early 90’s, I was embracing music that critics named, “alternative country.” Bands like  Uncle Tupelo, Old 97’s, Freakwater, Blue Mountain, and the Bottle Rockets were my staples. With the breakup of Uncle Tupelo came two meaningful bands in my life, Wilco and Son Volt. In 1995, Son Volt, headed by Jay Farrar, released their debut Trace. I don’t think a day went by for quite a long time that I didn’t listen to that record. Songs like “Windfall” and “Tear Stained Eye” found a permanent place in my soul.  Read More…

The Members Corner

Weekly Online Giveaways

One of the great benefits of being a Member of WUMB is the chance to enter our Weekly Online Giveaways. Every week, we offer our Members a chance to win CDs, tickets, and other great prizes online.
Here are some of the items we have given away over the past few months:
– CD I’m With Her See You Around
– CD Lori McKenna The Tree
– CD Mark Knopfler Down the Road Wherever
– CD Amy Helm This Too Shall Light

Entering is easy. Just fill out the online form on our Giveaway page. Winners will be contacted directly by email. Read More…

Artist of the Week (9am, 12pm, 3pm, 7pm)
Week of 4/28 Willie Nelson (born 4/2/47)
Week of 5/5 Robert Johnson (born 5/8/11)
Week of 5/12 Neko Case
Week of 5/19 Bob Dylan (born 5/24/41)
Week of 5/26 Aofie O’Donovan Read More…

I’m thinking one of these days the sun will indeed come out and Springlike temperatures may arrive. Or not. It is New England after all! Here are some notes from Programming for May:

On Friday, May 3rd we’ll be celebrating the legacy of Pete Seeger who was born 5/3/19, which would indeed be the 100th Birthday. We’ll feature many of Pete’s musical connections in the Morning Show. In the 1pm hour Alastair Moock will drop by to perform in our studios. Alastair has certainly incorporated Pete’s influence into his own music. So he’ll play live, share some stories and more starting at 1pm. Then later at 6pm we’ll be re-broadcasting our 2 Hour Pete Seeger Hootenanny Member Event with host Scott Alarik. I hope you can join us at some or all points of the day! Read More…

You should be — in addition to our regular July instructor stalwarts, we’re bringing back Reggie Harris!

In a career spanning over 40 years of songwriting, performing, and social activism Reggie has played and taught in dozens of venues, educational institutions, camps and all manner of folk music gatherings.  And from July 14-20, at Geneva Point Conference Center on Lake Winnipesauke, he is bringing all of that expertise to WUMB’s Summer Acoustic Music Week to share with you! Read More…

Meteorological Winter ends on March 1 and somehow my body can sense that winter is over. As soon as the calendar flips over from February, I get a major sense of relief despite whatever weather is blowing around outside. Read More…