Arts on Fire

Arts on Fire host Anthony Merchant chatted with Maria Ferguson of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute all about 3 new exhibits at RTPI as well as their Art After 5 series https://rtpi.org/

Arts on Fire LIVE continues for October 2023 with an electric performance from St. Vith along with interviews with AOF host Anthony Merchant ABOUT AOF LIVE: Arts On Fire LIVE brings you the very best of Chautauqua County's local artists via a live, in-studio performance! The show is produced and broadcast by WRFA-LP 107.9 FM, Kranky Plate Productions, and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, NY. All 2023 Arts on Fire LIVE performances are made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Grant. https://stvithband.com/

Arts on Fire host Anthony Merchant spoke with cast members of the Lucille Ball Little Theatres new production of School of Rock - The Musical https://www.lbltj.com/

Actor, director, author and teacher Ron Destro spoke with Arts on Fire host Anthony Merchant all about his brand new book "The Starre, The Moone, The Sunne" and much more http://rondestro.com/

Sean Lander and Scott Slade of The Hallow Society stopped by the WRFA studios to play some songs and talk rock n roll with AOF host Anthony Merchant https://www.facebook.com/TheHALLOWSociety/

Westfield author and artist Trenton Lutes made his AOF return to talk all about the new book Beyond The Wasted Lands: Book Two of The Terra-Healers with Arts on Fire host Anthony Merchant https://toastedwafflestudios.wixsite.com/trentonlutes https://www.facebook.com/toastedwafflestudios/

Arts on Fire LIVE continues for September 2023 with a sold out performance from Uncle Ben's Remedy along with interviews with AOF host Anthony Merchant ABOUT AOF LIVE: Arts On Fire LIVE brings you the very best of Chautauqua County's local artists via a live, in-studio performance! The show is produced and broadcast by WRFA-LP 107.9 FM, Kranky Plate Productions, and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, NY. All 2023 Arts on Fire LIVE performances are made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Grant. https://unclebensremedy.com/

Songwriting legend Don McLean spoke with Arts on Fire host Anthony Merchant about Dons early days of touring, what he had forgotten about the writing and recording of American Pie, figuring out what you're going to play live when you have 50+ years worth of material, honing your craft and the importance of starting early, what's next for Don McLean and much more https://www.strutherslibrarytheatre.org/by-list/don-mclean https://donmclean.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thedonmclean/ https://www.facebook.com/DonMcLean https://twitter.com/donmclean

Angelo Valentino of The Spire Theater and the In Crowd joined AOF's Anthony Merchant to discuss the history of the band and theater, the inaugural Back Stage Jam, the Studio Metro Underground, what goes into running a theater and much more http://inspirejamestown.com/ http://www.incrowdband.com/ https://www.facebook.com/incrowdlive/ https://www.facebook.com/spiretheater

Actor, restaurateur and Jamestown, NY native Mitchell Anderson spoke with AOF's Anthony Merchant all about bringing his one man show You Better Call Your Mother to Jamestown on September 15 and 16 Tickets - https://m.bpt.me/event/6065050

Artist Joseph Grice joined AOF's Anthony Merchant to discuss his current exhibit at Roger Tory Peterson Institute and what he is working on for the rest of 2023 https://www.josephgrice.art/ https://linktr.ee/josephgriceart/ https://rtpi.org/exhibitions/joseph-grice-taking-flight/

Chautauqua County artist Thomas Annear joined Arts on Fire host Anthony Merchant in the Allegheny National Forest to chat about the Labor Day Art Trail Hub Crawl, painting sunsets during the Canadian wildfires, the beauty of the Chautauqua region, upcoming classes and exhibits from Thomas and more https://www.thomasannear.com/ https://nsaachautauqua.org/art-trail.html https://www.instagram.com/thomasannearart/

Len Barry of the Reg Lenna joined Arts on Fire host Anthony Merchant to chat and recap the summer season at the Reg and what programming they have coming up for fall 2023

Leslie Calimeri and Frank Besse return to the WRFA studios for a follow up conversation on Jamestown ArtScape with AOF host Anthony Merchant https://www.jamestownrenaissance.org/artscape/ https://www.chautauquaartgallery.com/

Arts on Fire LIVE continues for August 2023 with a double bill performance from Miranda Wilcox and Olivia Frances along with Q+A's with host Anthony Merchant ABOUT AOF LIVE: Arts On Fire LIVE brings you the very best of Chautauqua County's local artists via a live, in-studio performance! The show is produced and broadcast by WRFA-LP 107.9 FM, Kranky Plate Productions, and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, NY. All 2023 Arts on Fire LIVE performances are made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Grant.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root and Uprooted joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to talk about his upcoming Jamestown performance at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, how his songwriting process has changed over the years, Rusted Root's platinum selling record When I Woke turning 30 in 2024, what the Pittsburgh music scene was like in the early days of Rusted Root, how the formation of Uprooted came about and much more https://www.michaelglabicki.com https://rtpi.org https://www.instagram.com/michaelglabicki https://www.facebook.com/MichaelGlabickiofRustedRoot

Television icon and Young and the Restless star Melody Thomas Scott spoke with Arts on Fire host Anthony Merchant about her upcoming visit to Jamestown for her fundraiser for the Lucille Ball Little Theatre, her connections to the area, developing the character Nikki Newman over the decades on Young and the Restless, the lasting legacy of Lucille Ball, writing her memoir Always Young and Restless and much more https://www.lbltj.com https://www.instagram.com/melodythomassco https://twitter.com/MelodyThomasSco https://www.facebook.com/melodythomassco

Sukanya Burman returns to Arts on Fire along with Company Manager Daryl Simons to discuss her recent works and the world of dance in Western New York with AOF host Anthony Merchant https://www.sukanyaburman.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/sukanyaburman https://www.facebook.com/sukanyaOFFICIAL

Students of the Infinity Visual and Performing Arts joined us as the July 2023 performers of Arts on Fire LIVE ABOUT AOF LIVE: Arts On Fire LIVE brings you the very best of Chautauqua County's local artists via a live, in-studio performance! The show is produced and broadcast by WRFA-LP 107.9 FM, Kranky Plate Productions, and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, NY. All 2023 Arts on Fire LIVE performances are made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Grant.

Holly Weston of the Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown spoke with WRFAs Anthony Merchant about Monty Python's Spamalot making it's return to the Little Theatre stage https://www.lbltj.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lblittletheatre/ https://www.facebook.com/lblittletheatre

National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson spoke with WRFAs Anthony Merchant about the 2023 Lucille Ball Comedy Fest, Joan Rivers career archive making its home at the Comedy Center and much more https://comedycenter.org/ https://linktr.ee/NationalComedyCenter

Miki Girts returned to the WRFA studios to discuss the 2023 Whirlybird Music & Arts Festival with Arts on Fire host Anthony Merchant https://whirlybirdfest.com/ https://www.instagram.com/whirlybirdfest/ https://www.facebook.com/whirlybirdfest

Vixen drummer Roxy Petrucci talked with WRFAs Anthony Merchant all about the early days of touring, 35 years of Vixen's self titled debut, the bands upcoming Jamestown show, recording new music and much more https://vixenofficial.com/ https://www.instagram.com/vixen_band/ https://www.instagram.com/roxypetrucciroxy/ https://www.facebook.com/Vixen/ https://www.facebook.com/roxypetrucciofficial/ https://twitter.com/officialvixen

Mike Brunacini returns to Arts on Fire to discuss new music and his new project Aftergloom with host Anthony Merchant https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mikebrunacini/dont-wake-the-dreamer-part-limited-cassette-release?ref=discovery&term=mike%20brunacini https://mikebrunacini.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/mikebrunacini https://www.instagram.com/mikebrunacini/ https://linktr.ee/MikeBrunacini

Becca Darling and Mike Baum of Charleston band Olive Dares the Darkness talked with WRFAs Anthony Merchant about the bands roots in Chautauqua, working on new music and the bands upcoming tour including a stop in Jamestown July 15th https://darethedarkness.com/ https://www.instagram.com/olivedaresthedarkness/ https://www.facebook.com/olivedaresthedarkness/ https://twitter.com/olivedaresthed1

Julie Rockcastle of the Great Blue Heron Music Festival joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to talk 30 years of Blue Heron and what to expect at this years festival https://linktr.ee/blueheronfest https://greatblueheron.com https://theheron.org https://www.instagram.com/blueheronfest https://www.facebook.com/theheron

RTPI Curator Maria Ferguson joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to discuss the two new exhibit openings at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Art that Matters to the Planet 2023: Interconnectivity and Joseph Grice: Taking Flight https://rtpi.org https://www.instagram.com/rtpinstitute https://www.facebook.com/rtpinstitute https://twitter.com/rtpinstitute

Miki Girts of the Whirlybird Music and Arts Festival joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant in the studio to discuss the next installment of Earlybird events leading up to the 2023 Whirlybird festival https://whirlybirdfest.com https://www.instagram.com/whirlybirdfest https://www.facebook.com/whirlybirdfest

Arts on Fire LIVE continues in June 2023 with a performance from Charity Nuse and Friends! ABOUT AOF LIVE: Arts On Fire LIVE brings you the very best of Chautauqua County's local artists via a live, in-studio performance! The show is produced and broadcast by WRFA-LP 107.9 FM, Kranky Plate Productions, and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, NY. All 2023 Arts on Fire LIVE performances are made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Grant. WATCH the full performance on the WRFA Youtube page -https://www.youtube.com/live/uRBQLQ1UHJg?feature=share

Gorg Mor (STCLVR) stopped by WRFA to talk to Anthony Merchant about an upcoming show at Jamestown Skate Products, writing new music, performing in Brooklyn and Ithaca, releasing music on vinyl and much more https://stclvr.bandcamp.com https://linktr.ee/STCLVR

Local musician KDYN joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to discuss his songwriting, musical influences, what you bring to music from playing sports and much more KDYN also performs a 3 song in-studio performance! https://kdyn07.bandcamp.com https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085259146472

Len Barry of the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to discuss upcoming summer events at the Reg Lenna as well as the 2023 WRFA Great American Picnic and much more https://reglenna.com

Arts on Fire LIVE continues in May 2023 with a performance from the Fredonia Guitar Quintet! ABOUT AOF LIVE: Arts On Fire LIVE brings you the very best of Chautauqua County's local artists via a live, in-studio performance! The show is produced and broadcast by WRFA-LP 107.9 FM, Kranky Plate Productions, and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, NY. All 2023 Arts on Fire LIVE performances are made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Grant.

The cast of the Lucille Ball Little Theatre production of Jersey Boys joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to discuss the upcoming performances, how rehearsals are going, the casts acting history and much more https://www.lbltj.com https://www.facebook.com/lblittletheatre

Writer and musician Neil Flory joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to discuss his new collection of poems called Mudtrombones Knotted in the Spill, the roles that music and poetry have played in Neil's life, working with Arteidolia Press, if all of Neil's creativity stems from the same place and much more https://www.arteidolia.com/mudtrombones-knotted-in-the-spill-by-neil-flory/

Plein Air artist Thomas Annear joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to discuss the 2023 North Shore Arts Alliance Hub Crawl, the incredible hikes found around Chautauqua County, the local art scene in Chautauqua and much more https://www.thomasannear.com https://www.instagram.com/thomasannearart https://www.facebook.com/ThomasAnnearArt https://nsaachautauqua.org https://www.facebook.com/northshorearts

Niagara Falls punk band Virus X joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to discuss their upcoming show in Jamestown, being a band for 40 years, favorite Jamestown spots to visit, Western New York music scenes in the 80's and much more https://virusx1.bandcamp.com https://twitter.com/virusxband https://www.facebook.com/virusxband

Local artist Joseph Grice stopped by the WRFA studios to talk with Anthony Merchant about an upcoming open house at his art studio, preparing work for a new exhibit at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, what the organization (or chaos) of an artists workspace says about them, the amount of time Joe tends to put in his paintings and much more linktr.ee/josephgriceart josephgrice.art instagram.com/Joseph_Grice_Art facebook.com/JosephGriceArt rtpi.org wrfalp.com

One of New Jersey's finest Mikey Erg talked with WRFAs Anthony Merchant about his upcoming show in Fredonia with Mikey Erg Band and Doc Hopper, the coolness of Scott Reynolds of ALL being from Chautauqua County, working with Steve Albini last year, having Robert Pollard do your album art and much more linktr.ee/Mikeyerg instagram.com/mikeyerg twitter.com/Mikeyerg facebook.com/mikeyergmusic wrfalp.com

Arts on Fire LIVE continues in April 2023 with a performance from Derek Davis! ABOUT AOF LIVE: Arts On Fire LIVE brings you the very best of Chautauqua County's local artists via a live, in-studio performance! The show is produced and broadcast by WRFA-LP 107.9 FM, Kranky Plate Productions, and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, NY. All 2023 Arts on Fire LIVE performances are made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Grant.

Author TJ Buck joined WRFA's Anthony Merchant to discuss his new book "Are You Ready to Die?", common misconceptions about writing a novel, how his writing process changes (and stays the same) over the years, books and music that TJ recommends and much more wrfalp.com

Len Barry of the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant to discuss April and May events happening at the Reg Lenna reglenna.com wrfalp.com

JCCs Neil Flory joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant in studio to discuss upcoming spring events at SUNY Jamestown Community College including a residency from artist A.I the Anomaly and the 2023 Jazz Fest featuring Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Rivera. https://www.sunyjcc.edu https://www.wrfalp.com

Maria Ferguson of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute spoke with WRFA's Anthony Merchant at RTPI to discuss two new exhibits opening at the musuem https://rtpi.org https://www.wrfalp.com

Holly Weston of the Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown spoke with WRFA's Anthony Merchant about the Little Theatres production of Little Women https://www.lucilleballlittletheatre.org https://www.wrfalp.com

Arts on Fire LIVE continues in February 2023 with a performance from the duo Water Horse! ABOUT AOF LIVE: Arts On Fire LIVE brings you the very best of Chautauqua County's local artists via a live, in-studio performance! The program was not only broadcast live, but also replayed during our regular Arts on Fire time slot - Fridays at 5 p.m. on WRFA! The show is produced and broadcast by WRFA-LP 107.9 FM, Kranky Plate Productions, and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, NY. All 2023 Arts on Fire LIVE performances are made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Grant.

Whose Line is it Anyway? star Colin Mochrie along with Master Hypnotist Asad Mecci joined WRFA's Anthony Merchant to discuss the Hyprov performance coming to Jamestown March 18th, their recent Off-Broadway residency in New York City, if Colin can use his Whose Line? set of skills for Hyprov, what Asad finds most challenging for each performance and much more Show tickets/info - https://reglenna.com/events/hyprov https://hyprov.com http://www.colinmochrie.com https://asadmecci.com https://www.wrfalp.com https://www.instagram.com/colinmochrie7591 https://www.instagram.com/asadmecci https://twitter.com/colinmochrie https://twitter.com/hypnohype https://www.facebook.com/colinmochrie https://www.facebook.com/hypnohype

Reverend Luke Fodor of St. Lukes Episcopal Church along with Irish musician, poet and storyteller Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin talk with WRFA's Anthony Merchant all about the upcoming Welcoming the Wisdom of St. Patrick event going on at St. Lukes on March 15th https://stlukesjamestown.org https://www.owenandmoley.com https://www.wrfalp.com

Director Emily Drew along with actors Morgan, Colin, Kayden and Ethan join WRFA's Anthony Merchant to discuss their upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet at Jamestown Community College as well as to perform selections from the production https://www.sunyjcc.edu/event/romeo-juliet-2 https://ci.ovationtix.com/36201/production/1151016 https://www.wrfalp.com

Leslie Calimeri of the Chautauqua Art Gallery and Frank Besse of the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation joined WRFA's Anthony Merchant to discuss the new public art program ArtScape coming to downtown Jamestown in Spring 2023 https://www.jamestownrenaissance.org/artscape https://www.chautauquaartgallery.com https://www.jamestownrenaissance.org https://www.wrfalp.com