The Fabulous 413

Our chats with the candidates for Northampton mayor continue with David Dombrowski, a Northampton native and former police officer looking to fill the seat and address the issues he sees within the city including concerns over Picture Main Street, revitalizing the local economy, examining the housing and financial woes of the city and more. We’ll also head to Amherst to find out more about a new work that explores the boundaries and ties between humanity, memory, and technology. "The Onion" is a new opera in which family secrets collide with a memory-enhancing AI, and we’ll speak with the creative team that created the show as well as the stellar cast that will perform it this weekend.Plus triplex cinemas this weekend they’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of a cult classic. "Psycho Beach Party" is a campy romp through 50s tropes and 80’s slasher sensibilities that has just been added to the Criterion Collection, and we’ll meet two of the film’s stars who’ll be in conversation after the showing on Saturday: 413 resident and actor Lauren Ambrose, and screenwriter/actor Charles Busch.**Addendum: we mistakenly refer to Charles Busch as Chris Busch in the intro of this episode.

Today, we’re starting a deep dive into the politics light portion of our ethos, because Northampton has a heavily contested mayoral preliminary going on right now. So for the rest of the week we’ll be chatting with each of the four contestants in that particular race. And today we’ll start those conversations with the woman who currently has that seat: Gina Louise Sciarra. We’ll explore how her time as mayor has gone, as well as some of the more controversial issues in the race including the ongoing housing and property tax issues, the question of Picture Main St, the funding of schools, and more alongside NEPM News Room’s Adam Frenier. Then we’ll sidle over to the next Hampton on the list for a one man stage show that examines the less titillating positions in the adult entertainment industry. "Near Sex for Work" presents writer, comedian, and actor Daniel Shar’s very clothed, very sex-free contributions to the risque and we’ll talk to him about what that entails exactly, and how he came to be sought after in that industry for doing what seems to be the opposite of what it asks for, and other secrets he'll divulge on the City Space Stage in Easthampton on Sept 10th.

We’re digging into a bit of delicious history and listening to decades of dedication We sit with Mother-Son authors Jyoti and Auyon Mukharji, who’ve combined their talents to release the cookbook Heartland Masala. The book is an amazing and tasty snapshot not just of cultures meeting within one family, but of history, and interpersonal connections, with Jyoti’s incredible career trajectory from medicine to measuring cups, and Auyon’s growing involvement from musician in the band Darlingside, to recipe consultant, to budding food historian. Also, we’ll tell you how you can ask all your own questions about their recipes and more at their book launch happening this Tuesday at Daily Operation in Easthampton. And we’ll have an extra rare Live Music Monday with Veteran singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith before he plays at the Iron Horse Sept. 9th. And get to hear first hand the thrice Juno award winner’s brand new eighteenth album Hangover Terrace released 40 years after his first self published work and 30+ years after his first official label release. .Plus we’ll peruse the many fruits of Mountain Orchard in Granville with co-owner Chris Teter and learn how the trees on their many acres have shifted and grown over the past 100+ years now that apple season is upon us.

Today we get to play explorers: in our glasses, in our ears, and on our stages. Tomorrow evening a work highlighting the experiences of women in an ongoing conflict overlooked by many will be presented at Holyoke Media. An Epic of Violence brings the stories of Sudanese women in their mother tongue to the stage through a company of six actors for a theatrical production and we’ll talk with the writer behind the work, former Holyoke resident Tamador Gibreel. We’ll also get the sounds of cumbia’s future straight from LA. Secret Planet brings Tropa Magica to Easthampton this evening at the Marigold Theater for an intoxicating amalgam of cumbia, psych rock, surf and punk. And the group joins us in studio for live music Friday. And in Lenox, Mary and Ben Daire have another blind tasting for us of the two wines that were the crowd favorites at the past two Lenox Wine Festivals. So we pit the fan favorites against each other while learning how you can taste over 100 beverages next weekend in the berkshires.

Today, we go onscreen in Deerfield where a new exhibit looks at the way the Asparagus Valley has been captured on film and tv.Pioneer Valley Picture Show is a wide sweeping exploration of the people, places, and screenplays that are connected to the towns and cities of the 413, from actors to costume designers, writers and directors, the Memorial Hall Museum is looking at the many ways Western Mass. appears on the big screen. We get a tour of the new exhibit from curator Ray Radigan, and along with someone who actually appears in the exhibit, director Bob Krzykowski of "The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot", get a glimpse of the over 100 years of the area’s film history, and hear how you can participate yourself by completing their scavenger hunt. And Congressman Jim McGovern is back in Chocolate City where the National Guard are still patrolling, sort of, to talk about the collective movement of Epstein survivors, the legal victories of Harvard University, our ongoing military operations which recently hit Venezuela and has its eyes domestically on NOLA and Chicago, not to mention the perpetual question of the possibility of building a bipartisan future for our quite divided nation.

We’re learning more about the arts and culture of a diaspora at Springfield Museums for instance, where this Friday sees the third Latino Arts Festival. Featuring an exhibit on loan from the Museo de Ponce that itself delves into the sense of place and surrealism in Latin America, music, dance and more and we’ll chat with Museum director of Education Larissa Murray about the occasionWe’ll also find ourselves on a hilltop sequestered in a corner of Amherst College’s Campus. Book and Plow Farm was founded in the 2010s as an effort of the Student body and has provided those students with connection to the land ever since, and we’ll speak with assistant manager Kaylee Brow about the farm’s history and current direction at an institution with no direct coursework in her field. And Word Nerd Emily Brewster senior editor at Merriam-Webster is kicking Grey’s Anatomy to the curb and giving us better, less utilized words to describe the parts of our bodies and they’re all safe we promise!

It’s birthday time because one of the farms in the area is celebrating its time in agro-tourism with four acres of festivities.Mike’s Maze in Sunderland is celebrating its 25th year with its 26th maize labyrinth, so we head there to take in this year’s attraction and hear about it’s history. We’ll learn about the maze’s origins with the eponymous Mike Wissemann and artist Will Sillin who designed and cut the first 11 mazes, and the work that went into the Maze’s early years and themes, and hear about the transition to the current team building the attraction: Dave and Jess Marsh Wissemann, as well as the changes and lessons learned along the way that keep people coming back to Sunderland to get the full experience. Then we’ll head to Easthampton where 13 bands over 2 days will take over the stage at City Space for a punk festival like no other. Queercore Fest is hitting its stride in its second year, and we’ll learn from organizers Issley and Ben about this year’s line up, last year’s lessons, and the importance of gathering queer community in queer space for a mutual aid cause.

20 years ago today the nation watched as Hurricane Katrina broke the levees and lay feet of water and devastation on the wards of New Orleans, destroying infrastructure, communities, and lives. And today on the Fab 413, we’ll speak with one person displaced by the hurricane happened to land in Ashfield and make themselves a little ubiquitous. Nan Parati has been making signs for businesses, events, and festivals for 4 decades, but when Katrina left her stranded in the Northeast, she built herself into Ashfield’s cultural and culinary landscape by opening Elmer’sNow it’s the Elmer’s building, and that restaurant is in new hands, so we’ll sit with Nan on this anniversary to get the Full story of amazing coincidences, and to meet the new folx helming a new cafe in the now legendary Elmer’s Space. We’ll also hear the melange of sounds that permeate the music of Clarinetist, bandleader, and composer Kinan Azmeh for Live Music Friday, and learn about woodwinds in his native Syria, and the importance of music to a changing world before you can see him perform with his ensemble City band tomorrow night at Antenna Cloud Farm. Plus ACF Founder Michi Wiancko speaks about what it’s like to play with Kinan in the Silk Road Ensemble, where they are both members.

Healthcare is a fraught issue in the US let alone the region. And there’s a local organization that’s been providing care for a wide variety of avenues to some of the most vulnerable populations across the 4 counties. Tapestry Health has been a force in the 413 for 50 years and has just undergone a few leadership changes. We speak their new Chair of the Board Brad Riley about their current services, and some of the challenges that Tapestry faces in light of the current administration. We’ll also hear how you can help them be around for another 50 years with their upcoming fundraiser The Walk For Every body. NEPM reporter and engineer extraordinaire Phil Bishop explores one of the peskier species that you might be hearing and seeing more of: The Spotted Lantern Fly. MDAR’s Jennifer Foreman Orth explains the true impact of the insect, and what you can do to mitigate its invasionAnd Congressman Jim McGovern speaks on the lessons he’s learned from his farm tour, yesterday’s tragic school shooting in Minnesota, listener questions on Gaza, the national guard in DC, the Epstein Files and more.

Every year, the congressman for the 2nd congressional district comes to to area for a whirlwind meeting with farmers, agricultural advocates, and other legislators, and members of his staff at various farms across his district. We tag along with U.S. Representative Jim McGovern at the second stop of his 15 location, 2 day Farm Tour up in Ashfield at Foxtrot Farm and get to see firsthand how they’re transforming a former hayfield into verdant and resilient farmland. Farm manager Abby Ferla tells us more about some of the farm’s practices and procedures including pick your own and their CSA, and how the uncertainty of our current grant structure is affecting the decisions they have to make right now. Then Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster escalates down the hill to talk about contradictory phrases and uses of words that are far more than meets the eye and that all seem to have something to do with falling or rising... And as it’s Wednesday and traditionally that was the day we nerd out about things, we’ll bring back a quick Nerdwatch to explore the sudden uptick in the Isekai genre, and games that'll maintain that summer feeling way into the colder months.

We’re trying our best to get around, and a recent survey of folx in the area show that they’re having problems with that too. The People and Transportation Project report looks at the ways that folx in the 4 counties are and aren’t getting around, and the hardships they face getting from point A to Point which can have bigger repercussions in many other facets of daily life. We head next door to Wayfinders to chat with President Keith Fairey and MassINC Polling Group Research Director Rich Parr, who worked together to take this snapshot of what moving around in Hampden and Hampshire counties really looks like, and how it impacts jobs, schools, health and more. And we’ll see one couple’s agricultural dreams made reality in Bernardston, where two one-time academic researchers left their Boston labs to get their hands in the soil at Coyote Hill Farm. Ervin and Gloria Meluleni give us a grand tour of the land they cleared themselves and work organically, full of innovations and lessons from the land they’ve learned over the past few decades, including stumbling accidentally into a CSA.

We have a cure for your Mondays.It’s music! Music is the cure!And a new venue that we just saw last month is getting ready to launch right into a new concert series. The Hope Center for the Arts in Springfield is reviving its days as the City Center and is announcing its inaugural 25/26 Season of performances, and we’ll chat with Isaac Eddy, Lorenzo Gaines, and Kyle Homestead about the line-up.In Northampton, they’re encouraging you to make your own music. The Northampton Community Music Center is hosting an Instrument Petting Zoo tomorrow, inviting all walks and ages of folx to their building to test out new ways of making sound. Vocalist, bassist, current Digital co-ordinator and former student of the center Indë Francis lets us test out some of the instruments that’ll be available to the public for the event. Plus, resident Astronomer Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed, gives us even more information about how the platform he leads, Kainaat Studios, is leaning even further into getting all those folx to engage with the lunar eclipse.

With Arts funding being cut everywhere, the places that are finding it in their hearts and wallets to support the creative communities around them are even more important. And today we’ll talk with Zoë Fieldman of CitySpace about their efforts to do just that. The Pay It Forward Grant recipients have just been announced, and we’ll speak with them about the 10 folx bringing their work to the Easthampton stage over the next few months, as we explore how the landscape for arts patronage is changing. We’ll also talk with the first of those recipients coming to the Blue Room’s stage: Chestina Thrower, and learn from the UMass student about their quartet that will accompany them, and what this residency means to the growth of their work and catalog.Also, it’s time for another Power of History segment with professor Ousmane Power-Greene, where we’ll hear about Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman Day and where you can celebrate it, along with how her case became the proverbial straw on slavery’s back in the Bay State.

Metal, wood, fire, a fire lizard, and whales!Sort of. The salamander, which is often translated to fire lizard is the squirmy looking influence behind many congressional districts across the country and gerrymandering looks like it is about to become all the rage for both Republicans and Democrats. And it just so happens that one of the nation’s experts in the history of gerrymandering lives right here in the 413. We welcome back to the show Haydenville’s David Daley to help us navigate through the circuitous political meanderings of rigging elections through redistricting. For wood and fire, we’ll head to Wales, Massachusetts where Nipmuc Community organizations have gathered to create a Mishoon in unique collaboration with Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary.. Since the 15th, they've opened this ceremony and tradition to the public so that folx might come and see the ways the first peoples of this land live and thrive. We’ll hear about the importance of this practice in the past and to the present with the people who have inhabited these lands for millenniaThe metal is in Millers Falls, where The Heavy Music Campout RPM Fest returns to Montage next weekend and we’ll bang our heads with festival founder Brian Westbrook and hear what new sounds this year has in store for us all, earplugs at the ready.

Folk and Americana musicians are all headed for the woods as the Arcadia Folk Festival hits year seven as a plethora of artists over two days headed to North and Easthampton from Red Baraat to Josh Ritter, and moreAnd to talk with us about the sanctuary that will soon be filled with more than the sounds of songbirds is director of Connecticut River Valley Wildlife Sanctuaries for Mass Audubon Jonah Keane, and we’ll explore not just his favorites of who is performing this weekend, but also the synergy between the festival and the conservation space and the ways the event has continued its dedication to being environmentally friendly. We’ll also hear from someone whose emotional outlet became beacon for many. Diane DiMassa author of the comic Hothead Paisan: Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist, is seeing a new anthology of her work released and chats with us about some of the origins of the comic and the ways it continues to resonate with the queer community and beyond before you can meet her in person at Mass Moca’s R & D Bookstore August 21st. And word nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster brings us along to ask language why it’s named things incorrectly as we take a look at some common English misnomers.

We’re continuing to highlight local traditions, and here at the very height of the harvest season, for Franklin County, that means the Harvest Supper which is celebrating it’s 20th year this weekend. We’ll chat with Stone Soup Cafe’s Kirsten Levitt, who helms the affair to chat about it’s origins with Juanita Nelson, the important place the event has in the community and the Cafe’s calendars, and the joys of bringing everyone together to celebrate the bounty of the county.We’ll also head to Great Barrington where a tradition is currently being grown. The Queer Cinema Club seeks to bring known and hidden screen gems of the LGBTQIA2S+ community to the Triplex Cinema for showings to foster more connection in and around the the Berkshires, and we’ll chat with Ben Eliot, Champika Fernando, and Michelle Kaplan about what you can watch this week.And in Feeding Hills young beef farmer has spent 35 years doing the very best for his herd, including adding a small breakfast and lunch spot for those on the go. Autumn Mist Farm has supplied beef to local outlets in the area, and we’ll chat with founder Derrick Turnbull about his tenure in the cattle industry, and the hardships this year has presented.

Look who’s back from vacation!(It’s us!) And look at who else is about to have their vacation end!Your Kids! But going back to fun arts programming can take some of the sting off of that, and there’s a summer send off that helps to make sure those programs happen while also bringing the local music community together. Transformance 35 happens tomorrow, with a new list of covers being performed by local musicians. We'll speak with one of the organizers of the event, Northampton Arts Council's Steve Sanderson about the event and this year’s theme: “Immigrant Song”, and hear from one of the bands performing at tomorrow’s massive festivities: Big Yellow Taxi, and learn what continues to appeal about the songs of Canadian Joni Mitchell Plus Mr. Universe: Salman Hameed talks about how Kainaat Studios is encouraging millions of folx to watch the next lunar eclipse, and a planet near-ish to us we should pay attention to in Alpha Centauri, and the astronomical themes in a Josh Ritter song you might hear this weekend at the Arcadia Folk Festival.

It feels only right considering how much music we’ve filled this week with, that we go out with More music. So we’ll revisit the celebrations of our compatriots in community radio arms for Live Music Friday. Kalliope Jones began as a group of IMA students, but has grown a lot over the past decade and they’ll visit the studios before you can catch them at the Valley Free Radio Birthday PartyAnd out in North Adams a new way to see and engage with music has just arrived. The Freshgrass Institute is a new endeavor providing workshops, residency programs, fellowships, and commissions to support artists. We’ll meet its director Sue KillamWe’ll also hear from one of the folx who’s not only playing at the Freshgrass Institute this weekend, but who’ll be one of the folx taking stage in a few weeks at Northampton’s Transformance 35: Friend of the show, and fellow Kate Bush enthusiast Ciara Fragale. And just around the corner at Mass MoCA, an innovative creator with a unique approach to comedy will perform. We’ll talk to Julio Torres about his inspirations, and more before the laughter begins at his stand up this evening.

If you’re listening to us, you probably already believe in the power of community radioAnd today on the Fabulous 413, we’ll honor another station that’s rooted in the Asparagus Valley and is celebrating a milestone this weekend. Valley Free Radio began broadcasting 20 years ago and will celebrate this weekend with a birthday party, and we’ll speak with Board Members Betsy Lancto and Ed Malachowski about the important place they maintain on the airwavesAnd the new season for Antenna Cloud Farm launches this weekend, with innovative virtuosos from all over the globe coming to perform and create among the idyllic hills of Gill. We’ll hear about the performances you can see all month with founder Michi Wiancko, and get a taste of the pair you can catch this very weekend, Duo YumenoPlus Congressman Jim McGovern gets way into a Massachusetts innovation that is now plaguing the nation: Gerrymandering and its possible effects on the legislative branch, the undying issue of Epstein, and more

Wow there’s a lot of music going on in western Mass, and we can’t get enough so we’ll tell you about another festival happening this weekend in FlorenceEtchings is the project of the area’s own ECCE Ensemble, who were also eager to get their ears on new work by composers of all walks. And we’ll talk with Cassandra Holden of Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity, and festival and ensemble founder John Aylward about the things you’ll hear over the next 3 days, and the winding road the festival took to land in Western Mass. We’ll also dig into one of nature’s most portable snacks, smack dab in the middle of the four counties. Blue Heaven Blueberries has been growing their bounty over 3 generations and a little over 60 years, and we’ll meet Donna and Joe Pease who’ve currently tend the acres of bushes in MiddlefieldPlus word nerd Emily Brewster, Senior Editor at Merriam-Webster takes a pause from her drudge to explore the fun of collective nouns and the ways we have cataloged them through the centuries.

85 years ago Serge Koussevitzky started a tradition at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s home away from home on the Lenox-Stockbridge line, that has become a herald of the Summer for music lovers everywhere. Tanglewood on Parade happens today, and though it began as the “Allied Relief Fund Benefit,” it’s now a fundraiser for all of the learning that is done at the BSO’s summer home, bringing activities for folx of all ages, and performances by every ensemble on the campus all day longSo today, we head to the Berkshires to get a snapshot of the festivities that always end with canon fire from the 1812 Overture and fireworks. We’ll speak with Maestros Thomas Wilkins and Na’Zir McFadden about their respective tenures with the institution and the work they’ll be leading in tonight's concert, hear performances from concertmaster Nathan Cole, and principal flutist Lorna McGhee, plus hear what happens beyond the music for the community with senior director for patron experience Amy Aldrich, and hear from each one about the incredible location and comradery that Tanglewood builds.

We're focusing on the amazing 01002 today.(That is the zip code for the People’s Republic of Amherst)Amherst has a lot going on.We’ll take a walk in Wildwood Cemetery where former Amherst resident, artist Matt Mitchell, has a brand new sculpture about to be unveiled. Along with cemetery director Rebebba Fricke and groundskeeper Silas Ball we talk with all three about bringing sculptures to surround the sepulchers, and how this place of contemplation was meant to be of conservation as well. Not far from that resting place at Amherst Cinema, their silver screen is filled with the sounds of music, and important pieces of music history on celluloid. We’ll talk with George Myers, the curator of the movie series Sound and Vision, which brings musical stories of all types into the spotlight, about the cinema’s Kurosawa film series and how his other film venture, Vision Video, is doing bringing film in physical media form back to the Valley. And from a kitchen table in Amherst we head to the stars with Mr. Universe. Amherst astronomer Salman Hameed, of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, gives us the scoop on what’s happening with Betelgeuse. Here's a hint, it's gonna be explosive.

We’re learning history through our bodies, and arts and culture everywhere. The twelfth annual Pocumtuck Homelands Festival happens this weekend in Great Falls, honoring the many peoples who have stewarded and called these lands home for millennia with dance, song, vendors who are masters of their craft and more. We’ll chat with Kitty Hendrick Miller of the Mashpee-Wampanoag peoples, about the place events like this have in educating the public, and her ties to Public MediaAnd at Jacob’s Pillow Festival, an innovative blend of afro- and afro-latin social dance has just premiered. Urban Love Suite is a look at movement through the styles of the diaspora from the earliest stolen peoples to the partnered dances of today, and we’ll speak with the artistic force behind the work Sekou McMiller, as well as dramaturg (and associate curator AND scholar in residence to the festival itself) Melanie George, about the core of the work and the process of bringing it to the Ted Shawn Stage.And the Tina Turner Wine Thunderdome checks unique wines and mission of one label. Stolpman Vineyards with Mary and Ben Daire at Dare Bottleshop and Provisions in Lenox. Plus we'll learn about an event they're curating at Tanglewood as well: Tasting Notes on August 16th.

We’ve got a bunch of current issues we’re tackling, some on stage, some in the houses of law. Two professors at Bard Microcollege in Holyoke are producing a theatrical work that dovetails with their teachings tidily. BELLY is a work that condenses a decade of research on Black motherhood, and reproductive autonomy into an experience of music, dance, and spoken word, while stretching those findings through the the Transatlantic Slave Trade to the friendships and families of today. We speak with writer/producer Haile Eshe Cole and assistant producer Nicole Young Martin about the choreopoem itself and the ties to their academic lives in Holyoke, including a dissertation pivot. We also explore the lack of space for newer theater works, and the importance of recognizing cultural importance amidst universal experience. And our weekly conversation with Congressman Jim McGovern interrupts his congressional break to talk about the famine and ongoing issues in Gaza, questions about the Epstein files, the ever looming storm of impact the budget cuts will have to Energy initiatives and snap and more. Oh, and what he’s planning to do with the rest of that downtime. Seeing as he’s on vacation and all, sorta.

We’re reminding you that Africa is not a single country, so stop treating it like that. In fact there’s an opportunity coming up for you to learn more about and interact with the culture of several of the nations that make up the continent in Springfield. The African Community Festival happens August 9 celebrating people of the African diaspora and their many cultures. We’ll speak with organizers Naefia Padi, Emmanuel Owusu, and Doreen Dawes about the music, food, festivities, and community action that will happen at the event. We’ll also head to Westfield where their local farmers market has become a volunteer fueled labor of community. Market Manager Lisa Zlody, and volunteers Sarah Adams, and Priest Sandy Albim show us the many flavors of the current market in it’s current location, the impact of HIP and SNAP, and the coalition of folx coming together to make sure their neighbors are getting healthy produce. And with word nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam Webster, we swallow an orchard's worth of other fruits that English didn’t have terms for to specifically look at how apples came to be associated with laryngeal protuberances. Which is to say we look at the term Adams apple.

This weekend, visual art isn’t the only type of art that you can see in the halls and galleries at Mass MoCA, as a 40 year musical collective known for expanding the definition of ensemble, vocal, and solo music commandeers the museum to push those boundaries in sound further. Today on the Fabulous 413, we head to North Adams, to get a sneak peek at Bang on a Can’s Loud Weekend, where the fellows who’ve been participating in their summer workshop, and fellow collaborators from around the globe gather to delve into the notes of “New Music” and perform them throughout the space, permeating the museum with performances. We’ll hear from Bang on a Can co-founders David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Michael Gordon about this year’s lineup, the nuances of composing music together, and sit in on a rehearsal of a work that's an example of that collaboration that will close out the festival: ShelterAnd we’ll meet Jason Treuting who joins the line-up with his ensemble So Percussion, and hear about how the beat can be a breakthrough to new innovations in instrumental music. Plus we'll hear a live solo performance from him in an excerpt of his work Amid The Noise

Over the course of this show, we’ve made many mentions of how important local agriculture is, and how crucial local involvement with that agriculture is. One of the best ways we as consumers can make that happen is through the implementation of CSAs: Community Supported Agriculture and the Farm Share model. So today we visit a farm in Great Barrington that was one of the first to start what you generally see as the CSA model today. Indian Line Farm was agricultural land through most of the 20th century, but in the 80’s it switched from Dairy to Produce and started towards what can be found on its grounds today. We head to its current grounds to speak farmer Elizabeth Keen, as well as Dan Carr of Berkshire Agricultural Ventures about the farm’s history, present, and future. Our local astronomer, Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College shows us space’s influence on more terrestrial organisms including a moth that uses the milky way to navigate its migration in Australia. Also, we reflect on the legacy and impact of the late Tom Lehrer.

Electronic Music has come a long long way since the first synthesizers and theremins of the early 20th Century, and today we’ll get into the wide array of sounds this style of music includes at a festival being thrown this weekend at The Shea Theater. Extension Cords II happens this Saturday bringing an eclectic mix of 6 musicians, each with their own flavor of sound to the stage. We’ll speak with headliner Daedalus, aka Alfred Darlington, who in addition to working with the likes of Saul Williams and MF Doom, is currently a professor Berklee College of Music teaching the next generation of Beatmakers, and discover how he developed his aesthetic, and how visuals and analog elements can be key parts to his compositions. We’ll also hear another artist from the lineup for Live Music Friday as we’re joined by Barbie. AI. Plus we’ll learn about the origins of the event with organizer and visual designer for the Whole shebang: Chris HinkleAnd the Wine Thunderdome takes on a tint and heads north to the Leverett Village Co-Op to sip roses with our Franklin County Wine Friend Ken Washburn, while listening to a ton of cool bird calls that would have made really great samples.

Today on the Fab 413, there’s a festival coming up in the Berkshires that will encourage the next generation of filmmakers to pick up a camera and shoot the movies they've imagined. In Great Barrington, Trifest is currently open for submissions of work from filmmakers 25 and under of all lengths and all topics and all film styles. We chat with Salem Rabley of Triplex Cinema about the films that have been submitted so far as well as how far the films have come from, and how you or that young person in your life can have work submitted to be seen by the greater public. Plus we’ll hear about her own work that will be on screen for the festivities, that she got to film in a faraway place in a faraway language. . And our weekly chat with congressman Jim McGovern rolls on despite congress being on break and tackles the ongoing thorn in the side of this administration that the Epstein Files continue to be, a controversial Israel vote and his take on it, and much more.

There’s a lot of history to be learned in opera and recitals; but this weekend at Tanglewood will take new histories and reframe the music around them to expand the way we look at not just vocal music but a continent that western documentation has largely ignored. African Queens is a newly commissioned song cycle that highlights the lives of 7 Afro-diasporic figures of femme royalty. And that’s only a fraction of the figures that creative producer and performer found in the research for this program which you can see in the Berkshires on July 27th. Soprano Karen Slack speaks with us about assembling the collective that made this series of songs and spoken word for the stage, the events that led to this idea, and some of the disparities that she and others like her have experienced in the world of classical and operatic music. And Word Nerd Emily Brewster, Senior editor at Merriam Webster is pretty good at language; so much so that a pretty big question from a listener has us tracing the origins of the word “pretty” as an adverb back way further than we expected.

Five centuries of theater history has taken root in the mountains, and is bringing audiences, thespians young and older, and more of the community together to celebrate the art of stagecraft. For the past 50 plus years, Shakespeare and Company has been bringing works to life on stage and teaching others the work that goes into making staged productions spectacular. And since their move to their current grounds in 2000, they’ve been expanding on that mission and sharing their proverbial wealth with others. We head up to Lenox to take a tour of the organization's 4 theaters, meet some of the folx involved in their summer productions, and get entirely lost in their costume department in the best way possible, on a study golf cart steed lead by artistic director Allyn Burrows and director of marketing Jaclyn Stevenson. It’s also Corn season, and for a small farm stand along 5 & 10 in Deerfield, which is peak time that customers come calling. We visit Kolakoski Farm Stand to chat with its founder Miriam Spaulding about the 100 yr old farm that stocks the stand, and the important place it has in their operations and see for ourselves just how many folx are clamoring for the ripe ears.

We’re headed out into the wilds to a not so clearly disclosed location in Hampshire county to witness epochs of evolution and change in the hills and dales. Professor and author Noah Charney takes us deep into the woods to explore one of the locations described in his book “These Trees Tell a Story: The Art of Reading Landscapes”, where along with some budding naturalists we see how the happenings during the continental shift are still having effect millions of years later on the organisms that are taking up residence in the Connecticut River Valley. We’ll also discover more about how the Bay State is having a bit of a problem with its legal system. Massachusetts is in the middle of an advocate crisis, which means that many folx awaiting their due process of law may never get it, and may be tossed around in a system with no support for their cases. We speak with attorneys Jack Godleski and Isaac Maas about what the bar advocates duties are, how the shortage came about, and what the commonwealth needs to do to address it.

Good news and Bad News. Bad News First: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has lost over a billion dollars of funding. Billion with a "B."Which is bad, but what does that mean for NEPM itself? A lot of us are asking that question, so to make a little more sense out of last night’s surreptitious vote to defund public media, we’ll speak with NEPM’s own president Matt Abramovitz to gain some clarity on what this means for us here on our network of western Mass. stations. Then we get to the good things, one of which is an upcoming performance of local singer songwriter on the rise Lucia Dostal, where we’ll celebrate her EP from this past fall, hear about working writing songs for people that aren’t herself, and get ready to see her shine at Bands on Brewster in Northampton next week, along with fellow players drummer Carlie Morales, and guitarist Joey Schuyler. And since we are the imbibing type and dreamers besides, we’ll pit two pretty Basque roses against each other in this week’s Tina Turner Memorial Thunderdome at Tip Top Wine Shop in Easthampton with proprietors Lauren Clark and Miranda Brown.

Today is historical and history making. In Great Barrington where one of the pioneers of American Civil Rights movement and black academia was born. Author, sociologist, historian, activist, founder of the NAACP and more, W.E.B. Du Bois is getting a new tribute right in the heart of the town at the Mason Library after years of planning. We’ll speak with Ari Zorn, Dubois Thomas, Julie Michaels, and John Lewis from the team of folx who helped to make it happen with W.E.B. Du Bois Sculpture Committee and the organization Blackshires about the long very community involved process that brought it to life, and how you can celebrate its unveiling this Saturday, July 19th. Plus, our weekly chat with Congressman Jim McGovern much more than just the recently approved rescission package that definitely affects us here on this show directly. Indeed, the representative explores the resurgence of interest in the Epstein files, issue related to cryptocurrency, plus listener questions on tariffs, and even the state of the constitution on which we’ve built this very nation.

We’re connecting with the Celtic diaspora on two sides of the river, much like they straddle the North Channel.In Florence this weekend, many will gather fife, pie, and drum, don their kilts and take to Look Park for the Glasgow Lands Scottish Games, where over 700 musicians, crafters, athletes, and more will gather to celebrate, and we’ll speak with founder Peter Langmore about the new things this year brings to the festival, and hear music from Roger Bernier, Pipe Major for the Holyoke Caledonian Pipe Band, the oldest continuously operating in the country. Then we’ll slip west to the Irish side to hear more of the collaboration between Éilís Kennedy and Peter Blanchette.. The two have been making music together for over 2 decades, and tomorrow night at the Drake will unite again to translate music from many continents, traditional and modern, into duets of archguitar and voice, and we’ll learn what new things are in store for their show in Amherst including new works they've been developing based around the work of Emily DIckenson. And word nerd Emily Brewster helps us explore the word “restaurant” and “resturauteur” and the rabbit hole of linguistic lineage that opens from the suffixes "-ant" and "-eur."

We’re building legacies, and celebrating the ones already here. Including the 6th, 7th, and 8th generations of farmers growing blueberries for the pick your own season in Granville. But you can tell by the name of Maple Corner Farm that’s not all they do, so we brave the mountain to get a glimpse of the sweet blue treats and hear all the pots that the Ripley Family has put their farm’s proverbial fingers intoWe’ll also hear from maestro Keith Lockhart, conductor of the Boston Pops. This coming season will be his 30th at the institution, and the milestone is being celebrated at the end of this Tanglewood season. But we’ll learn from the man himself what’s changed about the orchestra, his style, and himself over the course of those three decades, and where he sees it going in the fourth. And in Westfield this weekend, one of the coolest organizations ever to be endorsed by a former president is bucking the 5k and golf standard to hold a pickleball fundraiser. The Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity is hosting this fun event on Sunday, but it turns out that neither Aimee Giroux and Brandy O’Brien of that great organization, nor we at the Fab 413 know how to play this game at all! So we bring in an expert, Owen Fernandez of the Picklr Westfield, to help us get ready for the competition.

We’re meeting new community through books, bows, bottles, and hurtling millions of light years from entirely different solar systems. Mill River Archery has gathered folx curious about the bow to make them better shots. We head out to their training grounds on the Hampshire College Campus to talk with their coaches, participants, and more about the impetus for forging their own collective, the key techniques of shooting, and perhaps take aim ourselves and see how we do with instructors Rory Palmer, Jesse Hasslinger, and more. And also we’re gathering bibilovores and authors alike to peruse pages in Hatfield at Black Birch Vineyard. Books and Bottles 2025 brings 8 authors together at the local winery for readings, signings, and more, and we speak with organizer Michael Parzymieso, and participating authors Mattea Kramer and Jacqueline Sheehan to talk about the density of authors in the valley, the gift of doing an event like this together and more. And Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed is talking about foreign bodies, which in this case refers to a comet from another solar system that’s headed to ours.

We’re bringing it back!And by it, we mean a beloved festival making it’s return to Springfield’s South End Community. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is launching three days of community, festivities, food and communion in its Italian Feast and we speak with Anna Daniele and Chris DiMauro about the revitalization of the center, the festival, and how heritage can be a launch pad to engender everyone coming together. Oh and there’s a grease pole, but we’ll get into that. We’ll also speak with the Junior senator from Massachusetts, Ed Markey. The irony of course being that he’s currently the longest tenured congressperson on the hill having started as a representative in 1976. We’ll hear how he feels about the rescission package and the impact it’ll have on Public Media, as well as why he’s running for a third term. And the Wine Thunderdome heads to one of the lands Monte most loves for the grapes to grow in as we head to Provisions Mill District in Amherst to complete our trifecta of their locations to taste Sancerre and hear a little about a French wine tasting they’ll hold next week.

We know that the area is rife with a legacy of abolition, but it’s very different when you get to see the places where that history happened up close. This Saturday July 12th, The Pan African History Museum is hosting an interactive tour of downtown sites significant to this movement, and we chat with PAHMUSA Vice President Drew Keaton, and Springfield Preservation Trust President Erica Swallow about the partnership bringing more people in touch with the history at their fingertips. We’ll also see how we as community are caring for others with a heart-wrenching memoir that also serves as a call to action. A Place Called Home recounts David Ambroz’s youth and personal experiences with homelessness, mental illness, and the foster care system right here in Massachusetts. We speak with the author about the state of that system, and the changes everyone can make to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable citizens. And our weekly chat with congressman Jim McGovern sees eerie similarities in climate disaster between the catastrophic floods in Texas, and the ones that devastated the farmland in W. Mass 2 years ago, and explores any possible buyers remorse over the recently passed budget with its sweeping cuts to medicaid, SNAP, plus a look on the horizon at the election season to come.

We got a glimpse of the devised theater work STILL last year, but it’s been in progress ever since and a new iteration will premiere this weekend at the APE Gallery. We speak with creator Marcia Gomes about the changes the work has been through. And we’ll also speak with Roberta Uno, longtime director and founder of New World Theater, has returned to the area and STILL is just one of her many projects. We’ll hear how this work fits among the rest and how her work as the production's dramaturg has shaped this incarnation of bringing one's ancestors to life. Also, we had to go back and learn more about the upcoming Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival. So we’ll check in again with festival founder Kristen Neville of Blues to Green and producer Evan Plotkin to get more details on the free celebration, and hear how NAI Plotkin got involved to bring all of Springfield and beyond together with music. Plus word nerd Emily Brewster breaks up compound words we really should have more questions about the components of to give us better understandings of how English works.

This week is enriching the cultural landscape just down the street from us in a festival and a brand new place to see music, shows, and more. Of course we had to go and broadcast live from their brand new facilities, so today we broadcast live from the newly 2 days old HOPE Center for the Arts, and in celebration of the Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival happening this weekendWe'll hear from members of the team helping to bring that vision to life: Technical Director Kyle Homestead and Artistic Director Isaac Eddy about the man whose vision it was to return a beloved stage to Springfield in a way that engendered arts education: Bob Bolduc.And we’ll learn about the incredible lineup of folx who’ll be gracing the stages of this year’s festival from founder Kristen Neville of Blues to Green and co-producer Evan Plotkin of NAI Plotkin. Plus we get a live performance from one of the bands performing this weekend for those festivities, who’ll be taking advantage of the technology built into this location: Water Seed

Today, we have music to soothe the dairy beast.Which may not be how that phrase works; but we’re betting it could work at Fletcher Farm, in Southampton, where their cows and calves are not only bringing milk to the community, but fostering connection and learning amongst those who may one day also lead their own herds. 2nd generation farmer Nicole Schwab lets us explore among her 80 heads of milking ladies. But if you’re craving more of a cow-less get down, we’ll introduce you to a new series about to launch in Northampton. Parties in the Park is a free to the community gathering bringing some of the best and most eclectic DJs in the area to spin for the public, and we sit with Just Joan (Casey Williams) and Studebaker Hawk, two of the folx stepping up to the turntables to hear war stories and what’s in store for Wednesdays. And Susan Bronson of the Yiddish Book Center joins us to talk about their upcoming festival: Yidstock, which celebrates Yiddish music and the innovators making new sounds under a cultural marker over the course of 4 days

Today on The Fabulous 413 as the nation looks back in time to 249 years ago and the Declaration of Independence, we take you back to two weeks ago to the Green River Festival in Greenfield, where we recorded a series of pop-up concerts.We’ll hear the Brattleboro Vermont glam, post-rock new wave band THUS LOVE play songs from their new album, All Pleasure, and hear about how their DIY house concert aesthetic has influenced all aspects of their group, from touring, to songwriting, to general philosophy. The Bay State born and based Ali McGuirk has transitioned her songwriting from 3 chord pop mimicry into jazzy and soulful R&B tunes. We’ll hear about what led to that change in her style through songs from her forthcoming album on the Northampton label Signature Sounds.Plus a quick rundown of where you can commemorate the Fourth of July the words of Frederick Douglass with Clark University Professor Ousmane Power-Greene, with a list of where you can see fireworks in the area to boot.

We’re seeking out public places where there is AC that also happen to be fonts of knowledge. Millions of years ago, the Connecticut River was a hotbed of dinosaur activity, and Dino Trail Week explores the contributions the Asparagus Valley has brought to the study of the “terrible lizards” through the past two centuries. We head the Beneski Museum to meet Museum Educator Fred Venne, student docent Cirdan Kearns, and Dino Trail Week organizer Jonathan Mirin of Piti Theater as we explore their collection, learn more about how fossils and tracks get studied, and hear about all the fun dino oriented things you can do starting July 5th. Less fun but no less important is the ongoing conversation about enslavement and the North. As part of those conversations Historic Northampton has spent several years exploring the city’s place in that history, and unveils their current findings in a new exhibit today. Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654 to 1783 presents the names and lives of those enslaved and we talk with Betty Sharpe of Historic Northampton, Dylan Gafney of Forbes Library, and professor Ousmane Power-Greene of Clark University about their journey to this opening in an extra special Power of History segment. And congressman Jim McGovern caps off two late-running congressional sessions by chatting with us about the impact the budget bill will have on millions of Americans, and the issues of bipartisanship he continues to encounter on Capitol Hill.

Two artists, two continents, and two endeavors to bring more awareness to each of their peoples. At Springfield Museums, a collection of paintings aimed at raising awareness and honoring the many missing and murdered Indigenous women across the Americas is currently on display. Nayana LaFond’s Portraits in RED melds realism with Indigenous belief as it puts faces to the ongoing issue, and we hear more about the projects online origins in the pandemic, its impact on folx everywhere, and the reasons for and hows of the project's upcoming end. And tonight at the Iron Horse, an afrobeat legend plays to close out the Secret Planet Music CSA’s second season. Gyedu-Blay Ambolley has a storied career spanning 5 decades and 30 albums, including being a pioneer and innovator for two, possibly three musical genres. We speak with the musical ambassador and veteran about music in Ghana, the rhythmic diaspora he works with, and the importance of playing his debut album July 2nd in Northampton.

We’re taking a close look at local innovations and memory. We’ll head to Hatfield where a prodigal farmer is building culinary forward farm dreams. Sara Fil has a history at farm stands, but with Ruffled Feathers Farm she’s now providing vegetables, flowers, herbs and eggs to adventurous locals, and we’ll chat with her about the importance of the stand to her work. We’ll also look to Hadley and the original location of an innovative school that is the subject of a new podcast. Radiotopia presents “We’re Doing ‘The Wiz’” takes a look at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School in its early days through the experiences of staff members and alums of the institution, including some missteps and key moments that lead to the titular production. The award winning Creative Team behind the episodes Ian Coss and Sakina Ibrahim, both of whom were in this musical, talk to us about their episodes and experiences, and the impact creating this very specific aural snapshot of PVPA has had on their lives and processes, and how that work stays with them today.

We’re taking a local approach to national affairs, especially because at the top of this administration’s list of issues is immigration, and this particular nation of immigrants is about to celebrate a birthday. Some of those immigrants will be naturalized as American citizens in Northampton on the 4th of July this week. and we’ll hear from folx who get to see that process firsthand from the Center for New Americans, Laurie Millman and Harleen Multani. And perhaps we'll see if we who were born here might be able to keep our citizenship if we were asked to take the same tests that we ask of those who come here from afar.But honestly that might be a little in jeopardy too, and there’s a whole lot that is happening in the judicial branch overall, so we’ll speak with former editor-in-chief at Slate and author of Antidemocratic, Haydenville's own David Daley about the possible repercussions of the recent slew of decisions from the highest court in the land. Plus Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed explores the wicked cool images we’ve gotten from the Vera Rubin Telescope, coupled with the bittersweet knowledge that the DEI forward parts of the observatory's website, and perhaps their program, have been scrubbed.

Now that we’ve given you a list of local authors to read, you need a place to actually flip through the pages right? Then you may want to get thee to Westhampton this weekend, where they’ll be Lounging for Literacy on June 28th, both to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the library’s move and renovation and raise awareness and funds in light of the national cuts to Museum and Library services library director Meaghan Schwelm, along with library volunteer Laurie Sanders, selectboard member Jennifer Milikowsky, local musician and avid composer of library songs Jim Armenti, and donkey wrangler Ali Jenkins with donkey in tow join us on the Westhampton Public Library lawn to talk about the event and the connecting point the library serves to its greater community. We’ll also revisit our pop-up session with the inspiring and impressive Leyla McCalla from last week’s Green River Festival. We’ll hear a bit about her recent concert with her Songs for our Native Daughters co-horts at the Hollywood Bowl too, and how place and belonging have shaped the base of her songwriting. And we’ll make a return to the wine thunderdome in Northampton down in the wine bunker of State Street Deli Wine and Spirits, where we try out two varietals that are perfect for the heatwaves to come.

Today we'll speak with two folx who are trying their very hardest to make the nation better, through reading materials, and reading the writing slowly getting scrawled on wallsLocally an incredibly prolific author illustrator not only has a new novel to celebrate, but a whole exhibit looking at her books, her paintings, her process, and whole career. A living retrospective of Grace Lin’s work is on display at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, and we take a trip to see her work unfold on the walls there, and continue our impromptu summer reading week, as we all explore the possibilities of cultural connection and the importance of being seen. And a lot has changed in the political landscape over the last few days. So our weekly chat with Congressman Jim McGovern is covering a lot of ground as well. From the bombings in Iran, to more possible cuts to Snap nationwide there’s troubling situations afoot. But there’s also glimmers of good stuff as well, and we’ll get into how the recent NYC elections tie into a sea change in the Democratic Party, and how the Dalai Lama is helping to buoy his hope this week.

Today we're bringing other locales into closer view. In literature, we’ll dig into Mattea Kramer’s new novel The Untended, which takes a very close look at a fictional woman’s interaction with the very real opioid crisis with a Greenfield Backdrop. We hear about treading proverbial lines between the real and unreal on the page from someone who’s been addressing issues like these in the public sphere for years.We’ll also evoke more than a little Clouseau with the music of someone you can see perform at the Iron Horse tonight. John Carroll Kirby has collaborated with big names you know like Solange and Blood Orange, but on his solo albums evokes more of a free-form electronica and we’ll ask him about the music and art he makes with others and for himself before you can see it in person in Northampton And word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, takes us back to English’s origins with German words we’ve taken and adopted for our own linguistic purposes. Which is a bit of an oroborous of a journey, except that that word is Greek.