The Fabulous 413

Amherst Media takes the tools of tv, video, and podcasting and puts them in the hands of a public eager to create their own content for themselves, the folx of the town, and beyond. We take a tour of the oldest continuously operating public access station in the nation, and learn how you can both celebrate and support them this weekend at their gala from executive director Rachael Figurasmith, board president Jennifer Shiao, and board member Andrew Hart. Then we head to Becket where Jacob’s Pillow’s inaugural spring season brings an examination of sound, body, and connection through intercontinental pathways. Rowdies in Love returns to Jacob’s Pillow this weekend, having honed the vision birthed from Hari Krishnan and his company inDance at the Pillow Lab. We’ll speak with the choreographer and dancers Spenser Stroud and Eury German about the many manners of affection that manifest in the work as Indian Classical dance meets modern body movements. And congressman Jim McGovern addresses the press correspondent’s dinner events, Hegseth’s defense of our actions in Iran, his attempts to fight for the steadily eviscerated Farm Bill, SCOTUS’ demolishing of the Voting Rights Act and more.

Today on the Fab 413, we immerse ourselves in an exhibit that seeks to make sure everyone has access to art with temporal freedom in that connection. Don’t mind if I do is a collaborative experiment demonstrating how temporary changes in power structures create pathways of access for visitors, artists, and staff. Anchored by a conveyor belt that brings artworks to visitors who are invited to sit around comfortable furniture and engage with it directly. We’ll head to Smith College Museum of Art, where this work is currently on display, to engage with it in person alongside curator Emma Chubb, and learn how the public of western mass has been interacting with it, and what the museum has done to make it western Mass. specific. We’ll also get to speak with the Artist behind the whole work Finnegan Shannon, and the original and traveling curator of the piece Lauren Leving to hear about it’s origins, and some of the hidden nuances that have really resonated with folx in it’s travels around the country. After which we’ll tap senior editor at Merriam Webster word nerd Emily Brewster to get into the very weird way we talk about the vegetation we eat.

We now turn our attention to another film that is locally grounded. Watching Mr. Pearson is a beautiful look at fame, legacy, memory and care through an aging actor and his two caretakers, and we speak with the core of the movie’s production teams Samantha Valletta and Dillon Bentlage about the process of completing this work before you can see it for yourself at Garden Cinemas in Greenfield this Wednesday. April 29th at the Hope Center for the Arts will be filled with an ongoing legacy of vocal prowess. Madeline Peyroux joins us before she takes that stage tomorrow to talk about the political arc of her recent albums, the joys of collaboration, and the winding road her sound has taken to get to this point. And Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and former Hampshire College astronomer Salman Hameed, talks about that loss in particular and how it resonates on a larger scale against a backdrop of recent and ongoing federal cuts to science agencies, even in the wake of the successful Artemis mission.

Today on the Fabulous 413, we head to the homestead of one of the area’s most famous and prolific writers to celebrate National Poetry Month with the written word past and present, because when your body of work is 1800 strong, there’s plenty to read and connect with. We’re broadcasting from the Emily Dickinson Museum in the Evergreens with Jane Wald (Executive Director) and Brooke Steinhauser (Senior Director of Programs). We’ll hear some of Dickenson’s work and learn more about some of the museum’s upcoming programs in person and virtual, and learn about the updates and restoration happening in the Main building that will bring us closer to the times Emily was living in. Then we turn to the poets of now as we’re joined by two local writers: Nathan McClain and Rebecca Hart Oleander. We’ll hear poems from each of them, learn more about the writing and editing process from their extensive careers, and process the academic tie that connects them: Hampshire College.

We’ve been a little remiss with our prose, because it’s National Poetry month and we have not really leaned into that So today we fix it because we’re chatting with folx from The Massachusetts Review. Founded by professors from area colleges, the magazine has become one of the most prestigious in the nation, having featured the work of Pulitzer and Nobel winners, and remains on the forefront of writing that confronts important issues facing us all. We speak with executive editor Britt Rusert, and managing editor Edward Clifford about the latest issue, and more. Springfield’s own Parris joins us for Live Music Friday. The multi-hyphenate performer is preparing for the release of her latest EP “2002”, but joins us as she also readies to put those songs on stage next week for the Community Music School of Springfield’s Spring Gala on May 1st. And the Wine Thunderdome returns to the location of its origin at State Street Fruit Store, Deli, Wine & Spirits, to explore new world takes on old world styles as California takes a hard look at France and tries to recreate it in bottle.

We get our flags ready for one of the area’s longest running traditions. Hampshire Pride hits the streets of Northampton and beyond on Saturday, May 2nd, one of the first of the calendar year in the nation. This year, the organization which was revived after the pandemic has an even larger celebration planned for the LGBTQIA2S+ community and its allies. We speak with Clay Pearson, Jay Kehoe, and Colleen Jordan about the considerations and spectacles that will make up this year’s event. This Sunday, you can learn more about one of music’s more notorious figures through an afternoon of local luminaries, and a beverage or two. Opera on Tap Boston makes a stop at the Iron Horse to perform its program on Mozart, complete with pianist, a set of renowned western Mass. based opera singers, and a potentially tipsy historian to take you through some of Mozart’s less shining moments and notorious rumors. Mezzo-Soprano Caitlin Felsman walks us through some of the experiences they’ll bring to life in Northampton on April 26th. And our weekly chat with Jim McGovern sees the congressman in a whirlwind of activity and upset regarding the continuing war in Iran, issues that beleaguer the upcoming midterms, and his own disappointment with his party in regards to some bills that will soon be voted upon that have very real impact on the whole nation.

We’re looking for answers about sustainability because it’s earth Day today. So in the most literal sense we’ll chat with organizers behind the Amherst Sustainability Festival taking place this Saturday, April 25th. Bringing together demonstrations, over 50 vendors of a wide variety of disciplines, workshops, bands and entertainment on the Amherst common so we all might make shifts for a better tomorrow. Stephanie Ciccarello, Amherst’s director of Sustainability, chats with us about this free event and how her department strives to shift the practices of the town. For the more esoteric, we’ll look at the sustainability of profession in times of uncertainty. Reporter Melissa Sances has just released a fascinating report on the entropy of the Strathmore Paper Mill in Turners Falls that brings to question not just our ongoing issues regarding industry of old, but of the place and drive of those pursuing these truths in a time where revelations of this sort can be incredibly polarizing. And word nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, explores the sustainability of one word’s direct object usage as we look at the place, time and frequency with which we use the word “whom”.

The 4 counties are rife with film creators. The fifth Easthampton Film Festival takes place this weekend bringing a whole host of new and established movie makers together to screen their work, deepen their craft, and engage with the public! We speak with founder Chris Ferry, programming chair Lena Vani, and filmmakers of the short film "Thickly Settled" Brian Jones and Jordan Brooks, about the weekend’s showings and beyond. The David Ruggles Center is using it's Founder's Day celebration to explore the area’s history with worker owned co-operatives through the mission of The Northampton Association. We speak with Education Coordinator at the David Ruggles Center for History and Education Tom Goldscheider and founding member of the Ruggles Center and worker-owner at Collective Copies Steve Strimer about this history that you can learn more about through a panel discussion they'll host this Sunday, April 26th at Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity in Florence. And a tale of two cafes joined in their pursuit of local produce and products. We head to Northampton to Woodstar Cafe to talk to owner Mark Krause about the connection with his first cafe, Esselon, to the bakery and beyond, the important part that local sourcing plays in their day to day operations and more.

Today on the Fabulous 413, we head back to the Berkshires to read more. The inaugural Berkshires Book Con happens Tomorrow April 18th through a super fun collaboration of local businesses and organizations. We talk with the folx making it happen at the Athenaeum, Pittsfield’s public library and hear about those partners helping to get the community more engrossed in all aspects of books with Librarians Caroline Villarreal and Tom Jorgenson, including their community read of Rules for Ghosting by local author Shelley Jay Shore. Live Music Friday brings the heartfelt lyrics, deft vocals, and inspired guitar of Liz Longley to the studios. Hot on the release of her latest album “New Life” we hear about the inspirations she draws from the many music scenes she’s been a part of and the influence of motherhood on her work as she readies for a performance tonight, April 17th at the Button Ball Barn in Egremont. And at the Leverett Village Co-Op, the only store in Leverett, Massachusetts, 2nd level sommelier and Franklin county wine friend Ken Washburn helps us discover Italian red varietals that hadn’t been on his radar before until how.

Today, we head to Pittsfield where we’re using literacy to help encourage your littles to be more accepting in one of the best ways possible: with a drag show and dance party! The Berkshires chapter of the national non-profit Drag Story Hour is hosting the fundraiser EXTRAVAGANZA: Once Upon a Comeback at Wander this Saturday. We speak with organizer Poppy da Bubbly aka Casi Kristant about the importance of the work they do and how you can help, by getting down. And we’ll hear four voices from Europe’s breadbasket in song. Yagody may have started as a spontaneous collaboration, but it’s become a new take on the traditional sounds of the Ukraine, and they’ll join us in studio to share their amazing harmonies and novel takes on folk songs before you can see them yourselves in Florence on April 17th at Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity. And the congressman for the 2nd district Jim McGovern is just as baffled as we are by the AI gallery being proffered of and by the current president, not to mention his other questionable actions as week one of the ceasefire sails by, but finds time to speak with us about the vitriol that befalls elected officials, and answer some listener questions as well.

Everyday on the Fabulous 413 we’re trying to make more community and today we’ll chat with some folx that are taking new approaches to just that In East Longmeadow, a couple of goats have paved the way to slowly return one plot to the farmland it once was. Dusty Goat Farm is growing microgreens, and has just evolved its thriving farmers’ market start into wholesale for the area. we speak with owner Erin Sewell about the many benefits of baby greens and the expanding projects the farm has engendered. Speaking of Gender, in Easthampton, Acting Class; 2 Fast 2 Furrious is the second iteration of a show from last year’s Pay It Forward cohort featuring a blend of theatrical traditions from comedia dell’arte, to clowning, and of course Drag. We speak with creator Patric Madden, and producer Urgyen Joshi about their respective personas in the show (Dame Judy Dentures and Dr Mary Poppins respectively), and making the audience a true part of the show, which you can see on April 17th & 19th. And word nerd Emily Brewster explores the connection of where we sit and where we grow with a phrase and its eggcorn and question whether we should deep seat or deep seed our fears and hopes.

Today is entirely educational, in one way or another. Parent Villages have been using a multi-generational approach to education, encouraging stronger communities while doing so for a number of years and spreading their mission further throughout the area. This Saturday, April 18th, they’ll host their 8th annual Education Matters Brunch, and we’ll talk with president, CEO and co-founder LaTonia Monroe-Naylor about this important program. Smith College is bringing an alumna back to campus to speak on her work in video games. Anna Megill has written for a number of fantastic titles including Dishonored, Control, Fable 2 and many others. We speak with her about her work and love of games and her talk on April 15th at the Jacobsen Center. Amherst College’s Jen Acker has a new novel out today blending a love of goats with midlife crisis and small town daily life. Surrender is a book of many shifts for the characters within and we speak with its author before you can meet her and grab your own copy at Odyssey Bookshop tonight, April 14th. And Hampshire College has just announced that it will close at the end of 2026. We speak with Astronomer Salman Hameed about his tenure there, and the legacy of the institution.

For this official Western Mass holiday, we hold a live 4-1-3 day trivia show at the NEPM Studios, where in honor of the area in which we live, we are challenging ourselves and a few audience members on our knowledge of said area in which we live. Helmed by Chris Bigelow of Cloud 9 Productions, who happens to run one of the longest continuously operating trivia nights in the valley, we’ll test ourselves on the stories, places, and interesting things that have happened in the 4 counties. But it wouldn’t be fun if it were just us, so we’re bringing in ringer guests with their own areas of expertise. Leading American ornithologist, author, and illustrator David Sibley, and the second in executive office for the commonwealth, Lt Gov Kim Driscoll, so you can see if you know as much about the birds and governance of the bay state as they do. With live music provided by the intrepid and innovative cellist Matthew Thornton, get ready for a romp through facts and quirks of the four counties of western Massachusetts.

We’re giving you a devil’s choice of fantastic and inventive sounds. And a whole nation of awesome agriculture, because we’ve got not one, but two bands joining us for live music Friday. Each exploring interesting connections between Americana and the louder beyond. There’s the one man sonic cavalcade of self-made instruments that is Matt Lorenz aka The Suitcase Junket. This weekend sees the third iteration of the celebration he built to honor his sister and former band mate Kate Lorenz, take stage at The Shea Theater in Turners Falls. We’ll hear a few tunes from him and learn who else will join him for Sparkletown on Saturday. And then there is the sound of metal meeting the acoustic fret boards and clever lyrics with the duo Mattie and Debbie. Hot off of releasing their debut album, Satan’s Junction, today, they’re in the middle of a whirlwind array of dates in the northeast to celebrate. We hear from drummer/singer Sean Trischka and Bluegrass guitarist/singer Stash Wyslouch how rock begets bluegrass and harmonies with before you can hear them at the Parlor Room on April 11th. And in the middle of our music sandwich, we’re making plans to explore the vintages of Italy at Provisions’ upcoming Italian Wine Festival. We get a preview of the event with two bottles at their Thorne’s Marketplace location for this week’s Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome.

Spring seems to finally be spring-ing, and you can hear it though in the music in the air. Tanglewood Learning Institute’s inaugural spring programming continues with a touch of jazz. Renowned saxophonist Nick Hempton brings his organ trio into their illustrious halls on Friday, April 10th. We talk with the Hard Bop enthusiast about his ska origins, emigration to the US from Australia, his latest album Horns Locked and more. This Saturday sees another transatlantic look at the connections in scores with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Their upcoming program “Gloria!!!: From Vivaldi to Gershwin” centers around a truly massive work by Poulenc, but connects works from France, Italy, and the US. We speak with guest conductor Kedrick Armstrong as well as President Heather Caisse-Roberts about the upcoming performance on April 11th, and connecting communities with music. And Congressman for the 2nd district Jim McGovern is just as baffled and on edge from the executive office’s actions this week, but still finds time to speak with us about his recent tour of an ICE facility, ongoing issues with a wide array of benefits including SNAP, and more.

In Northampton, P’frogi Pierogies is looking for a little help to aid their food trailer upgrade, and on Thursday, April 9th the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence will host a fundraising dinner to help. We speak with Irida Kakhtiranova, who built the business while in sanctuary at that very location during the first Trump administration, and learn about this evolution in her business and more. West Africa meets the sounds of western Mass as the Senegal America Project begins a small area tour including a performance in Westfield at First Congregational Church to benefit the sanctuary's Open Pantry Services. The two artists helming this collaboration, Massamba Diop and Tony Vaca, join us for a live music Wednesday and delve further into this partnership that’s spanned over two decades of music. Plus, we know that words are magical, but there’s a word in English that has its origins in the transcendental nature of learning and communication, and it’s pretty to boot! Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster casts our attention on the word “glamour”.

Connecting the arts across the ocean are two W. Mass based composers who'll each have premieres performed in Florence at Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity on April 12th. Ensemble Télémaque is currently touring on a project they initiated to collaborate with US composers for the first time in their tenure, linking American scores and literary pieces with ties to Marseille. We speak with Kate Soper and John Aylward about writing for this group of musicians, and some of the spectacle you’ll hear as part of this Sunday's performance. We’ll also meet members of Greenfield Community College's upcoming production of The Laramie Project, a devised theater work that looks at the circumstances and impact of the murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming. Alex West, Jesse Archambault, Ioana Teutsch, and Tom Geha make a visit to our studios to discuss the production and how the piece continues to strike chords with the people, policies, and policy makers of today as they prepare to put it on it's feet next weekend. And in Granby, a collaborative partnership is getting local produce on the tables of seniors. We head to Dave’s Natural Garden to learn more about the senior shares they provide through a partnership with CISA and local governance. There farmer Meghan Hastings shows us around not just their farm store, but how they’re significantly shifting their growing practices for a changing climate, as Claire Morenon of CISA and Andy Rogers of South Hadley's Council on Aging elaborate on how this triumvirate keeps the community healthier.

Here at the show, we are big fans of language and the many ways that we communicate with each other, and this weekend on the UMass campus, the first ever Festival of Languages and Dialects happens April 11th and 12th featuring a huge array of activities including a parade! We speak with organizers and linguists Edwin Everhart and Ashley McGraw about the fun that can be had when we listen more closely to each other. We’ll also head back to Don Blanton’s amazing array of artwork at Westfield on Weekends to hear from the artist himself and president Bob Plasse about hear a little about his most far out landscapes and work, the closing celebration they’re holding for the extended exhibit that you can attend this Sunday, and how he'll be remaining engaged with the location in his new residency. And of course, Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed has to talk about the Artemis II mission, which will take humans farther than our species has ever gone before, but which brings some questions about our priorities between this exploration, and the current issues of this nation.

We’re exploring innovations, and traditions, and some places where the two overlap. In Westfield, an incredibly prolific local artist has just had his exhibit extended. It seems that there is practically no medium that Don Blanton does not engage with, from sculpture, to painting, to graphite and ink, and even poetry, and currently a wide array of his work is on display at Westfield on Weekends. We get a tour with the artist and president Bob Plasse, and learn how you can celebrate with them as the exhibit comes to a close, and talk about the intersection of America's past with African history in Blanton's creations. We also get to hear the sounds of the eastern Steppes. Alash is a trio of renowned Tuvan artists bringing the amazing techniques and sounds of their culture worldwide who’ll be performing at the Iron Horse on Sunday April 5th. Live Music Friday sees their vocal finesse and traditions fill our studios And we got word of a new style of decanter that allows even more enjoyment of what your vintages have to offer. We speak with creator Michael Fors about his Liquid Jazz Experience and get a chance to the innovation this week’s thunderdome.

We’re highlighting an event that takes all we do on this show and condenses it into a day of learning, sharing, and expansion on the UMass Campus. Art for the Common Good is a full day convention at the Fine Arts Center that is bringing together artists, healthcare practitioners, policymakers, researchers and community leaders from across Massachusetts to look at the connections between art and our well being as humans. We speak with Drs. Jean King and Tasha Golden, as well as Jamilla Deria, director of the Fine Arts Center, and Betsy Cracco, assistant vice chancellor for Campus Life and Wellbeing and co-Chair of the Okanagan Wellbeing Collective on Campus about the ways in which arts and creativity can support healing, build stronger communities And although congress is currently on break, Rep. Jim McGovern still finds time to chat with us about DHS bill that did not fund ICE, birthright citizenship, a short civics lesson about the letter of the constitution and procedures that are currently either under fire or being shirked, plus the places in his constituency that he’s been visiting in this downtime.