The Fabulous 413

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 . 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. DuBois 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.DuBois 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 effects 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 Eilis 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 into We’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 Pickld, 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 weekend We'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 lead 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. Nayanna 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, it’s impact on folx everywhere, and the reasons for and hows of the projects 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 Feather 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, but to 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 Libaray 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 walls Locally 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 Dali 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. And 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.