The Fabulous 413

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.

No joke, we are building a better future through skill and laughter Right here in our own building the NEPM Media Lab spring cohort has just wrapped up their projects, which spanned from working with reporters at Mass Live, to interviewing their peers at schools in the area, and more. NEPM's director of education, Ismary Santiago-Lugo and education program coordinator Donyel Le’Noir Felton reveal more about the students of this session, and cohort members Enrique and Jahlyssa explain their insights and experiences as their time with us comes to a close And laughter is some of the best medicine around, and it’s at the core of an upcoming fundraiser for the Northampton Center for the Arts. Revelry at 33 is an incredible affair featuring music, art, an auction, tasty delights, and this year, stand up comedy. We talk with the two performers who’ll take the stage to ensure art is available to everyone: beloved local figure Kelsey Flynn, and Rhymes with Orange cartoonist Hilary Price as well as NCA co-director Kelly Silliman to discover more about the communal nature of comedy, and the importance of having community performance spaces like 33 Hawley.

“Alienated Tongues” is the theme of this year’s Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival (MMFF) which kicks off tomorrow at Amherst Cinema and will run every Wednesday in April. We are joined by MMFF guest program curator Ayanna Dozier, a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and assistant professor of communications at UMass Amherst, to hear about her vision for centering women directors for this festival, and how her non-film work has added to the history and legacy of Janet Jackson. Then we’re off to the hills of Colrain to visit the largest brewery in town yet one of the smallest breweries in New England to talk to Justin and Katie Korby from Stoneman Brewery. We meet up with Jennifer Core, executive director of CISA, traverse a dirt road, a covered bridge, and visit the microbrewery to learn about how they became the first in the country to create a community supported agriculture (CSA) beer share.

Today’s show is one big love fest. Big Love Little Performances is the area’s only karaoke and lip sync fundraiser, and it's happening April 2 at The Iron Horse in Northampton to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County. We talk with two long-time ‘bigs,’ Bob Lowry and Jack Petrides, about the impact of mentorship on both the littles and on the bigs. We also talk with the creators of the event,Tara Brewster of Greenfield Savings Bank and Ann Walsh of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County. We show some big love to valley-based Transhealth, the only independent, non-profit healthcare organization in the nation devoted solely to serving trans and gender-diverse communities. We meet CEO Jo Erwin and hear what they are up to in anticipation of the Trans Day of Visibility tomorrow and the challenges they face from the federal government as they try to provide gender-affirming care here in western Massachusetts. And, astronomy lover Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Hampshire College and Kainaat Studios, tells us what might interfere with the love of star gazing as a corporation plans to launch thousands of mirrors into space that will impact our dark skies at night.

The Back Porch Festival descends upon Northampton with 60 artists in American Roots music across a dozen venues, and The Fabulous 413 broadcasts live from The Iron Horse on to kick things off. For an extra special Live Music Friday, we’re joined by musical guests Willie Carlile, bringing us Queer Country out of Kansas; Olive Klug, singer-songwriter storyteller from Portland, Oregon; Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars who are bringing sounds from New Orleans; and old-timey bluegrass Celtic jazz sounds from our local heroes, The Faux Paws. We are also joined by the founder of the festival, Jim Olsen, who’s been the host of the Back Porch Radio Show for decades.

Yesterday, we learned the news of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Tracy Kidder’s passing. Today we revisit some of our conversation with the Williamsburg author after publishing his book, “Rough Sleepers.” And, we are joined by Salar Nader, protege of Zakir Hussain, as he brings the tabla to the studio for the first time for Live Music Thursday. We hear a preview of his contemporary sound rooted in tradition before he brings his Afghan Music Project to The Drake in Amherst March 26. Plus, as the war in Iran continues, our listeners want to hear from their elected officials about what the end game will be. Rep. Jim McGovern answers some of your questions about the war in Iran and the future of our own democracy here at home.

Poetry and politics cross paths in Montague this Sunday with a benefit to support our immigrant neighbors. We’ll hear the debut of a brand new poem, inspired by an immigrant-rights activist born in Montague, from National Book Award Winner and UMass Professor Martin Espada. State Senator Jo Comerford from the Hampshire Franklin and Worcester District, who will also be at the event in Montague Sunday, gives us an update from Beacon Hill about the status of immigrants in our community. And born on the streets of New Orleans and shaped by the city’s second-line tradition, The Soul Rebels have redefined what a brass band can be. They will play De La Luz in Holyoke tonight but you can get a preview as they create a brass explosion live in the studio later this hour for an extra special Live Music Wednesday.