This day in PHishtory, March 18, 1997, famed music lovers and dairy food aficionados, Ben & Jerry release a new concoction, Phish Food! Today marks the 25th anniversary of the concert that celebrated Phish Food’s release. We will transport you back to that show in 3 different vehicles, first today with “Cars Trucks Buses.”
Cars Trucks Buses
Check out WNRN’s coverage from SXSW in Austin, TX. In addition to co-hosting SXSW’s Public Radio Day Stage on Friday March 18th, WNRN correspondents Desiré Moses and Patrick Coman connected with artists throughout the festival for WNRN’s SXSW Sessions. See videos from our SXSW performances and day-by-day coverage below.
Check out our full playlist of SXSW session videos including performances from 3x Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito, plus an acoustic performance from Susto, solo tracks from rising artists Abraham Alexander, and Richmond’s Deau Eyes and Benét.
Check out some picture highlights from our first day at SXSW and look for upcoming sessions with Susto, The Wild Feathers, Abraham Alexander, Sunflower Bean, Mattiel, and more!
WNRN’s SXSW coverage continues on Thursday. We spoke with British post-punk band Yard Act about their surprising range of influences and budding friendship with Elton John, watched 3x Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito lay down an amazing hotel room set, and got a taste of home with a great set from Richmond’s Benét.
WNRN’s Desiré Moses and Patrick Coman were on site at the SXSW Radio Day Stage live broadcast today, alongside eight of the best public radio music stations in the country. Backstage Desiré interviewed rising act Wet Leg and Patrick chatted with AJ Haynes about the forthcoming new Seratones album, plus we heard great sets from Sasami and Yard Act. We got a little taste of home connecting with Virginia acts Deau Eyes and 49 Winchester, and topped it off with a performance from the legend herself Dolly Parton.
Lord Nelson performs live from the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center in Charlottesville and talk about the making of new album Transmission as well as the release party at The Southern Cafe & Music Hall on Saturday March 12th.
In the late ’80s, a group of citizens from Harrisonburg and Rockingham convened to discuss their concerns about disability services in the community. Most people with disabilities lived with their families or in adult care settings and were unemployed or underemployed, and independent living was in its infancy in Virginia. The group began to believe that what the community needed was a place where the different aspects of independent living were dealt with comprehensively and holistically. Additionally, they felt that an organization that utilized an individualized, community-based, and consumer-driven approach was needed to provide the necessary tools for many people with disabilities to achieve independence.
Today, Valley Associates for Independent Living serves over 500 individuals annually in the area in direct service, and strives to empower individuals to help overcome barriers that allow them to live fully engaged, independent lives in the community.
For this Hear Together profile, we spoke with Executive Director Gayl Brunk. You can listen at the audio link below and learn more on VAIL’s website.
Neal Francis visits the WNRN studio to talk about his Chicago influences, finding refuge in a church during the pandemic, and the recording of his new studio album In Plain Sight, plus he performs three live new songs from the album. Listen to the full session above.
The NYC-based eight piece Sammy Rae & The Friends joined us for a live in studio performance for WNRN members at In Your Ear studios in Richmond. Watch the band perform live and Sammy Rae chat with WNRN’s Desiré Moses about how the group formed, their latest EP Let’s Throw A Party! and what it’s like to finally get to tour on behalf of the album that was released in early 2021.
All month long WNRN teams up with NPR Music to spotlight Central Virginia’s music scene for NPR’s Slingshot series. Find out how Harrisonburg’s Blue Sprocket Pressing is putting Virginia on the vinyl map, Central Virginia’s Illiterate Light thinks about sustainability while touring, and how the diversity of Richmond’s music scene helped shape the unique genre-hopping style of McKinley Dixon.
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