Blog
As our long, cold winter gives way to spring, it’s time for something we look forward to all year — our Spring into WICN Fund Drive, happening March 13 through the 20. WICN is a listener-supported public radio station, and your generosity keeps Jazz+ for New England flowing across your radios and streaming devices. Your support […]
Sunday, March 15, from 12:30 to 2 pm, during Colors of Jazz! This special live broadcast features an all-star, all-female band celebrating women’s voices in jazz and soul, including: Hey Rim Jeon – piano Violet Fish – bass Eva Wyman – drums Pat Braxton – vocals Sympli Whitney – vocals Limited seating in Studio 50 is available. Join us for an […]
Known for her captivating stage presence and blues-infused jazz style, Cranston, R.I. native Shawnn Monteiro has been enchanting audiences for decades. Her warm, expressive phrasing and bursts of scat are reminiscent of two of her greatest influences, Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan, yet her voice is unmistakably her own. Music runs in her blood; her […]
The Brown Bag Concerts are produced by 90.5 WICN & Mechanics Hall. Brown Bag Spring 2026 Concert Series Wednesdays at Noon, March 11th, 18th & 25th Free Admission Mechanics Hall 321 Main Street, Worcester, MA, 01608; 508-752-5608 Broadcast live on WICN 90.5 FM and streaming at wicn.org The Brown Bag Concert Series, presented by Mechanics […]
The WICN Brian Barlow Concert Series, presented by Westboro Toyota, welcomes Shawnn Monteiro and her Trio on Friday, March 27, at 7:30 pm. at The Robert R. Jay Performing Arts Center, Founders Hall, Saint John’s High School in Shrewsbury. Doors: 6:30 pm Performance: 7:30 pm Cash bar (wine, beer, hard seltzer) available “Exciting, captivating, and completely distinctive” […]
Louis Armstrong was an American trumpeter and vocalist, and one of the most influential figures in the history of jazz. His remarkable career spanned five decades and crossed multiple genres, producing hit songs that remain staples in films, television, and radio to this day. Armstrong was born in New Orleans in 1901 and grew up […]
On Monday, January 19, 2026, we observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday honoring his role in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in law and society. In his opening address at the 1964 Berlin Jazz festival, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke: It is no wonder that so much of […]
Bobby McFerrin is an acclaimed composer, arranger, bandleader, conductor, singer, and songwriter whose unique vocalizing runs the gamut from simple melodic lines to scat singing, to percussive sounds to multiphonics that can mimic several vocalists singing at the same time. Born Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. on March 11, 1950, in New York City, Bobby grew […]
Brown Bag Fall 2025 Concert Series Wednesdays at Noon, November 12th, 19th, December 3rd & 10th Free Admission Mechanics Hall 321 Main Street, Worcester, MA, 01608; 508-752-5608 Broadcast live on WICN 90.5 FM and streaming at wicn.org The Brown Bag Concert Series, presented by Mechanics Hall and 90.5 FM WICN, has been a beloved tradition […]
Mildred Bailey, often called the “Queen of Swing,” was a Native American jazz singer during the 1930s. Known for her light soprano voice, clear articulation, and jazz phrasing, Bailey was one of the first nonblack performers to become a skilled jazz singer. Bailey was born in 1907 on a farm in rural Washington but grew […]