The WICN Blog
🍂 Labor Day is behind us, pumpkin spice is everywhere, the leaves are turning…and WICN is your soundtrack for it all! No matter the season, WICN is here for you. But we can’t be here without you. Our Heart of Jazz Fund Drive begins September 18th, and you are the heart of this radio station, […]
It’s not unusual for ardent fans to venerate their musical heroes and declare them other-worldly in one way or another. “Bird Lives!” was scrawled on building and subway cars in New York City after the 1955 death of jazz icon Charlie “Bird” Parker. Starry eyed devotees of the young guitarist turning blues and rock on […]
Boston-based band The Love Dogs, WICN’s August 2026 Artist of the Month, have been swinging through the New England blues scene for thirty years. The high-energy band combines elements of jump blues, New Orleans R&B, and early rock ‘n roll for their own “recipe for music and mayhem” as they bring audiences to their feet, […]
A Special Event in Partnership with Mechanics Hall: Club 321 Meets WICN’s Brian Barlow Series, Presented by Westboro Toyota Experience an unforgettable evening with blues and R&B legend Greg Piccolo and Heavy Juice at Club 321 on October 22nd at 7 pm. For more than six decades, Greg Piccolo has been a driving force in American rhythm & […]
Stretching across genres has never been much of a stretch for July’s Artist of the Month, Nate Smith. The Grammy Award-winning drummer, composer, and producer just began his tenure as the third artistic director for the Newport Jazz Festival, which described him as an overall “musical connector.” In part of that role as connector, Smith’s […]
The acoustic jazz trio The Bad Plus, the WICN Artist of the Month for June 2026, burst on the music scene at the beginning of the new millennium, releasing their first album in the year 2001 and creating a bit of a stir because, well, they did things a little bit differently. They began as […]
It was the late 1970s, and jazz icon Miles Davis had been invited to attend a musical event at the Carter White House. The trumpeter found himself seated next to the First Lady at a dinner immediately following the concert. And what had he done to merit such an invitation, the First Lady inquired, apparently […]
This National Jazz Month, we also celebrate a very special birthday, that of the Queen of Jazz. Ella Jane Fitzgerald, also known as the First Lady of Song, was born in Newport News, Virginia, on April 25, 1917. Known for her pure tone, wide vocal range, perfect timing and improvisational scat singing, Ella performed all […]
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 […]