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Amy van Singel, "Atomic Mama," Passes Away
It is with great sadness that we announce that Amy van Singel, aka "Atomic Mama," passed away on September 19.
Amy was a true lover and proponent of the blues in every sense. Prior to sharing the music and her expertise with listeners on Blue Hill Blues (Tuesdays 2-4), she was a long-time blues DJ on KNIB in Chicago, hosting Atomic Mama's Wang-Dang-Doogle Blues Show. In 1970 Amy co-founded Living Blues Magazine, and in 2002 she co-authored the book The Voice of the Blues: Classic Interviews from Living Blues Magazine, one of the most significant written works documenting the lives of many legends of the blues, as well as lesser-known greats, in their own words.
Amy was a warm and wonderful person who will be missed greatly by her listeners and friends at WERU. Click "read more" to learn about Amy in a Volunteer Spotlight article from 2013. Also, check out the tribute program that aired on 9/20 in our on-demand archive. Read more »
Multi-Partisan Election Dialogue on "Maine Currents"
Who wins when we can't have civil political conversations? Certainly not our communities. Regardless of who wins the elections this fall, we’re still going to be neighbors. Since spring Maine Currents has been hosting regular “multi-partisan” discussions of the candidates, campaigns and ballot questions, with a commitment to keeping things respectful while not avoiding disagreement and tough questions.
And it’s working! Not only does this group of people get along on the air, but they come in early and stay late to chat and really seem to enjoy one another’s company. No one has convinced any of the others to change their vote, but that was not the goal. Instead, we aim to simply talk in a calm manner about how community members with differing viewpoints see the issues, and in doing so give a chance for the listeners to hear those voices in a format that isn’t based on arguing and hostility. Read more »
Democracy Forum on WERU
The League of Women Voters Downeast in cooperation with WERU Community Radio is producing and sponsoring a monthly radio program on topics in participatory democracy. It's called the Democracy Forum.
Broadcasts may be heard live from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on the third Friday of the month on WERU and on WERU's public affairs archive.
The September 16 Democracy Forum addressed whether inequities in public education and the failure of public schools to prepare some children for citizenship contribute to political inequality. Read more »
Featured Artist of the Week: Sonny Landreth & Cindy Cashdollar
This week's Featured Artist(s) are Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar. We will be giving away a FREE CD by Sonny each morning at 7:45 AM after our volunteer programmer plays a cut by the artist. The giveaways will be a combination of the albums Elemental Journey and Bound By The Blues.
Sonny Landreth is a renowned blues musician from Louisiana and is a slide guitar player called by the "King of Slydeco" because he plays with a zydeco influence.
Cindy Cashdollar is a great steel guitar and Dobro artist, who grew up in Woodstock, New York and lives in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Dale Haussner.)
Denis will interview Sonny on Friday, September 30 at 8:30 AM. Read more »
1. Joe K. Walsh
