Posts Categorized: News

WMPG’s annual Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras and the Cajun Cookin’ Contest.

On Tuesday February 21st in the USM Abromson building on the Portland campus, WMPG presented our 27th annual Mardi Gras Cajun Cookin’ Contest!

USM students Emma and Jordan went around campus and recorded some Valentine’s dedications!

If anybody knows about Mardi Gras, it’s trombonist and bandleader Delfeayo Marsalis, who will be Dave’s special guest on Juke Jive N’ Jazz this afternoon, (Feb.15th)

New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, is alive and happening, and Delfeayo will be here to tell you about it and his brand new album, “Uptown on Mardi Gras Day”

Our Jazz at the Movies team are back with another free screening.

 “Leroy Jones- A Man and His Trumpet” celebrating New Orleans shining heritage as the Birthplace of Jazz.

The screening is at the Portland Conservatory of Music, on Saturday, February 18th, 7 PM.

One way we are celebrating Black History month is by picking out many different people from the Black community and highlighting their stories. From musicians, to writers and actors, you’ll enjoying hearing a bit more about these famous and interesting people.

Our University of Southern Maine (USM) students and DJ’s are honoring Black History Month at WMPG. This year’s theme is Black Resistance.

You will hear specially curated playlists from DJ’s.  Our students are producing audio which will highlight achievements and contributions, including pre-colonial history plus profiles of contemporary figures recognizing people from politics, education, pop culture, sports and other areas.

Beginning Tuesday January 17th, you will hear new shows alongside your favorites – some have moved into different times and days.

Why are we mixing things up?

WMPG is turning 50 this year, and we wanted to return to our roots, offering radio that is surprising, eclectic, and truly local. We are radio made by community and University of Southern Maine members.  Thanks for being the world’s best listeners!  Take a peek at our new schedule.

Monday January 16^th is Dr. Martin Luther King Day.

WMPG will offer special programming to honor Reverend King’s work on civil rights and equity. Tune in from 10am-noon to hear volunteer Michael Cuttings extensive collection of music and speeches. At 1:30-3pm, USM student Shannon Craig will present his take on civil rights and the ongoing struggle. Then at 4pm, we will play King’s complete speech from 1957 titled “Birth of a New Nation.”

WMPG Wrapped 2022

by Caroline Davis (USM Theatre Student and Work Study)

As 2022 comes to a close, we here at WMPG would like to thank our volunteers, business supporters, listeners, and the community of the University of Southern Maine (USM) for their support. It’s been a very successful year for us, and we could not have achieved everything we have without your support.

Thanks to the hard working CMP crews WMPG power is back on at the transmitter site! Missed a couple of your favorite shows yesterday, just check out our archives where they are available on-demand. Hope you are all warm and safe.

During this fundraising drive, we want to celebrate Mainers who are doing great things in the community

FRIEND-RAISING

Who are the change-makers in Southern Maine? 
Join WMPG to celebrate, and to connect to, Mainers who are transforming our world.

WMPG featured a live remote broadcast of the Dr. Alfred and D. Suzi Osher school of Music’s Joyous Sounds for a Festive Season. The concert took place on Tuesday November 29th at the Cathedral of St Luke in Portland. Directed by Dr. Nicolas Dosman and featuring the Osher School of Music Choral Union singers

Hi my name is Jon McKenney with the latest version of Beyond The Hook. A hook is: a musical or lyrical passage, or a riff, that is repeated and designed to catch the ears of listeners
and reel them in, and this song has a world class hook. I chose today’s song because it is a perfect example of what a hook is. I guarantee that once I tell you what it is you’ll say, “OMG of course I know that phrase, I’ve heard it a hundred times.” I toss superlatives around like confetti but this hook and the singer who is best known for the song are icons in the world of popular music. I am not exaggerating when I say that this ballad has been covered by hundreds of artists and here are just a few: Dolly Parton who wrote it, Beyonce, Linda Ronstadt, LeAnn Rimes, Gloria Gaynor, Melissa Etheridge, and Celine Dion, who puts the most into it. But the woman who is best known for performing Dolly’s musical masterpiece is Whitney Houston. You guessed it; the song is I Will Always Love You and if that phrase — which we all know, “I will always love you” — doesn’t stir some emotion in you; you need help.

UPDATE:  THANKS SO MUCH – WE HIT OUR GOAL OF $60,000!

Thank you for donating during our fall fundraising.  Mail is still trickling in from the post office so we don’t have a final figure yet but we are currently sitting at $63,000!  Big shout out to all of you donors including our sustaining donors. Hip hip hooray! (repeat 3 times)

Hi my name is Jon McKenney and welcome to the first installment of “Beyond The Hook.”

A hook, sometimes called a riff, is a repeatable phrase or melody that draws you in and hooks you. I am an English major, and I am working as an intern, here at WMPG, that requires a writing component and my first assignment is to hit the ground running and produce a colucast or a (column /podcast). The beauty of the job is: I can write about a topic that I am passionate about so I will be forcing you to listen to my opinion. If you don’t like it or disagree or on the off chance that you do agree let me know.

It’s Day 5 of Begathon and we need your help to reach our target of $60,000.  We are slightly over halfway there and need your help.

WMPG programs shows like Rosita’s Latinos where she plays Latin music and gives information for Hispanic Mainers. Rosita was recently featured on News Center Maine’s Hispanic Month features.

Today, we kicked off our fall fundraiser!

Every day our volunteer DJ’s and radio hosts bring passion and knowledge to WMPG. Our DJ’S curate fabulous playlists and bring you the best music that you don’t tend to hear on commercial stations. We deliver independent news and bring you great talk and public affairs shows. We train the next generation of audio producers, both from the University of Southern Maine and from our Southern Maine community.

WMPG’S Advisory Board is seeking WMPG listeners from the Southern Maine Community to act as a representation of WMPG’s audience. Listener Representatives are full board members and as such participate in formulating station policy and long range planning. These are two-year positions with meetings held the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 7-9pm on the USM Portland campus.

The month of September is National Recovery Month. Chris Corson, the Director os USM’s Recovery Oriented Campus Center (ROCCA) states: “individuals I believe, we are all recovering from something: relationships with people, food, Covid 19, the stress of being away from home the first time, the passing of a loved one, substance use, and anxiety just to name a few.”

DJ Jon was featured in the Portland Press Herald at the weekend where he discussed his love of K-Pop. DJ Jon hosts K-Pop Mega Mix on Tuesdays at 4pm on 90.9FM. We are proud to have him here at WMPG.

“It seems that most of the music for kids that age are songs about frogs and baby sharks, then it goes straight into hip-hop songs about heroin or violence,” said Hawkins, 51, of Portland. “There aren’t a lot of American pop songs that are fun for kids to dance to and are just about love.”  DJ Jon.