90.5 WICN

15/08/2025

Just ONE WEEK to go until the 8th Annual Jazz+ Live concert! Join us for a fabulous evening of live music on August 22 featuring GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz vocalist, pianist, and songwriter Nicole Zuraitis, who will blow you away with her powerhouse voice and original compositions!

Grab your lawn chairs and enjoy food trucks, cash bars, and, of course, the cool sounds of live jazz as the area behind the Hanover Theatre is transformed into an outdoor, picnic-style concert venue. You’re welcome to bring your own picnic and non-alcoholic drinks too! Gates open at 5 PM and the concert begins at 6 PM.

Don't wait any longer! Purchase your tickets or VIP table here: https://thehanovertheatre.org/event/the-8th-annual-jazz-live-featuring-nicole-zuraitis/

Jazz+ Live is presented in collaboration with the Hanover Theatre and Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District.

Proudly sponsored by BJA Magnetics, Bartholomew & Company, the Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District, Country Bank, Cornerstone Bank, the WooSox Foundation, and Bay State Bank.

14/08/2025

Nick Noble and The Folk Revival bring you Folk Duos, Duets & More on Thursday, August 14th from 7 to 10 pm.
You'll hear a new track from veteran singer-songwriter Roger Salloom and close with a brand new live recording by today's Limeliters (a trio!), but in between you'll hear songs from an abundance of duos and dueters: Bud & Travis, Joe & Eddie, Gibson & Camp, Joan Baez & Mimi Farina, Joan Baez & Bob Dylan, the Shaw Brothers, the Simon Sisters, the Smothers Brothers, Ian & Sylvia, Judy Collins & Theodore Bikel, Joan Baez & Bob Gibson, Joan Baez & Pete Seeger, Ash & Eric, Dan & Faith, Mark & Raianne, Kim & Reggie Harris, Magpie, Lori Diamond & Fred Abatelli, Crowes Pasture, the Hip Swayers, the Lied To’s, Two Old Friends, Carrigan & Blair, the McGarrigle Sisters, Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer, Mitch & Mickey . . . the list is endless!
Streaming live around the world at wicn.org * On the air in Central MA at 90.5 FM

13/08/2025

Against The Grain | 7 to 10pm | 90.5 WICN
On this evening's edition of ATG "the monkey speaks his mind"...
You'll hear new music from Hayes Carll, Grace Potter, Kathleen Edwards, Marty Stuart and Rodney Crowell.
We'll celebrate a few birthdays - Mark Knopfler, Pete Thomas, Jim Capaldi and David Crosby; mourn the passing of Flaco Jimenez and Bobby Whitlock, and listen to songs from albums released in early August of 1968, 1973, 1979, and 1995.
Tune in to 90.5 WICN, or listen online at WICN.org
"I want to sail away to a distant shore, and make like an apeman."

13/08/2025

Got a long day ahead of you with meetings? Fuel up and walk around the Out To Lunch on the Common today, 11 am to 3 pm. Out To Lunch is starting to wind down, don't miss your chance to see all the vendors, grab some food, and get your steps in.

Go Out to Lunch with Bonnie Johnson of today! She’s our MC for the Out to Lunch Festival & Farmers’ Market on Wednesday, August 13. 🎙️

Meet Bonnie there from 11 am to 3 pm on the Worcester Common Oval.

We’ll have live music starting at noon from , intermission dancing with , local food trucks, artists and crafters, community organizations, a bigger-than-ever farmers’ market, and more.

Come by and Downtown. 🧡

______

The 2025 Out to Lunch Festival & Farmers’ Market is presented by the and , with support from SNAP Match Sponsor: ; Downtown Hero: ; Downtown Boosters: , , , , , and ; Friends of Downtown: .bank & ; and Media Sponsors: , , , , , , , and .

12/08/2025

Standard Time with Tom Nutile this afternoon will be celebrating Axel Stordahl.

Frank Sinatra was one of the key voices in popular music in the twentieth century, and one of the arrangers who helped shape his sound was Axel Stordahl, a composer and arranger Frank first met when each worked for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in the 1940s. Stordahl is credited with helping bring pop arranging into the modern age. He also wrote some of the best-known songs of the mid-twentieth century (including the TV theme song “McHale’s Navy”). In addition to working with Sinatra, Stordahl collaborated with Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and Doris Day. We’ll celebrate Axel Stordahl, born Aug. 8, 1913, on the Aug. 12 Standard Time with Tom Nutile, 3-6 pm EDT.

11/08/2025

This Week on The Soul Serenade, host Tom Shaker is bringing you the best of Issac Hayes, Part 2.

In part 2, Tom celebrates one of the legendary figures in soul music in a very special 2-part spotlight. You'll hear music focused on his genre-bending fusion of soul, funk, gospel, and jazz. From his days as a staff musician and songwriter for Stax Records to his solo career and more, Issac influenced generations of soul and funk artists.

And, don’t forget those spoken intros from Issac. They’re priceless!

It all starts at 7pm. You won’t want to miss this one!

11/08/2025

Tune in to 90.5 WICN today during The Blend to hear an exclusive interview with Grammy-award-winning Nicole Zuraitis. Our longtime host, Rick McCarthy, will chat with Nicole ahead of her performance at Jazz+ Live, presented in partnership with The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts and Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District on Friday, August 22.

Buy your tickets now at https://thehanovertheatre.org/event/the-8th-annual-jazz-live-featuring-nicole-zuraitis/.

Sponsored by , Magnetics, Cornerstone Bank, , , and .

08/08/2025

The countdown continues… just TWO Weeks until the 8th Annual Jazz+ Live concert! Join us for a fabulous evening of live music on August 22 that will feature GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz vocalist, pianist, and songwriter Nicole Zuraitis, who will blow you away with her powerhouse voice and original compositions!

Her collaborations with top orchestras and artists, including Jon Batiste, Keb’ Mo’, and Morgan James, are just a few of her creative achievements, which have been recognized with accolades from Broadway World, Forbes, and Connecticut Magazine.

Grab your lawn chairs and enjoy food trucks, cash bars, and, of course, the cool sounds of live jazz as the area behind the Hanover Theatre is transformed into an outdoor, picnic-style concert venue. You’re welcome to bring your own picnic and non-alcoholic drinks too! Gates open at 5 PM and the concert begins at 6 PM.

Purchase your tickets or VIP table here: https://thehanovertheatre.org/event/the-8th-annual-jazz-live-featuring-nicole-zuraitis/

Presented in partnership with and .

Sponsored by , , .bank, , , and .

08/08/2025

Join us in wishing "Uncle" Al Dean a very happy birthday. We were just told that Al celebrated his 90th birthday yesterday!

07/08/2025

On tonight's Folk Revival, Nick will be playing something old & something new. Plenty of new tracks from recordings recently arrived at the station, along with some old favorites. Singer-songwriter Joanna Katzen will be joining host Nick Noble live in the studio during the first hour, while the amazing Kristel Erguiza will help out as co-host in the middle hour, sharing her favorite folk songs.

06/08/2025

Remembering Jerry in The Days Between: the 28th annual ATG tribute to Jerry Garcia.

On this evening's edition of Against the Grain you will hear some early recordings by Jerry with the Hart Valley Drifters, the Wildwood Boys, the Black Mountain Boys and Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, and of course with the Grateful Dead, the Jerry Garcia Band and Merl Saunders.

We'll also listen to several artists covering songs written by Jerry and Robert Hunter, including Wake The Dead, Catherine Russell, Dave Alvin, Levon Helm, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Suzanne Vega, Logan Ledger, Molly Tuttle, Bela Fleck, Watkins Family and Norma Waterson.

You can listen at 90.5 WICN and WICN.org!

06/08/2025

Today, from 3 to 6 pm on Standard Time, “Uncle” Al Dean will celebrate the life of Dame Cleo Laine, who passed away July 24 at the age of 97.

Dame Cleo Laine was an English singer and actress known for her s**t singing. She was the wife of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of singer Jacqui and bassist Alec Dankworth. Cleo had an amazing voice that spanned four octaves, and she appeared all over the world, from Carnegie Hall to WICN’s Jazz+ Live, formerly Jazz at Sunset.

Her career accolades include a Grammy award, an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in Boston, and being named an officer of the Order of the British Empire. Tune us in at 3 pm to learn and hear more about Dame Cleo Laine