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John Nelson did some mean picking on his axe at last year’s 25th WOMR birthday party. |
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Ukelele player Mary Martin will join the birthday party fun. |
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WOMR celebrates its 26th birthday with a bash
By Melora B. North
Banner Staff
The little engine at WOMR radio station in Provincetown just keeps on huffing and puffing and blowing a whole lotta cool sounds and ideas into the Atlantic airwaves that hover over this Popeye limb of land. With 26 years of broadcasting under its belt, the station is pulling out all the stops to celebrate its birthday Friday between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. when everyone is invited to an open house on-air coffeehouse.
“We did this for the first time last year. It was a lot of fun,” says WOMR executive director Dave Myers. “It’s going to be even better this year. We have a dense line-up.” And he’s not kidding.
This year the station has nine acts slated to perform throughout the day when they will broadcast live to listeners who can’t stop by the party. Held in the performance space at the station, at 494 Commercial St., there will be café tables, intimate lighting, a stage, flowers and endless food and drink, all of which will be available by suggested donation. Admission is free.
“It’s a fund-raiser-birthday party,” says Myers. “We want to raise some money but we want to celebrate the birthday too. That’s what it’s really about. Last year the party was one of the most well-attended events we had at the Schoolhouse.” Sure, and why not? If there’s anything the folks at this end of the Cape like, it’s a party with food and a heavy dose of live, local entertainment.
“Everything will happen on the stage,” says Myers. “The music will be aired simultaneously. When the bands aren’t playing the DJs will play music from their shows. We’ll just flip a switch. It’s the same experience, just in different places. There’ll be plenty of food appropriate to the time of day, bagels in the morning, sandwiches at lunch. … We’ll have a WOMR birthday cake. Food is being donated by Napi’s, the Provincetown Box Lunch, D’Italia in Wellfleet and maybe some others.” But this event is really about the music, which promises to be a potpourri of jazz, blues, rock and, you name it, they’ll provide it.
Kicking off the day will be John “the Rev” Nelson & Friends performing during Hilary Bamford’s Friday Folk show. They’ll play some heartbreaking country blues sure to bring a tear to the eye. A dose of bluegrass, acoustic music is served up later in the day when Tim Dickey, Julie Wanamaker and Laird Boles play some cutting-edge sounds. You may have caught them this past September when they played for the station’s Boogie on the Bay fund-raiser in Wellfleet.
Coelacanth with Peter Tighe and friends offers up some jazz-infused rock ‘n’ roll while the trio Tripl3 Crown, formerly known as the Shotgun Bandits, plays some tight, melodic rock featuring scorching guitar leads coupled with soaring harmonies. They played at last year’s birthday party and the Wellfleet OysterFest this past fall.
“They play a nice mix of original and cover songs,” says Myers. “Their songs are tight. They play the music of guys like Jimmy Hendrix.”
Shaking things up a bit is Jellybone Rivers and the Maniacs of the Heart. A quirky alt-pop band, it’s headed up by Myers’ own brother Rob, founder of the Kahoots. For this performance Myers will sit in on bass but declares, “My role will be minimal. I’ll be out of the spotlight.”
In the spotlight, however, will be music teacher Lisa Brown’s Nauset World Music Ensemble. Comprised of 14 high school students, they perform musical acts that pay tribute to world music instrumentation in layers of harmonic variations. Back on the ranch, Steve Morgan and the Kingfish play classic blues, roots rock and originals.
Kicking things up a notch during the cocktail hour will be Lady Di, WOMR’s own “grand dame of the airwaves,” when she features hits from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s for her Platter Party edition of Leggs Up and Dancing from 5 to 7 p.m.
“She’ll do a live version of what she does on the air with a mobile DJ set-up,” says Myers. “She’s wearing her costume. She’ll have her mike so that anyone who wants to get up and sing with her can. It will be sort of like a karaoke hour, a nice way to turn the corner from afternoon to evening.”
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Sing it loud, sing it clear
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Mar 20th, 2008