Thursday's JIVE

Good evening, it's Thursday, July 5th and this is the Jive at Five, WESU's daily community calendar and run-down of nighttime programming here on 88.1 FM WESU Middletown. Thanks for making WESU your listener-supported source for NPR, Pacifica, independent and local public affairs and free-form community radio. I'm J-Cherry producer and host of VOICE of the CITY airing on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8PM Showcasing live and local music, arts, and culture. Thanks for tuning in.

Here in Middletown Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon through July and August, Stacey Stroka leads The Buttonwood Tree’s Open Arts & Crafts program. Everyone is welcome!

Tonight, the Buttonwood Tree brings Bob Gotta’s longstanding monthly acoustic Open Mic to the Buttonwood.Friday night, The Jolly Beggars bring the rich tradition of Celtic folk music and storytelling to the Buttonwood.

Saturday, Singer/Songwriter Brian Colburn and Pianist Ryan Heidel bring their music to the Buttonwood Tree. Food Not Bombs shares food at about 1 p.m. in front of the Buttonwood Tree every Sunday. All are welcome and invited to help prepare vegetarian food at the First Church on 190 Court Street at 11:30 a.m. More information about all Buttonwood events at www.buttonwood.org or 860.347.4957

Tonight here in Middletown at 7 p.m., Wesleyan University's Center For the Arts summer season, kicks off with a free concert by Alma Moyo.  Founded 10 years ago in the South Bronx by lead singer and percussionist Alex LaSalle, the intergenerational band Alma Moyo performs Afro-Puerto Rican bomba folk music, featuring dynamic drumming, dancing, and rich vocals. The concert takes place outside on the CFA green on High Street. In case of rain, the concert will be inside at Crowell Concert Hall. For more information, you can visit  www.wesleyan.edu/cfa

Also in Middletown tonight, the Mattabesett Canoe Club at Harbor Park presents Thursday Night "Jazz on the River," from 6 to 10 p.m. For info and reservations, call  860-347-9999.

Tonight, down in New Haven, at Toad's Place, Dance Hall reggae sensation Baby Cham takes the Toad’s Place main stage.  Friday brings the Battle for Mayhem Fest to two stages at Toads place, featuring over 10 loud rock bands, battling for a spot to play at the Mayhem Music Fest in Hartford in August.  Saturday night, Toad's hosts an event called “LUMINESCENCE: A NEON GLOW PARTY.” More can be found online at toadsplace.com

Tonight, Café Nine in New Haven: The Moving Company; The New Dirty; and Belly Fire take the Café Nine stage. Friday night, FERNANDO PINTO Presents a BLUEGRASS HOEDOWN at the Nine, featuring: Too Blue; Caroline Doctorow & the Steamrollers; and Hot Mustard. Café Nine’s Saturday afternoon Jazz Jam will be hosted by the Mike Coppola Trio this week. Saturday Night, Stark Raving Lulu celebrates the release of their new CD at Café Nine alongside Peacock Flounders and The Sawtelles. More can be found online at cafenine.com

In New Britain on tonight, Tools Bar & Grill, presents "JAZZ SPOKEN HERE" hosted by The Alvin Carter Project, with special guest Spoken Word Artist Michael Hawkins. Friday night, saxophonist and composer Kris Allen and his group perform jazz at Tools, and DAVID DAVIS, SAX IN THE CITY, are at Tools on Saturday night.  More can be found online at toolsbarandgrill.com/

Tonight in Hartford at Blackeyed Sallys,THE UMOJA MUSIC SERIES presents a free evening of live music with ALAN PALMER & THE NEW SOIL SHIP. Friday Night, Junior Kraus and the Shakes bring their jump-up blues sound back to the Sally’s stage. Saturday night, The JackLeg Preachers, based out of Salem, Massachusetts, bring their "Jamband"  music to Sally’s. www.blackeyedsallys.com

Also Tonight, Simply Swing, a 10-piece swing orchestra plays the Gazebo at  Unionville Center in  Farmington, as part of the Farmington Bank Community Concert Series. For more information you can go online to simplyswingmusic.com or by calling (860) 989-9217.

On Friday, down at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, the Small Town Concert Series presents another "Everybody's Diggin' Dylan" tribute concert at 8 p.m. The Kate is located at 300 Main Street in Old Saybrook. Call 860-510-0453, or visit thekate.org for online ticketing or buy tickets at the box office.

Saturday morning, The Russell Knitters meet and work at The Russell Library here in Middletown. All are welcome to share their expertise and experience. More can be found online at russelllibrary.org/

Saturday night at the Royal Masala, The JOSH EVANS QUARTET plays jazz on Main Street in Hartford at 8 p.m.

With Independence Day there are fireworks displays scheduled across the state. Here’s a quick rundown:

Tonight, you can catch fireworks at Meriden’s Hubbard Park.

 Friday night, Salem and Windsor locks present fireworks displays. 

Saturday night, there are more fireworks displays scheduled across the state in Beacon Falls, Bozrah, East Hartford, Greenwich, Groton, Hartford, Lebanon, Manchester, New London, New Milford, Orange, Portland, Torrington, Stafford and Wallingford.

Sunday, you can catch fireworks in Enfield.

Tis the season for farmers’ markets and here’s a few in our area:

The Durham Farmers' Market is open every Thursday on the Town Green on Main St, from 3 to 6:30 p.m., through September. The longstanding Middletown Farmers’ market at the South Green kicks off this week and continues on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October. The Middletown North End Farmers Market is now open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday and is located at the corner of Liberty and Main Streets in Middletown.

That’s it for our community calendar. For the latest in local arts and entertainment beyond the Jive At Five, you can visit www.arts2GO.org – the City of Middletown’s new website for anyone interested in what’s going on in Middletown. You can access arts2GO.org for updated information.

Here’s a quick rundown of cinema off the beaten path here in central CT this week.

Tonight through next Tuesday, Cinestudio, the Trinity College cinema in Hartford, presents Stanley Kubrick’s timeless 1964 noir doomsday satire, "Dr. Strangelove," starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, Sterling Hayden and James Earl Jones.  Show schedules and descriptions can be found online at cinestudio.org

Real Art Ways in Hartford has extended its "First Position" run, which follows six young dancers as they prepare for a chance to enter the world of professionals. Also showing through tonight at Real Art Ways is "OC87: The Obsessive Compulsive, Major Depression, Bi-polar, Asperger's Movie."

Also, Friday night, Real Art Ways begins a run of the feature-length documentary film "Marina Abramavic: THE ARTIST IS PRESENT," which  follows the contemporary artist as she prepares for what may be the most challenging performance of her life. Tickets, times and more can be found online at realartways.org

Now stay tuned.  Here's what's playing on WESU tonight, as we kick off our Summer Program guide.

Right after the Jive at Five,

5:05-6pm

Homegrown with Rob DeRosa

The best crop of Connecticut-connected music presented for a global audience.

6-6:30pm

Free Speech Radio News From The Pacifica Network

Your daily dose of alternative international news and reporting from the Pacifica Network.

6:30-8pm

Total Praise with Minister Latrecia

A diverse and inspirational blend of contemporary gospel music to uplift your spirit!

8-9:30pm

Evening Jazz with Bill Denert

Where hearing is the best experience. A broad range of swing, be-bop, and avant garde as well as a sprinkling of new releases

9:30-11pm

Art Projects with Aaron Berger

Going far in the name of artistic expression, but never losing hold of anchors in quality control and cultural relevance. Shoegaze and Garage meets Psych-Folk and Ambient Drone; HipHop and Soul meets 2-Step and Grime. It's all fair game. Mixed with auditory bric-a-brac for optimal digestion.

11pm-12:30am

Alphabet Soup with DJ Blaze

An anti-genre, request-based melting pot. Each episode, we randomly select a letter from the alphabet, and play bands or artists whose names start with that letter. A wild romp through the annals of WESU's music library, supported and guided by the interests of our listeners.

12:30-1:30am

Sunspot Loops

Let's explore what's new in the world and rearrange what exists into a form we can claim to understand. Listen to everything. Nothing gets hyped on. (micro-genres)

Friday, 1:30-4am

The Graveyard with DJ Otto Nation

An eclectic mix of music from the WESU collection of new releases.

The BBC World News Service kicks on at 4AM and we begin tomorrow's broadcast at 5am with Morning Edition from NPR.That’s all for today’s Jive at Five, if you didn’t get a chance to write down some of the information mentioned in our community calendar, the script is published online at www.wesufm.org/jive, and if you know of any events that you'd like to have announced on the Jive, send them to jive@wesufm.org

If you tune in to WESU for information and music that you can’t find elsewhere, then we are counting on you to help support the service you depend on. Please take a moment to make a donation of any size online at www.wesufm.org, every dollar counts and we need to hear from you. Stay tuned for Homegrown with Rob Derosa.