Thursday

Here's some of what's happening in our area this week:

Tonight at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown hosts the Eric Mintel Jazz Quartet, and on Friday you can catch more jazz, both standards and originals, with the Mary DiPaola Trio. The Aligned With Source workshop takes place Saturday morning, and in the evening enjoy blues and more with guitarist and singer Tom “The Suit” Forst. www.buttonwood.org

On stage in New Haven, at Café Nine, tonight it's American Elm, Brian Larney, and E.J. Nash. Friday’s Happy Hour features DW Ditty, and later, Robert Gordon and The Bandidos take the Café stage. Café Nines Weekly Saturday afternoon Jazz Jam session is with the George Baker Band, and in the evening they bring you the Madame Thalia’ Vaudeville Revue. The Sunday Buzz Matinée features The Big Fat Combo and The Furors, and they round out the weekend afterwards with Lula Wiles and The Moon Shells. http://www.cafenine.com/  

This evening/  They’ve got punk, rock, Americana, and more with Dust Hat, The Split Coils, and Oberon Rose. Friday, Ceschi and Anonymous Inc play songs from Sans Soleil and Beyond. Catch hardcore and punk on Saturday with Sheer Terror, Combust, Pummel, and Savage World. www.statehousepresents.com

Up in Hartford at Black-Eyed Sally’s, it's the Thursday Rick Estrin and The Nightcats bring you blues and more with his virtuoso harmonica. The Bruce Katz Band takes the stage on Friday with more blues, and on Saturday you can catch Dissident, with their tribute to Pearl Jam. http://www.blackeyedsallys.com/

The Wesleyan RJ Julia bookstore holds a T On Thursday, film historian Jeanine Basinger will be in town with “The Movie Musical!”. On Saturday afternoon, Susan Jaques presents “The Caesar of Paris: Napoleon Bonaparte, Rome, and the Artistic Obsession that Shaped an Empire.” Kids’ events continue this week, including Story Time, Cardinal Kids, the Well-Read Black Girl Book Club. www.wesleyanrjjulia.com

Manic Presents brings you Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson, and Catherine Popper. They headline Mono on Friday, appearing with Bell Witch. They’re at the College Street Music Hall on Friday afternoon with the Dark Star Orchestra, and on Saturday they’re sponsoring the Elm City Brew Festival, along with the music of Seth Adam and Eddie Seville. www.manicpresents.com

At the Russell Library in Middletown a free chamber music concert Saturday afternoon featuring Boston’s Ensemble Aubade. They’re offering Yoga in the Hubbard Room on Sunday. Consult the website calendar for more events, including sessions for those who are home-insecure, all geared to patrons of all ages. www.russelllibrary.org

The Middletown Arts & Culture Office calendar reminds us The Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater performances of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” continue this Friday and Saturday. You can drop off new, unwrapped toys at the Recreation Division office for the 68th annual Bernie O’Rourke/Detroit Hunter Christmas Toy Drive or learn about how to apply for the program. www.facebook.com/CityArtsOffice/

Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts tonight there’s an advanced Javanese gamelan concert at World Music Hall. Guided tours of the “Inaction” exhibition happen Saturday afternoon, and in the evening the Chinese Music Ensemble, Taiko Drumming Ensemble, and others perform Music from East Asia at Crowell Concert Hall. 

Splinter Reeds performs new works by Wesleyan composers Saturday night at World Music Hall, and on Sunday there’s a Worlds of Dance Concert performance at Crowell. You can also purchase tickets for the West African Drumming and Dance Concert happening at Crowell Concert Hall on Friday evening. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa

Infinity Hall Norfolk tonight bluegrass and folk with the Gibson Brothers, and Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley. They’ve got alternative rock, soul, and more on Saturday with Brother Joscephus and the Love Revolution. At Infinity Hartford, you can catch Americana and bluegrass on Friday with Railroad Earth, and on Saturday, David Clark’s “Songs in the Attic” perform highlights from Billy Joel’s Last Play at Shea. www.infinityhall.com

Toad’s Place presents Cannibal Corpse, Thy Art is Murder, and Perdition Temple on Thursday, and on Sunday they host Merkules with his Special Occasion Tour, appearing with Golden, Early Adopted, and Endr Won. www.toadsplace.com

Cherry Street Station in Wallingford brings you Sepsiss, Soldiers of Solace, Carried by VI, and more on Friday. On Saturday you can catch the Ditch Boys, The Prozacs, and Thyphoid Rosie. www.facebook.com/CherryStreetStation/

Now here's a rundown of cinema off the beaten track in Central Connecticut:

Hartford’s Real Art Ways continues the documentary “Fantastic Fungi;” “Where’s My Roy Cohn,” about the political power broker who influenced Trump; and “Light From Light,” a haunted house story with deep questions, all through Thursday. Details and screening times at www.realartways.org

Trinity College’s Cinestudio On Thursday they sponsor the free premier of the documentary “Eastern White Pine: The Tree Rooted in American History.” Friday’s weekend opening is “Ad Astra,” billed as the Apocalypse Now of space travel, and the Sunday matinée is the Royal Opera House production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” On Sunday evening they open “The Lighthouse,” about two men operating an isolated lighthouse in the 19th century. Details at http://www.cinestudio.org

The Wadsworth Atheneum continues their Food & Film series on Saturday with dinner and a screening of “Soul Food,” a story of family tension that erupts when their matriarch becomes ill. www.hartford.com/events/

Here's the rundown of tonight’s lineup here on WESU 88.1 FM Middletown:

Right after the Jive, stay tuned for Homegrown with Rob DeRosa. Voted “Best Radio show” in the 2019 CTNOW Hartford reader’s poll,   Homegrown exclusively features Connecticut connected artists where listeners often enjoy pre-release material and in studio interviews with artists, and information about live shows in the area.

From 6:30-8pm, Karen Stein offers peace on air with her show, Imagine, bringing you a soulful mix of music from around world.  

From 8:00-9:30pm, stick around for Evening Jazz, with Bill Denert for 90 minutes of straight ahead jazz with some adventurous offshoots! 

From 9:30-11, we bring you books toujours with DJ Arctic Penguin. Taking books to another level. 

at 11 -  midnight, JAzzalicious Defniition with DJ Stocks’n’Socks and MC Magee strives to expose listeners to new artists, instruments, cultures, and genres that have been influenced by traditional jazz music. 

at midnight stay tuned for Middletown by Moonlight with DJ Monsoon Moon for a tour of rare and obscure albums from around the globe. 

From 1-2amLil Kugel presents isn’t life strange, offering a cross genre mix of songs that epitomize our pasts, define our present selves, and predict our futures.

at 2am stay tuned for the hour of slack from The Church of the Sudgenius. 

from 3-4am we are broadcasting our noontime edition of Democracy Now! from Pacifica.

And finally, rounding out the night from 4-5am is the BBC World Report offering International news coverage and we kick off each weekday at 5am with Morning Edition from NPR.

That's all for today's Jive at Five. Join us weekdays at 4:55 for a daily rundown of area happenings a rundown of evening programming on WESU Middletown!

Stay tuned for a stiff dose of homegrown with Robbie DeRosa, up next!

That’s all for today’s Jive at Five. Catch us each weekday at 4:55pm for this daily community calendar and run down of night time programming here on WESU Middletown, one of the nation’s first student owned and operated radio stations, celebrating 80 years of community service in 2019!