Fri, Jan 17 Jive

Good evening, it's Friday, January 17th. This is the Jive at Five, our daily community calendar and rundown of nighttime programming here on 88.1 FM WESU Middletown. By day, WESU offers talk radio from NPR and Pacifica, as well as independent and local public affairs sources. Weeknights and weekends our student and community volunteers bring you the best in free-form programming.

I’m Maria Johnson, letting you know that I'll be coming out of my retirement from hosting Reasonably Catholic: Keeping the Faith for one special episode, our annual Oscar roundup, featuring film critics Rand Richards Cooper and Richard Alleva. So mark your calendar for 4 p.m. Friday, Jan 24th, when we'll bat around the nominees for the Best Picture Oscar in time for you to see some of the movies before the February 9th telecast. You won't want to miss it!
A word about our fall/winter pledge drive here at WESU.

With over 80% of our funding goal met, and under $4k left to raise, the end of the WESU Winter pledge drive is finally coming into sight. If you tune in regularly, then WESU must mean something to you. If you are in a position to help but haven't yet supported WESU with a donation, please give what you can and check out our great thank you gifts online at www.wesufm.org/pledge. Every dollar counts and we need to hear from you!

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

At the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, tonight you can enjoy standards and more with the Restless Mountain Bluegrass group. The Aligned With Source workshop happens tomorrow morning, followed by the first of an eight-week interactive workshop, All the Write Ways, that explores forms of self-expression for writers. There’s a Teen Open Mic at 3 pm, and in the evening it’s acoustic folk with Seat of Our Pants. You can view the new exhibition, “Wildlife in the Tree,” by Elizabeth Ann McNalley, throughout the month. www.buttonwood.org

In New Haven, at Café Nine, this evening's Happy Hour features Buzz Gordo’s Ski Lodge, followed by the evening show with Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, and Muck and the Mires. The Saturday Jazz Jam Session tomorrow is with Tony Di and Friends, and the late show brings Olivia Jean and Honey Cutt to the stage. The Sunday Buzz matinée features Tammi Savoy & The Chris Casello Combo, along with Shean Young and Sean Mencher, and they finish out the weekend with the George Lesiw Band. www.cafenine.com

At Black-Eyed Sally’s in Hartford, the Rich Badowski Blues Band is in the house tonight, and tomorrow it’s the return of Eight to the Bar with American roots, boogie woogie, and more. http://www.blackeyedsallys.com/

The Middletown Arts & Culture Office reminds you that the Recreation Division sponsors Family FUN Night tonight at the Woodrow Wilson Middle School.

There’s a Student Show at Wesleyan Potters tomorrow afternoon, and in the evening the MAC 650 Gallery and Artist Co-op celebrates a record release party with Namesake, Sam Sandoval, and Evan Diem.

On Sunday the Mac hosts the monthly gathering of the Resilience Rain-Dwellers to explore alternate sources of mental wellness. South Congregational Church sponsors the 27th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday celebration next Monday at noon. www.facebook.com/CityArtsOffice/

The Russell Library in Middletown's Job and Career Center offers resumé reviews, help with LinkedIn, and more at various times during the week; check the calendar for details.

Also, there’s a new Community Café in the Hubbard room as well where you can enjoy refreshments and table talk with others.

The library opens its new Lifestyle Medicine 2020 series tomorrow morning with a session by Dr. Dipak Patel. The library will be closed on Sunday and next Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday. Consult the website calendar for future events geared to all patrons, including help sessions for people who are home-insecure. www.russelllibrary.org

The Mirror Visions Ensemble performs music by American composers as well as historically marginalized American groups at the Wadsworth Atheneum tomorrow afternoon, and you’re invited to their Martin Luther King Jr. Community Day on Monday starting at 10 am. Winterfest Hartford, with free skating at the east end of Bushnell Park, continues all week, frozen surface permitting. Details on these and more at www.hartford.com/events/

Manic Presents is at the Space Ballroom in Hamden tonight with The Adicts, who take the stage along with The Redactions and Ghost Tones. They invite you to performances by Sunflower Bean and Similar Kind on Sunday. At the College Street Music Hall tonight, they’ve got a Back to the Eighties Show with Jessie’s Girl. www.manicpresents.com

The State House Cabaret in New Haven brings you Americana Rock Night tonight with Pat Stone and the Dirty Boots, Split Coils, and more. Tomorrow they invite you to another all-out jam session exploring R&B, neo-soul, jazz, and more. www.statehousepresents.com

Infinity Hall Hartford brings you Riders On The Storm, the Ultimate Doors Tribute Band, tonight. Tomorrow you can catch pop and rock with Phillip Phillips. Infinity Norfolk hosts Phil Vassar and his “Stripped Down” Acoustic Tour on Saturday, with country and pop selections and more. There’s a free Art Reception on Sunday for the exhibit “Text As Image” by calligraphy artist Kathleen Borkowski. www.infinityhall.com

Toad’s Place brings you Eric D’Allesandro tonight with his Fame-ish Comedy Tour. Tomorrow you can enjoy another Blacklight Glow Party, or check out the Something Young Show with Ice Cold, Baby!, Kim Normal, Night Crew, and more. They headline J.I. on Sunday with his Hood Life Krisis Tour. www.toadsplace.com

Cherry Street Station in Wallingford holds a night of rock, metal, & punk tonight with SheepDog, Inner Vista, Brix’n Mortar, and Double The Dial. They invite you to Slamuary tomorrow with The Ocean Between, The Damaged, Shagohod, and Tetramer. On Sunday, you can catch Misanthropic Noise, Schotzi, Ashen, and more. www.facebook.com/CherryStreetStation/

Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts announces that their Wesleyan Youth Gamelan Ensemble classes start tomorrow. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa

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

Hartford’s Real Art Ways continues runs of “Parasite,” a modern Korean fairy tale,  and “Cunningham,” a tribute to choreographer Merce Cunningham. Opening this evening is Earth, about the planet we take for granted. Check the website for details and screening times. www.realartways.org

Playing only till tomorrow atTrinity College’s Cinestudio is Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler  as a charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Opening Sunday is the Oscar nominated  “Jojo Rabbit,” a black comedy about a German family’s drama in the Third Reich years  Also on Sunday for one performance only is their National Theatre Live matinée offering, Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons,."  Full details at http://www.cinestudio.org

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

Right after the Jive, stay tuned for AJ Cool J, followed at 6:30 by two hours of Universal Sound Wave with Sista Queen T. offering a wide range of music including African, reggae, gospel, R&B, Latin, and blues. In addition, she features health, nutrition, and stress reduction tips.

Then at 8:30 it's Grand Central Station with DJ Jenny Doll.inviting you to travel back in time to the 1940's and 1950's with a swinging upbeat show filled with big band, jazz, swing and rockabilly, and some new releases.

 At 10, stay tuned for Train to Skaville from Pacifica 

presenting deep cuts from his collection of popular Jamaican music of the 60s and 70s 

Then at 11, Mentaltown with the Ultimate emcee El Vee comes on, offering a dose of unsigned Local Hip Hop.

At midnight, it's Permanent Collection with Chris for an hour of non-toxic creative radio.till 1:30 and Overdrive with Clarence and Shantay Scott. bring a mix of contemporary and traditional urban gospel music

From 3 to 5 a.m., stay tuned for Back Down the Bayou with Bill Boelens. presenting an eclectic Louisiana and roots music show from the Banana Plantation in Baton Rouge.

From 5 to 6, it's BBC World News, followed at 6 by the Celtic Cafe with Mark Gallagher, and at 7, Caffe Italia, with Francesco Fiumara from KSLU.

For a complete schedule of all our free-form and public affairs programming, visit our website wesufm.org.

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

We’re doing our best to wrap up the WESU Fall/Winter pledge drive, and we need your support. With our 80th anniversary year in the rearview mirror and under $4,000 left to raise before we can end this fundraising effort, we need to hear from WESU listeners who’ve yet to step up to the plate with a donation. We need your donation, no matter how big or how small, to keep the station going. Donate now online at wesufm.org/pledge. And thanks!

Thanx for listening. Now,stay tuned for AJ Cool J!