For the first edition of “Rockers Arena” of the new year, the Night Nurse, Amy Wachtel, invited her long-time friend, Jamaican percussionist Larry McDonald to sit in with her and shoot the breeze.

They spent much of the time reviewing Larry’s long and illustrious career, including time with Taj Mahal and his almost 30 years with Gil Scot-Heron.

The loquacious octogenarian is currently a member of the Legendary/Legacy JA ska band, the Skatalites, touring regularly world-wide. Larry Mac, as he is affectionately called, is also a part of the NYC Ska Orchestra, Dave Hillyard & the Rocksteady Seven, Sub-Atomic Sound System, and an on-going project he co-leads with sax player Anant Pradhan.

Rockers Arena with the Night Nurse can be heard first and third Fridays, 12noon-3pm on WPKN.

WPKN is a media partner for Parranda y Salsa at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport on Thursday, December 18th, running from 5 to 10 pm. Now in its third year, this holiday celebration brings the Parranda traditions of the Caribbean together with live salsa music for a night of dancing, community, and culture. The Downtown Cabaret Theatre is located at 263 Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This event is sponsored by: City of Bridgeport, Greater Bridgeport Latino Network (GBLN), Puerto Rican Day Parade of Fairfield County, Bridgeport Caribe Youth League (BCYL), and WPKN.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parranda-y-salsa-at-the-downtown-cabaret-bridgeport-ct-tickets-1976784458529

Joseph Celli WPKN's host of My Other Music (MOM) and SoundPrintAsia interviews composer/guitarist Nels Cline (WILCO) about his inspiration to devote his life to ‘sound’ with his wide range of music making groups ranging from progressive rock to free improvisation. Nels talks about the differences between recording and live performance and his love of improvisation and live audiences. During the course of the interview we hear three cuts of his music and discuss his various bands.