Hosted by Chris Garlock

​Music and conversation with members of the DC Labor Chorus, previewing their December 1 20th anniversary concert, honoring founding director Elise Bryant. Click here for details. Click here for the livestream on Facebook. 

​Hosted by Elise Bryant

​Music and conversation with the inimitable Pam Parker and the irrepressible Steve Jones.

​Hosted by Chris Garlock

CLICK HERE to check out videos from the  show!
​
MOOSE JAW BLUEGRASS plays bluegrass rooted in the high lonesome sound of the 1940’s - sullied by an affinity for cheap brews, swampy southern rock anthems, and stamped with an outlaw country attitude: Moose Jaw brings the timeless tradition of American roots music into a new era. The band focuses putting a new spin on the old-time tales of ramblers, rovers, and revivals. Since 2016, audiences from all walks of life have hooted and hollered at Moose Jaw’s “blazing fast, workin’ class, and often crass brand of bluegrass.” 

Bass player Geff King (2nd from right) played a labor festival with Hazel Dickens; Jason Roe (banjo, middle) is in the organizing department at the IAM, and a member of OPEIU local 2; Stacey Sinclair (fiddle, second from left) is in the teacher's union; Addison Bartlett (mandolin, right), Josh Taylor (left) and Jason's grandfather was an IBEW Local 26 electrician, Jason's father (Josh's uncle) is currently an assistant business agent there.

www.moosejawbluegrass.com
facebook.com/moosejawbluegrass

Engineered by Ciera Shine
 
 
 
 

Hosted by Chris Garlock

​This award-winning hard driving bluegrass band has only been together since January 2018, but they’ve already won the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Bluegrass Band Competition.
Made up of of five of the most promising up-and-comers on the D.C. bluegrass scene, Moonlight Drive mixes progressive bluegrass, country, and traditional American music with a solid dose of the traditional bluegrass the band members grew up immersed in.
Led by Shannon Bielski’s driving vocals and fiddle, Moonlight Drive features Kyle Windbeck on mandolin, Rob Benzing on banjo, Parker Gondella on guitar and Greg Mulley (AFGE member) playing bass.  Together they deliver a hard hitting bluegrass performance that is sure to please any audience.
Find out more on their Facebook page

Labor [email protected] produced by Jason Roe; engineering by Ciera Shine and Robin Smith; photo by Chris Garlock.

For the latest local labor news, go to dclabor.org.
 
On today’s labor calendar, Stand with Dulles airport workers who are fighting for justice!
At 11am this morning at the Washington Dulles Marriott.
Then at 2pm this afternoon, catch this week’s edition of Your Rights at Work, here on
WPFW.
 
In today's labor history, on this date in 1877, in Chicago, 30 workers were killed by federal troops, and more than 100 wounded at the "Battle of the Viaduct" during the Great Railroad Strike.
And on this date in 1992, the Americans With Disabilities Act took effect, requiring employers to offer reasonable accommodations to qualified disabled employees and banning discrimination against such workers.

​Today’s labor quote is by Wendell Phillips, the 19th Century American orator and abolitionist, who said:
“We affirm, as a fundamental principle, that labor, the creator of wealth, is entitled to all it creates.”

LIVE from the 14th Street Busboys and Poets. Hosted by Union City Radio's Chris Garlock. 

Sponsored by the Washington DC Federation of Musicians, AFM 161-710. Engineering by Jerry Paris and Robin Smith; produced by Ed Malaga and co-produced by Chris Bangert-Drowns. 

The 2018 DC LaborFest wraps up with a night of jazz with local musicians from the Washington Musicians Union: 
Carl Cornwell, saxophone; Wade Beach, piano; Steve Novosel, bass; Nasar Abadey, drums. 

Carl Cornwell: Saxophonist with Project Natale (https://www.reverbnation.com/projectnatale), Mike Thornton Jazz Collective and Maurice Lyles. Co-founder of Gil Scott-Heron's Amnesia Express before embarking on a career in computer systems development. After moving to Washington, DC. Carl became a mainstay at Harold's Rogue and Jar night club, performing regularly as a sideman and as leader of his own quintet. Carl toured the US and Europe as saxophonist, arranger and sometime pianist with Gil Scott-Heron. 

Wade Beach is widely respected for his harmonic sophistication and superb technique, which knows no stylistic limitations. He holds a master’s degree in piano performance from the University of Maryland.  He entered the world of jazz as a protégé of Sir Roland Hanna and toured the globe many times over with the United States Air Force Band jazz ensemble, The Airmen of Note.  Mr. Beach keeps an active teaching and performing schedule, performing with groups around the DC area, including The Jazz Update Band.

Steve Novosel is an American professional jazz bassist and educator whose 40-plus year career has spanned numerous genre, from traditional jazz to swing, bebop, mainstream and avant garde. Steve has toured with Red Norvo, Tal Farlow, Al Grey and most recently, with David “Fathead” Newman. In addition to his previous 57 recordings, he has several on Mapleshade including Portraits in Ivory and Brass with Jack Walrath and Larry Willis and Every Rung Goes Higher with Willis and Steve Berrios plus singer Kenyetta.

Nasar Abadey is a drummer and composer who’s the founder, leader and driving force of SUPERNOVA, and who has also built a solid reputation as a sideman with several groups, performing with many national artists throughout his career. Abadey began playing drums at age five, drawing influences from powerhouse drummers such as Tony Williams, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Art Blakey and cousin Frankie Dunlop, to name a few. Nasar Abadey creates music which he refers to as Multi-D: multi-dimensional, multi-directional. Mr. Abadey is currently a Professor of Jazz Percussion in the Jazz Studies Department at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD 

This year’s first-ever Laborpalooza MusicFest -- live from the Hyattsville Busboys and Poets -- showcased an exciting lineup of talented musical artists from the DC-area labor movement. Emceed by LaborFest coordinator Chris Garlock and Labor Heritage Foundation Executive Director Elise Bryant, Laborpalooza featured the DC Labor Chorus, roots rocker Joe Uehlein and the ULiNERS and Moose Jaw Bluegrass. The show was broadcast live on WPFW 89.3 FM.

​Top soundfile: DC Labor Chorus; The ULiners (part 1)
Bottom soundfile: The ULiners (part 2); Moose Jaw Bluegrass

Laborpalooza was produced by Chris Bangert-Drowns and engineered by Michael Nasella and Robin Smith. Photos by Bruce Guthrie (l-r): Garlock and Bryant; DC Labor Chorus; The UliNERS; Moose Jaw Bluegrass; crowd singing "Solidarity Forever" with the DC Labor Chorus

Hosted by Chris Garlock

​Magpie (Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino) play songs from their new CD: When We Stand Together: Songs of Joe Hill, the IWW and Fellow Workers.
 
Since 1973, Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner have brought their unique sound and remarkable versatility to audiences everywhere, featuring traditional and vintage Americana to contemporary and stirring original compositions. Terry and Greg are proud to be, as Pete Seeger said of them, “…more links in the chain”, dedicating their lives and music to leaving this world a better place.

Labor [email protected] produced by Jason Roe; engineering by Ciera Shine and Robin Smith; photo by Chris Garlock.
 
 

Hosted by Chris Garlock

SongRise is a DC-based, women's social justice a cappella group. "SongRise encourages perseverance, raises awareness, breaks down barriers, touches hearts and inspires action through song. Inspired by the rich tapestry of voices raised for change, the founders of SongRise gathered their colleagues and friends to sing for social justice."
 
"We use our music to inspire the fight for social change. We offer up our singing talents at community events, rallies, protests, farmer's markets, civil rights celebrations, arts showcases, schools, prisons, the Capitol ... you name it, we will stand up and sing!  Our mission is to inspire action through song." 

"As a social justice based a Capella group, we have some songs that deal directly with workers rights, and then a number that deal with the inter-sectional nature of justice. One song on our list, Bread and Roses, is written following the women's textile strike in the early 1900's. Another song we sing, Breath Fire, follows the story of the workers of the Union Carbide fertilizer plant in Bophal,India, after a major chemical spill. Our repertoire includes songs that focus on Environmental justice, racial justice, equality and empowerment, domestic violence, sexual assault, LGBTQI+ rights, gender equity, religious tolerance, and solidarity."
 
SongRise itself is a collective of people who pool their talent and then lend their music to other social justice causes. 

Today’s setlist includes A Change; Breathe Fire; Mountain Song; I’m Gon Stand; We Shall; Trillogy; Glory; Ain’t Gonna; Woke Up; B&R; Living Planet.
 
Labor [email protected] produced by Jason Roe; engineering by Ciera Shine and Robin Smith; photo by Chris Bangert-Drowns. 

Hosted by Elise Bryant

Gaiteros de Sanguashington is a Colombian-American band from Washington DC. We play a variety of Colombian rhythms, including Vallenato, Cumbia (popular folk music from Colombia’s Caribbean region) and Tropipop (a blend of traditional musical forms with foreign Latin genres, such as salsa and merengue). The band has played alongside renowned iconic Colombian singer, Toto la Momposina, Latin Grammy 2015 best new artist- Monsieur Perine and Champeta Criolla- as well as world music band Tribu Baharu.
​
Gaiteros de Sanguashington has emerged as one of the premier Colombian bands in the Washington DC area, recognized and beloved by the Colombian and Latino Community and those who enjoy international music.
Produced by Jason Roe and engineered by Robin Smith and Ciera Shine.