When I was a sophomore at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. (a.k.a. the middle of nowhere), I got involved with my college radio station, WXJM-FM 88.3. I was a communication studies major and a music industry minor set on being a radio personality, with an internship-turned-temporary job at New York City’s WHTZ-FM 100.

There’s something special about putting a vinyl record on the turntable, letting it spin and listening to the tunes from start to finish. It’s the way the artists wanted it to be heard, even with those crackles and pops in between.

Keller Williams reaches into the refrigerator of his motor home and pauses the interview to quiet his children, Ella, 6, and Cabell, 3, who are shouting in the background. He’s on his way to the “Life is good” Festival in Canton, Mass.

Not long after the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra declared bankruptcy on May 10, several members of the unemployed ensemble received phone calls from a friend of the orchestra who was willing to offer his help. It wasn’t just any friend who reached out, either: It was Elmar Oliveira, one of the most well-known violinists on the planet.

“The idea of using the beautiful facility we have for a fundraiser, even when the two organizations seemed to be different in terms of mission, priorities and philosophy, rose from working from different sides with different constituents toward a common ground,” Kern said.

Ron Carter may have played on more than 2,500 albums throughout his 50-plus-year career as a double bassist, but that doesn’t mean he’s finished. In fact, the 74-years-young musician is still keeping up a grueling pace with teaching, writing and performing.

The Boise, Idaho, native has drawn praise from the Cascade Blues Association, who selected him as crowd favorite at the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival in 2002, and the Washington Blues Society, who labeled him as the show-stealer at the Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival in 2003.

Jonathan Edwards. My Love Will Keep (Appleseed Recordings). Edwards’ latest album has a way of sweeping you off your feet. The artist says the album “grew like a wildflow- er by the side o

When local legend and monster guitar talent, Mark Hoffmann went into critical condition during a simple medical procedure last Wednesday, Sept. 14, it was a shock. Hoffmann had been out on the Hoffmann Farm in Fabius the day prior rounding up cattle before the unexpected emergency.

Local musician Ian Stewart made a trip to Chicago in September 2009 to check out the music scene. Two years later, he’s still living there and touring often with the jazz-fusion outfit Marbin, who will bring their Rage Against the Machine-tinged live show to the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, 246 W.