PopCult

The PopCulteer
June 5, 2026

I have a confession to make.

We hadn’t originally planned to go to WonderFest USA in Louisville last week.

Don’t get me wrong…it’s an incredibly fun show and we’ve had a great time every time we’ve gone in the past, but when we worked out our travel plans for the year, we did not originally include WonderFest.

Again, it is a fantastic show. It combines horror, science fiction and fantasy fandom with the amazing hobby of model kit building and a loving appreciation of the craft of special effects for movies and TV. It’s even where they present the annual Rondo awards.

I should stop here for a second and talk about how Mel and I plan our trips. We are each other’s favorite travel partner, by far. I can’t think of anything more miserable than having to go on a trip without Mel, and I think she pretty much feels the same way about me. This does not mean that our interests overlap entirely. Many of the trips that we take can be classified as “Mel Trips,” or “Rudy Trips.”

A “Rudy Trip” would be when we venture out to a toy show (or a toy store) or go someplace that’s just sort of bizarrely weird (Jungle Jim’s, we’re talking about you). A “Mel Trip” is a trip out of town to see a theatrical performance, or a trip the FiestaWare factory or to the studio where they shot The Walking Dead.  Usually we find a way to combine our trips, so that we both get to see something we really want, but even if that doesn’t happen, we enjoy seeing each other happy so much, that we always have a great time. Over the years, the criteria for our trips have merged and melded together, so much of the time we both get to claim a trip (Last year, for my birthday trip, we went to Cinncinnati to see The American Sign Museum, but we also visited The Lucky Cat Museum, and a Barbie Exhibit at the Cinncinnati Museum Center and got in tons of shopping).

Armed with this information, you would expect that WonderFest would be a “Rudy Trip.”  You’d be wrong, sort of. I love going to WonderFest, but prior to this year, our main reason for going has been that Greg Nicotero, makeup artist extraordinaire and an executive producer of The Walking Dead and Creepshow, has been a guest and appeared on panels.  Mel is a huge fan of TWD and Nicotero, so up to this year, WonderFest has been a “Mel Trip.”  I always had a great time, don’t get me wrong. I’ve met one of my artistic heroes, William Stout, several times, and I get to see friends like Steve Stovall, Rocko Jerome and Anthony Taylor, but our main reason for attending the show has always been for Mel.

Mr. Zilly was well-represented

This year was different.  Greg was not an announced guest, but I really wanted to go. I am really excited about the revival of the Aurora Monster Scenes and Prehistoric Scenes model kit series, currently underway from DennCom and Atlantis Models, and I wanted to go to the show to find out what might be next, and maybe buy some of the compatible sets being made by smaller companies.

You’ll be reading about those in the coming weeks.

But this year I was the one who really, really wanted to go.

Mel’s enthusiasm wasn’t as high, but she was still game for the trip.  Ironically, the day after she made our hotel reservations, it was announced that Nicotero would be attending the show, but when we got there we saw that he’d had to cancel due to a schedule conflict. It didn’t really ruin the trip.  He hadn’t been scheduled for any panels or anything.

Because this was a “Rudy Trip,” and I didn’t really want to spend all my time documenting the event, and instead enjoy the show as a civilian, I didn’t take nearly as many photos, and shot very little video.  However, I did want to try out a couple of really cheap new cameras (which I will be writing about in the coming weeks) so I do have about 25 images for you today, drawing from Mel’s phone camera, and the three different cameras I had on hand. We have a decent photo essay for you, and if I can work out some technical bugs, I should have a short video this Sunday, along with another dozen or so photos.

About those experimental cameras…one of them is the Kodak Charmera. It’s a working digital camera about the size of my thumb. They’re sold as a blind-box item, so you don’t know what style you’ll get, and the digital image quality, for photos and video, is about state-of-the-art for 25 years ago. I noticed that they don’t handle bright lights very well, as you will see in some of the photos below. You also feel sort of ridiculous using them in public, because people will stop and ask if it’s a real camera.

I felt like Agent Smart, shooting microfilm when I was using this thing. I also got a little tired of people asking, “Is that a REAL camera?”  No, Einstein, I’m just running around like a freaking idiot pretending to take pictures with a toy camera. Aside from that, it’s actually pretty cool, and I’ll be writing about it in PopCult.

Because I wasn’t really planning much in advance, the vast majority of today’s photos are from the Model Kit contest, while most of the video that you may see Sunday was shot in the Vendor’s room. That still needs to be sorted out and edited because I’m working with file formats that I typically don’t.

But enough explanationing, here are a bunch of photos from WonderFest USA, 2026…

I was able to catch up with Anthony Taylor and buy his two new books, which you will be reading about in PopCult in the near future.

Rocko Jerome, of G.H.OS.T. Agents fame, and Steve Stovall of Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo and Adventure Commando fame, shared a table with a cool, very limited action figure collaboration set.

Photo by Mel. A pretty epic diorama kit, I think based on “Supernatural,” a show I unfortunately never watched.

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Your PopCulteer has been back from WonderFest for several days now, but it’s been a really hectic week, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for our big photo essay (which isn’t as big as usual because I wanted to enjoy this year’s show mostly in civilian mode), and Sunday for what I hope will be a short video.

It’s been a bit crazy around Stately Radio Free Charleston Manor, and yesterday, when I was supposed to be working on the photos, your humble blogger and his wife got to enjoy some unscheduled traffic adventures as yesterday seemed to be national drive with your feet day, and every place we went sprouted a massive, interstate-closing, accident of some sort.

Running out to grab a sandwich shouldn’t really take five hours.

But anyway, WonderFest was a blast. I was able to buy some cool model kits and books, which I will tell you about next week, and Mel and I were blown away, as usual, by the entries in the model-building contests.

I even got to see some friends, hang out with robots and stuff, and traded a few nice words with Judy Robinson, from Lost In Space.

Here’s a look at a few of the models and one pic of some custom Labubery from the vendor’s room…

Part of the Superhero models on display, along with part of the crowd. It’s always funny how, if somebody sees that you’re carefully pointing a camera and composing your shot, they’ll make sure to jump in your way and just stand there.

This drew my attention pretty quick.

I was really impressed by the unique paint scheme on this great bust of a certain Bride.

I’m going to run this photo again tomorrow, along with a link to the Etsy store where you can buy these wonderfully disturbing creations.

We leave this quick preview with a look at some cool spaceships. There were several intergalactic armadas worth of spacecraft on display.

It’s not yet Summer, even though it’s sure going to feel like it this weekend, so here’s our cursory list STUFF TO DO, around the Mountain State for this first weekend in June. Remember to hydrate and use sunscreen, folks.

As always, I’m just scratching the surface here. Please don’t think this is all we have to offer.

The big show this week is Weird Al Yankovic, who is playing the Charleston Colisseum on Saturday, with Puddles Pity Party opening up. I don’t need a graphic for this one. It’s one of the coolest things to hit town in a long time and everybody already knows about it.

There are also tons of Pride events happening, not all of which have nice graphics for me to swipe for this post, so if you want to participate, check social media because more events are popping up all over.  Plus Symphony Sunday will let you spend a peaceful day at the University of Charleston lawn relaxing to the music of Sousa.

You should remember that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.  Also, if you have a show that you’d like to plug in the future, even if your promotional graphic uses cruddy AI slop art, contact me via Social Media at Facebook, BlueSky, Spoutible, Instagram or Twitter.  I dont charge for this, so you might as well send me something if you have an event to promote.

We are very happy to remind you that Cristen Michael has created an interactive calendar that is way more comprehensive than this list of STUFF TO DO, and you can find it HERE. Just click on the day and the event and you’ll be whisked away to a page with more details about loads of area events.

Most weekends you can find live music at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 PM.  Many Sunday afternoons at 2 PM they also have live music. This weekend they have music from Rob McNurlin on Friday and Jaylyn Shirt on Saturday. Sunday afternoon stop in for Jordan Dyer.

You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look.  Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Among the notable music venues in town are The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe, Live at The Shop in Dunbar, Louie’s, at Mardi Gras Casino & Resort, In Huntington, there’s local institution, The Loud (formerly The V Club),  The Wandering Wind Meadery is on Charleston’s West Side, Plus there’s music in Charleston at The Blue Parrot, Sam’s Uptown Cafe and Fife Street Brewing.

You might also find cool musical events at Folklore Music Exchange in Charleston.

To hear music in an alcohol-free enviroment, see what’s happening at Pumzi’s, on Charleston’s West Side.  Friday at 7:30 PM, Hot Jazz of Charleston takes the stage.

For cutting-edge independent art films, downstairs from Taylor Books you’ll find the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema by WVIFF. Each week they program several amazing movies in their intimate viewing room that you aren’t likely to see anywhere else.

Please remember that viral illnesses are still a going concern and many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out. And if you’re at an outdoor event, please remember that it’s awfully inconsiderate to smoke or vape around people who become ill when exposed to that stuff. If somebody asks you to refrain, please respect their weishes and don’t be a jerk about it.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Here we go, roughly in order, it’s graphics for local events happening over the next several days that I was able to scrounge up online…

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Tuesday is always a great day to tune into The AIR  and today we prove it with a new episode of Radio Free Charleston that was recorded very late in the day of one of the Mondayest Mondays in recent memory.  To listen to The AIR, you simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay here, and  listen to the cool embedded player found elsewhere on this page.  

You can hear Radio Free Charleston Tuesdays at 10 AM and 10 PM, with boatloads of replays throughout the week.

 This week we open with a full hour of brand-new local, independent and cult-following music, and that is followed by an extremely rare episode of Radio Free Charleston Voume Three that hasn’t been heard since February, 2015.

But back to that first hour…we open with brand-new music from Jeff Ellis, and fill the rest of our hour with new tunes from Sasha Colette & The Magnolias, William Matheny, Shakey Graves, Temp Wishes, The Jasons, Samuel S.C., Option 22, Paul McCartney, Gong and more.

Option 22  are the folks who created CultureFest and the Riff Raff Artist’s Collective in Princeton, West Virginia, making that area a hotbed of creativity in the state. I first recorded them for the video incarnation of RFC back during FestivALL in 2009, and it’s wonderful to have new music from these elcectic artists. The song you hear this week is the second of a trilogy of new releases from the band.  We’ll bring you the concluding song next week.

Josh Chicoine’s (The M’s, Cult Canyon) newest band is called Temp Wishes and they quietly released a single entitled “Flash Fantasy” a couple weeks back. The single is streaming via Spotify and they have an accompanying music video that was just premiered this past Friday via the blog Music Defined. Temp Wishes also features Edward Anderson (1900s, Mazes), Colby Starck (Mar Caribe, Bobby Conn), and Glenn Rischke (AM Slingers, Bora Bora, Arks) and the band’s first-ever show will be at the Hungry Brain in Chicago on Friday, June 5 as you can see HERE.

Dave Thomas, someone who isn’t Eric Thompson, and Joe Vallina, as they were on this radio show.

Our second and third hours bring you an episode of RFC Volume Three that hasn’t been available in any form since early 2015.  What’s really notable is that this particular episode of the show includes airchecks from a November, 1989 edition of the original broadcast version of RFC, and it was the first time we brought a band into the studio to perform live.  We unleashed The Blind Blue Leper Society on an unsuspecting planet.

Joe Vallina, Eric Thompson and Dave Thomas were the band, and Joe has gone on to an impressive musical career with Feast of Stephen, Wiley Sonic and terrific solo albums and is now the guiding light of The Heavy Editors. Dave Thomas sprouted an impressive beard/washboard combo and became a beloved fixture on the Charleston music scene as “Washboard Dave,” once the guiding light of The Boulevard Tavern. I’m still hoping that Dave or Joe will chime in on the comments and tell me what Eric has been up to.

Brian Diller, circa 1989

This episode of the show also featured a visit from Stephen Beckner, which is remarkable as he never really was much of a night owl, and he showed up around 3 AM.  You will hear a ton of local music circa 1989 and you’ll get an idea of the controlled anarchy that prevailed on the original  RFC.

Before that we offered up about 45 minutes  of the best local and regional music there was, kicking off the show with another gem that we dug out of the archives–Brian Diller, live and solo, performing in the commercial production room at WVNS/WCHS Radio. Brian came in to do his song, “Hey Mister Auctioneer” and we aired it about nine hours after it was recorded back in January, 1990.

Since then we’ve played it on RFC Volume Five a few times.

Check out this playlist, with links to the artist’s page, in the first hour…

RFC V5 271

hour one
Jeff Ellis “When We Meet Again As Strangers”
Sasha Colette “Sacred Places”
William Matheny “If I Were A River”
Shakey Graves “When The Love Is New”
The John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band w/David Lee Roth “Jump”
Cricketman “Awkward and Weird”
Temp Wishes “Flash Fantasy”
The Jasons “Blood In The Streets”
GRPPLNG “Hollowed”
Samuel S.C. “Mind Flies”
Option 22 “Cry For Freedom”
Paul McCartney “Never Know”
Gong “Relish The Possibility”
The Stickmen “Breathless”

hour two
Brian Diller “Hey Mister Auctioneer”
Jordan Searls “Any Kind of Wind”
Dina Hornbaker “Black Coffee”
Sheldon Vance “Birthright”
Hitchcock Circus “Dirty Girl”
Three Bodies “My Friend”
Blue Million “Don’t Leave”
The Bounty “Buffalos”
Science of the Mind “Son of Sam”
David Synn “Anesthesia”
Karm To Burn “Bobbi, Bobbi, Bobbi, I’m Not”
BobaFlex “Strangle You”

hour three
Studio chatter with Blind Blue Leper Society
Blind Blue Leper Society “Fogtown”
The Swivels “Timeclock of Love”
Cathouse Thursday “Born Under A Bad Sign”
The Hepcats “Shut Up I Love You”
Blind Blue Leper Society “White Riot”
Blind Blue Leper Society “Gimme Danger”
The heart-breaking Godzilla story
Blind Blue Leper Society “Mister High Test Man”
The band sends shout outs
Blind Blue Leper Society “Rockin’ In The Free World”
More studio chatter and goofing around and we are joined by Stephen Beckner in the studio.
Blind Blue Leper Society “Mrs. Brown”
Go Van Gogh “Kiss Me Goodbye”
Three Bodies “Gardens of Hope”
Blind Blue Leper Society “Kick Me In The Spine With Your Love”
Even more studio chatter
All Quiet “Part Time Criminal”
All Quiet “Talking Islands In Africa”
Blind Blue Leper Society “Red House”

You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM,  Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight, Sunday at 8 PM and  Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different classic episode of RFC every weekday at 5 PM, and we bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I’m also going to  embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.

After RFC, stick around for encores of last week’s episodes of  MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.

At 3 PM get ready for two classic episodes of The Swing Shift, featuring the best Swing Music from the last century!

 You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Thursday at 9 AM,  Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursdays and Sundays.

Like a couple of recent entries here, this week’s art is inspired by a series of photos I took with my phone while I was a passenger riding up Route 35 with my wife on our way to wonderful adventures last month.

Instead of the acrylic work I’ve been showing you, this is a pastel color rough, done on a small piece of illustration board. Normally I wouldn’t consider this worth sharing, but I sort of went overboard on the sky, and spent way too much time on it because I wanted to see if I could mimic the work of Van Gogh using pastel crayons. I sorta half-assed the road in the foreground.

I think it came out half-decent, even though this was really just me trying to get the colors nailed down for a larger work to be done later.

If you want to see this image larger, click HERE.

Meanwhile, over in radioland, Monday beginning at 2 PM on The AIR,  we bring you a classic episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM we do the same with Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page. Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM. You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM.

Tonight at 8 PM, tune in for a classic edition of The Comedy Vault. That’s followed by two-hour blocks of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast at 9 PM and 11 PM, and then an overnight assortment of our Haversham Recording Institute programs at 1 AM.

We are running this cool short film as an encore for the third or fourth time because we’re busy having fun at Wonderfest. We run this every five years or so because it’s so damned cool. 

One weekend after Memorial Day, I’ve always felt that one of the best ways to honor our fallen veterans is to do everything possible to avoid sending even more young people to their deaths. Our video tonight is an anti-war cartoon from the National Film Board of Canada that uses stop-motion animation and GI Joes to send an anti-war message. From 1966, Toys is a classic by animator Grant Munro that takes a dark look into the war toys often given to children at Christmas time. Starting off as harmless objects, the toys quickly take on the gestures of real soldiers, mimicking the actions and penalties of a real war. This critical commentary on war and glamorized violence creates a real and frightening battle.

Now, to be honest, it’s not really the anti-war message or loose connection to Memorial Day that earned this film a spot in PopCult.  It’s the beautiful, pristine footage of so many terrific vintage toys. Of course, my ulterior motive in presenting this film is that it’s really, really cool to see GI Joe animated so well, and I’m not talking about AI Slop. This is real, hand-made Stop-Motion animation.

I’m a long-time GI Joe collector (even though I concentrate on the Adventure Team era rather than the military stuff), and this is just really cool to watch. There are toys being used and abused in this film that would be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars today. In addition to seeing almost the full range of GI Joe product available in Canada in 1966, we also get to see some other cool toy planes and tanks, and even some vintage Barbie and Ken dolls.

I mean, you could see this as an anti-war film, or you could see it as a cautionary tale about giving children bad LSD. Etither way, just look at those cool toys!

This week we go back to August, 2013 for Radio Free Charleston 189, “NASA Shirt,” which took the show in a slightly new direction. This week we had music from three bands making their RFC debuts, plus we had a new tune from a returning favorite and some cool promo clips and weird stuff. Our musical guests were Motion Theatre, Zeroking and Snakebox, plus The Diablo Blues Band.  You can read the original production notes for this show HERE.

It was with this episode of Radio Free Charleston, back in 2013, that I began to panic. I was rapidly approaching episode 200. I planned to do something really special,. but I wanted some time to prepare for it, and also to recover to a major life change as my uncle, for whom I’d been toiling as a caregiver for the previous eight years, had just rung up the curtain and joined the choir invisible, and I was enjoying life as a non-caregiver for the first time since the mid-1990s. I started doing longer shows, beginning with this one, but did them less frequently.

In between those shows I came up with the idea of producing The RFC MINI SHOW, which would focus on one musical artist with just a couple of songs. The plan was to record three songs by a band or singer, and save two for The RFC MINI SHOW, while using the other for the main RFC program.

Yes, my idea to reduce my workload involved creating a second program that ran almost weekly. I never claimed to be immune to having illogical ideas.

This time around with our chronological presentation of Radio Free Charleston, I am going to stick with the original video show until we catch it up to date roughly eight months from now. At that point we will pick up with the first episode of The RFC MINI SHOW and run those in order for about a year and a half. After that, I’m still undecided what I’ll run this space.

The PopCulteer
May 29, 2026

We have some radio notes for you today as we wing our way to WonderFest in Louisville, our radio station brings you classic Disco and Crimson New Wave on The AIR. This afternoon we serve up a classic MIRRORBALL and a colorful NEW Sydney’s Big Electric Cat! The AIR is PopCult‘s sister radio station. You can hear these shows on The AIR website, or just click on the embedded player found elsewhere on this page.

MIRRORBALL

Friday at 2 PM on The AIR, Mel Larch revisits the iconic New York City Disco, Studio 54.  We bring you an encore of her 54th episode which is notable because, not only does it present the classic album, “A Night At Studio 54,” Mel’s introduction  was recorded AT Studio 54. You  can read the full details HERE.

You can hear MIRRORBALL every Friday at 2 PM, with replays most weeks  Monday at 9 AM and Tuesday at 1 PM and a four-hour mini-marathon of classic episodes Friday nights at 8 PM.

Sydney’s Big Electric Cat Goes RED

Also on The AIR  at 3 PM (EDT), Sydney Fileen graces us with special mixtape-style new episode of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat. This week Sydney takes a suggestion of her engineer, Nigel Pye (also the host of Psychedelic Shack), and devotes her entire two hour program to New Wave songs with the word “Red” in the title.

And she doesn’t really seem to excited by the idea.

However, the song and band lineup is incredible, just check out the playlist…

BEC 138

Split Enz “I See Red”
The Fixx “Red Skies”
Platinum Blonde “Red Light”
The Clash “Red Angel Dragnet”
Kate Bush “The Red Shoes”
Elvis Costello “Turning The Town Red”
Blondie “Contact In Red Square”
Spizzenergi “Red & Black”
Tattoo Host “Red Pictures”
OMD “Red Frame White Light”
The Boomtown Rats “Another Piece of Red”
Siouxsie & The Banshees “Red Over White”
Wall of Voodoo “Red Light”
Philip Jap “Red Dogs”
Seer “Red Fox”
Talking Heads “Red On Black”
Altered Images “Red Startles the Sky”
The Replacements “Red Red Wine”
Nena “99 Red Balloons”
The Incredible Fred Banana Combo “Little Red Wing”
Alphaville “Red Rose”
Legendary Pink Dots “Red Castles”
Sham 69 “Red London”
DEVO “Red Eye Express”
Midnight Oil “Redneck Wonderland”
The Groundhogs “Cherry Red”
Echo & The Bunnymen “Flaming Red”
XTC “Red”
Heaven 17 “Red”
The Waitresses “Redland”
Trees “Red Car”
INXS “Red Red Sun”
China Crisis “Red Letter Day”

Sydney’s Big Electric Cat is produced at Haversham Recording Institute in London, and can be heard every Friday at 3 PM, with replays Saturday afternoon,  Monday at 7 AM, Tuesday at 8 PM, Wednesday at Noon and Thursday at 10 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Classic episodes can be heard as part of the overnight Haversham Recording Institute marathon Tuesday mornings at 1 AM. .

That’s it for this week’s PopCulteer, check back for all our regular features, with fresh content, every day.

With your humble blogger headed out of town to go to WonderFest in Louisville, we’ve got a truncated assortment of cool STUFF TO DO, mostly in Charleston, to tell you about, noted as briefly as possible.

FestivALL wraps up this weekend. We have graphics for a few events below.  You can find the whole schedule HERE.

Again, I’m just scratching the surface here. Please don’t think this is all we have to offer.

As always, you should remember that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.  Also, if you have a show that you’d like to plug in the future, even if your promotional graphic uses cruddy AI slop art, contact me via Social Media at Facebook, BlueSky , Spoutible, Instagram or Twitter.  I dont charge for this, so you might as well send me something if you have an event to promote.

We are very happy to remind you that Cristen Michael has created an interactive calendar that is way more comprehensive than this list of STUFF TO DO, and you can find it HERE. Just click on the day and the event and you’ll be whisked away to a page with more details about loads of area events.

Most weekends you can find live music at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 PM.  Many Sunday afternoons at 2 PM they also have live music. This weekend they have music from Terri Binion on Friday and Minor Swing on Saturday.

You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look.  Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Among the notable music venues in town are The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe, Live at The Shop in Dunbar, Louie’s, at Mardi Gras Casino & Resort, In Huntington, there’s local institution, The Loud (formerly The V Club),  The Wandering Wind Meadery is on Charleston’s West Side, Plus there’s music in Charleston at The Blue Parrot, Sam’s Uptown Cafe and Fife Street Brewing.

You might also find cool musical events at Folklore Music Exchange in Charleston.

To hear music in an alcohol-free enviroment, see what’s happening at Pumzi’s, on Charleston’s West Side. Friday at 7:30 PM it’s a night of Charleston legends as Spurgy Hankins and The Carpenter Ants take the stage.

For cutting-edge independent art films, downstairs from Taylor Books you’ll find the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema by WVIFF. Each week they program several amazing movies in their intimate viewing room that you aren’t likely to see anywhere else.

Please remember that viral illnesses are still a going concern and many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out. And if you’re at an outdoor event, please remember that it’s awfully inconsiderate to smoke or vape around people who become ill when exposed to that stuff. If somebody asks you to refrain, please respect their weishes and don’t be a jerk about it.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Here we go, roughly in order, it’s graphics for local events happening over the next several days that I was able to scrounge up online…

Continue reading

At 2 PM (EDT) Beatles Blast brings you an hour of the infamous Star Club recordings from December, 1962 (although when they first surfaced, the folks releasing them said they were from April of that year for legal reasons).

These are notoriously low-fidelity recordings, of historical interest only to the most devout fans of the Fab Four. Luckily, that’s our core audience. Tune in for curiosity’s sake only.

Beatles Blast can be heard every Wednesday at 2 PM, with replays Thursday at 11 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday afternoon. A two-hour mini-marathon of classic episodes runs every Monday evening, starting at 11 PM.

At 3 PM (EDT) on Curtain Call, Mel Larch  delivers her annual Tony Awards nomination special. Every May Mel Larch brings her listeners a special episode of Curtain Call devoted to the Tony Award Nominees for Best Musical. This year it’s a rather mediocre crop of nominees, and we had to put the show together despite there being a dearth of cast recordings.  Still, we manage to let you sample each of the four nominees for Best Musical and the three nominees for Best Revival of a musical.

It’s a little hard to take the Tony Awards seriously after they failed to nominate BOOP! The Musical last year.  This year the nominated musicals are not particularly impressive.  Two of them seem like overlong SNL sketches.

This year’s nominees for Best Musical are…Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Titanique, Schmigadoon and The Lost Boys: A New Musical.  

Following the songs from the nominees for Best Musical, we get a taste of the three nominees for Best Revival of a Musical.

The 2026 Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Pluto TV and Paramount + on Sunday, June, 7.

Curtain Call can be heard on The AIR Wednesday at 3 PM, with replays Thursday at 8 AM, Friday at 10 AM, Saturday at 8 PM and Monday at 9 AM. A two-hour mini-marathon of classic episodes can be heard Monday evening starting at 9 PM, and an all-night marathon of Curtain Call episodes can be heard Wednesday nights, beginning at Midnight.