WPKN Swag Shows Your Support!

WPKN 89.5 FM is a listener-supported community radio station that depends on the kind donations of our listeners, like you. When you make a purchase from the radio station, you are making a donation that comes with an amazing gift as a token of our appreciation. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that has been sustained by the kind donations of our listeners, the talent of our hosts, and the commitment of our volunteers. Be a part of something amazing by supporting WPKN today!

Questions on a Sustaining Membership Subscription? Email [email protected] with questions about or changes to your sustaining membership.

Questions on a previous order? Email [email protected] with questions regarding any swag you ordered.

  • In this new book, Douglas W. Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation. Nature’s Best Hope shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats. Because this approach relies on the initiatives of private individuals, it is immune from the whims of government policy. Even more important, it’s practical, effective, and easy — you will walk away with specific suggestions you can incorporate into your own yard. If you’re concerned about doing something good for the environment, Nature’s Best Hope is the blueprint you need. By acting now, you can help preserve our precious wildlife — and the planet — for future generations.
  • He has brought a modern political and aesthetic sense to the music of his home- Cyprus. Kkismettin (fate- destiny- kismet) was made during the pandemic lockdown we have all lived with- and Antonis took this as an opportunity to create new songs that could speak in various ways about that loss of freedom- and its parallels in the rest of our lives.
  • Aire posts Magos Herrera at the summit of her creativity and her agency. For the first time she holds the reins of vocalist, lyricist, composer, co-arranger, and executive producer, even artistic director, crafting, with an impressive supporting cast, a work all her own. Among the A-list players to join her are: Jacques Morelenbaum; Gonzalo Grau; Diego Schissi; Dori Caymmi; and her frequent collaborators, the Knights... Aire is a wide-ranging album musically, serving especially well Herrera’s luxuriant voice. And it is a thoughtful and thought-provoking work, a ballet of sound that closes the gap between elegance and feeling. - Carolina Amoruso in RootsWorld Magazine
  • "With advanced degrees in musical performance and voice, and captured by the culture, spirituality and music of Candomblé, Bahia-born Irma Ferreira began a profound investigation of her Afro-Brazilian roots...  (her) first solo album release, Ém Cantos de Orisá, bears the fruit of her investigation, borrowing both chants and melodies from Candomblé’s trove of devotional works. The chants have a more liturgical sound, while the songs suggest more secular themes. Pronounced percussion, typically expressive of the the more bellicose orisás, such as Sango, the spirit of thunder and lightning, and Ogúm, the warrior lord of iron and steel, yields to a more melody driven sound in Ferreira’s interpretations. The instrumentation, a blend of Western and Afro Brazilian, provides a felicitous, understated backdrop for her vocals." - RootsWorld
  • The music on this collection- recorded during the 1970s and early 1980s, arguably Nigeria’s most musically fertile and innovative period- is highlife getting a much needed makeover. Like the bigger names from eastern Igboland such as Celestine Ukwu, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, or Ali Chukwuma, Alhaji Waziri Oshomah and his bands de-emphasized the jazzy swing and large horn sections of highlife’s outdated past, and instead, brought local rhythms to the foreground, allowing electric guitars and keyboards to drive languorous, unhurried melodies for extended grooves. Luaka Bop’s latest in its 'World Spirituality Classics' series demonstrates Waziri’s leisurely approach with a collection of 7 songs anywhere from 8 to 17 minutes long.
  • Polobi and the Gwo Ka Masters’ Abri Cyclonique is largely the production work of Irish-Parisian producer Doctor L – aka Liam Farrell. This record doesn’t sound anything like traditional Gwoka drumming and singing, which is what 69 year old Creole singer and drummer Moise Polobi, from Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe, became obsessed with as a boy. Eventually, he became a master of toumblak, a prominent Gwoka rhythm; he also joined drum, vocal, and dance troupe Indestwas Ka, who have recorded multiple albums and toured France and Canada. Musically,  Gwoka demonstrates one more infectious, celebratory example of African musical tradition in the Caribbean.
  • In his lovely, soulful second album as the collaborative Too Sad for the Public, composer Dick Connette reverently and sometimes irreverently takes the roughhewn spirit of American folk music and refines it like a hunk of whale bone etched into an elaborate, beautiful scrimshaw.  Over the years, Connette has irregularly skimmed across the music-industry firmament like a comet, as a producer of others and then with his ensemble Last Forever, where he carefully designed his exquisitely wrought chamber-folk songs and assembled talented musicians to perform them.... On his latest, Too Sad for the Public: Vol. 2: Yet and Still, Connette mostly turns to Canadian-born and Brooklyn-based Ana Egge as the vocal focus of the songs with lyrics. Her bluesy drawl – reminiscent of the laidback, late-night, jazz-hipster singing of Rickie Lee Jones - gives the songs a sardonic, wry sensibility. On “G. Burns in the Bottom,” which takes off from an old string-band song, Egge sings with the darkest of humor: “It’s the awful truth in a world of hurt; Nobody’s smarter than the dirt.”     Though known as a musical composer, Connette also shines as a lyricist. His sung stories have the resonance of folk wisdom, but he seasons his wisdom with wry touches of absurdist wit. “I can tell time but I can’t tell it much,” says one narrator. Connette is able to evoke the struggles of his hapless townspeople while still leavening it with a deadpan sense of humor. - Marty Lipp in RootsWorld Magazine    
  • Back in 2019, we were introduced to Bâton Bleu's Weird and Wonderful Tales and their "hybrid of styles from France, Louisiana, Mongolia, and elsewhere” as David Cox wrote in his review. The France based duo of Maria Laurent and Gautier Degandt, and their quirky songs in French and English, were enchanting and sometimes disorienting. As we approach the end of 2023, Gautier Degandt returns with a new ensemble, with all the quirkiness, and a harder edge. En Gramma ("the trace that memory left”) is a trio of Degandt on lead voice, and kalimba here and there, with Oscar Philéas on guitars and chorus, and Pierre-Yves Dubois on percussion, chorus and occasional violin. Beau Brûlis (Burnt Beauty) is an adventure, a complex mixture of subtly, rawness and humor. It leans heavily on blues guitar structures, but I'll not call it blues, or rock. They call it 'trance rock,' but I am not sure if I am so much mesmerized as simply fascinated. - Cliff Furnald in RootsWorld    
  • After more than two decades together, the three members of Genticorum form one of the tightest units on the planet. In music from their native Québec (both traditional and original) they have found a rich seam that clearly has plenty of treasures to mine.... It crackles with gleeful energy. The interplay between the instruments and harmonies is sharp and adept, yet still a completely natural, high-octane conversation that constantly shifts from one player to another. Read a review and listen to the music.      
  • Omar Sosa and Paolo Fresu have a three album trilogy, Eros and Alma, and now their latest, Food, takes on another layer of their cross cultural musical exploration. What elevates Omar Sosa's playing is that his improvisational muse is grounded by the clave and montuno of Afro-Cuban music. Sosa may go farther afield but he always comes back to the invisible scaffolding of Cuban music. These parameters are joyous constraints that make him so interesting to listen to. Paolo Fresu is an Italian trumpeter from Sardinia Italy, who is often compared to the moody atmospheres Miles Davis and Chet Baker conjured. On Food, Sosa and Fresu have created a beautiful album that channels the joy of food, the communal table life, and also the implications of climate change, in an emotional and intimate album. Read Lisa Sahulka's review and listen.
         
  • Salvant’s ability to sing in multiple languages is, in part, due to her being the child of a French mother and Haitian father. She began classical piano studies at 5, sang in a children’s choir at 8, and started classical voice lessons as a teenager. She emerged with a vocal range and talent that one might expect from a performer with significantly more life experience. Yet this old soul, who generally surrounds herself with performers in their 30s, brings a layered depth to her music that comes from historical research and an ability to unearth forgotten songs and make them her own. The story of Mélusine has a common theme of imagining women as witches, mermaids and other transformative creatures from Greek mythology. It conjures a European folklore legend sung in French, Occitan and Haitian Creole, with her own compositions, and selections dating from the 12th Century. She uses these songs and stories in part to convey a character she often plays in her work - an intelligent coquette who is more interested in playing with men’s affection than seeking it out. - Lisa Sahulka
         
  • Check out our WPKN 60th Anniversary commemorative mug! Cheers to 60 years of commercial free, listener supported, freeform radio...still going strong, thanks to YOU! Help us keep it going for another 60 years.  
  • Carl Safina has graciously donated six signed copies of his book Alfie and Me. A wonderfully moving account of raising, then freeing, an orphaned screech owl, whose lasting friendship with the author illuminates humanity’s relationship with the world.
  • WPKN celebrates 60 years of listener supported non-profit radio!  Help us remain listener supported and commercial free for another 60 years by grabbing one of our super soft & comfy 60th Anniversary commemorative T-shirts.
  • WPKN celebrates 60 years of listener supported non-profit radio!  Help us remain listener supported and commercial free for another 60 years by grabbing one of our super soft & comfy 60th Anniversary commemorative T-shirts. Limited sizes available: Small, 2X-Large, 3X-Large. Also available in grey in more sizes.
  • A practical and comprehensive guide to surviving the greatest disaster of our time, from New York Times bestselling self-help author and beloved CBS Sunday Morning science and technology correspondent David Pogue. You might not realize it, but we’re already living through the beginnings of climate chaos. In Arizona, laborers now start their day at 3 a.m. because it’s too hot to work past noon. Chinese investors are snapping up real estate in Canada. Millennials have evacuation plans. Moguls are building bunkers. Retirees in Miami are moving inland. In How to Prepare for Climate Change, bestselling self-help author David Pogue offers sensible, deeply researched advice for how the rest of us should start to ready ourselves for the years ahead. Pogue walks readers through what to grow, what to eat, how to build, how to insure, where to invest, how to prepare your children and pets, and even where to consider relocating when the time comes. (Two areas of the country, in particular, have the requisite cool temperatures, good hospitals, reliable access to water, and resilient infrastructure to serve as climate havens in the years ahead.) He also provides wise tips for managing your anxiety, as well as action plans for riding out every climate catastrophe, from superstorms and wildfires to ticks and epidemics. Timely and enlightening, How to Prepare for Climate Change is an indispensable guide for anyone who read The Uninhabitable Earth or The Sixth Extinction and wants to know how to make smart choices for the upheaval ahead.
  • Kobo Town: Carnival of the Ghosts Pledge $50

    Kobo Town continues to redefine calypso music and pushes the boundaries of the Caribbean sound with its fourth album. Behind the running social commentary and satirical mood, this is a collection of songs about the human condition – about our quirks and foibles, our anxieties and hopes, and the haunting sense of impermanence that imbues our every moment with its urgency and priceless worth. Named after the storied district in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, where calypso was born, Kobo Town has been described as “an intoxicating blend of lilting calypsonian wit, dancehall reggae and trombone-heavy brass” (The Guardian) and a “unique, transnational composite of rhythm, poetry and activist journalism” (Exclaim!). “Kobo Town conjures an orphic force and reminds the listener of the vanity of all worldly things.” (RootsWorld) Since their founding in 2005, the group has brought their distinct calypso and ska-inspired sound to audiences across the world.
  • Sarah Aroeste - Monastir The album "reveals a panoply of styles, sounds, languages and vocalists, all impeccably arranged and produced." - Andrew Cronshaw in his review in RootsWorld Ladino singer/songwriter, author and activist Sarah Aroeste reconnects with the legacy of her Sephardic homeland of Monastir, a Balkan city at the commercial crossroads between Turkey and Western Europe in what is now North Macedonia. For centuries, this Jewish community flourished alongside its neighbors, enjoying a unique history with its own customs, religious observances, linguistic patterns, and songs, until it was destroyed by the Nazis in 1943. The predominantly Macedonian Orthodox and Muslim population of Monastir/Bitola welcomed Aroeste to help her record 10 songs that give an inside look into the life of Jewish Monastir before WWII wiped it out. From kantikas to romances, and from centuries-old melodies to originals, each song in this album has a story, told by over thirty singers and musicians from Israel, Macedonia, Spain, Germany and the USA.
  • Trust me? Really trust me? I'll pick out a bigger selection of CDs from who knows where, of who knows what - the kind of music you hear on my show all the time. It's a grab bag - no special requests, just the chance to hear things you might never have heard before.    
  • Check out our new bag style with our retro WPKN logo. Durable, multifunctional bag can be used to carry records, your laptop, pack it for an overnight trip- possibilities are endless! Has a zipper and a convenient pocket to hold your water bottle.
  • Short Sleeve WPKN Record Logo (designed by Martha Willette Lewis) in Black - 100% Ring-spun, Cotton T-Shirt.
  • A radically new understanding of and practical approach to climate change by noted environmentalist Paul Hawken, creator of the New York Times bestseller Drawdown Regeneration offers a visionary new approach to climate change, one that weaves justice, climate, biodiversity, equity, and human dignity into a seamless tapestry of action, policy, and transformation that can end the climate crisis in one generation. It is the first book to describe and define the burgeoning regeneration movement spreading rapidly throughout the world. Regeneration describes how an inclusive movement can engage the majority of humanity to save the world from the threat of global warming, with climate solutions that directly serve our children, the poor, and the excluded. This means we must address current human needs, not future existential threats, real as they are, with initiatives that include but go well beyond solar, electric vehicles, and tree planting to include such solutions as the fifteen-minute city, bioregions, azolla fern, food localization, fire ecology, decommodification, forests as farms, and the number one solution for the world: electrifying everything. Paul Hawken and the nonprofit Regeneration Organization are launching a series of initiatives to accompany the book, including a streaming video series, curriculum, podcasts, teaching videos, and climate action software. Regeneration is the inspiring and necessary guide to inform the rapidly spreading climate movement.
  • Take an extra burst of power with you wherever you go with the WPKN Charmast Portable Power Pack. Fits right in your pocket, this nifty little device will charge up any of your portable electronics devices. Its compatible with all brands through USB connection.  
  • WPKN Record Logo Cork Turntable Mat
  • The Greatest Radio Station in the World, a film by Cob Carlson

    You are invited to a private pre-screening of the WPKN Documentary film in the privacy of your own home! "The Director's Cut" with a run time of 2:20 minutes. $50 Pledge = Movie $50 Pledge = 11 x 17 Poster $100 Pledge = Movie + Poster WPKN will send your unique access code by email within 48 hours for "The Greatest Radio Station in the World" on Vimeo. The access code is good for 6 months, but once you activate it, you have a window of 72 hours to watch the film.
  • Limited Autographed Edition signed by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. Real Gone Music is proud to offer Tom Tom Club in a tropical yellow and red vinyl edition that pays tribute to its Barbados roots (and goes beautifully with the album's colorful cover). Fun, natural fun!
  • Trust me? I'll pick out a nice selection of CDs from who knows where, of who knows what - the kind of music you hear on my show all the time. It's a grab bag - no special requests, just the chance to hear things you might never have heard before.    
  • BRAND NEW WPKN bumper stickers are here! Show your support for WPKN and get one of each for only $10! Dimensions: 9" x 3"
  • From Kenya's Ubuntu Life. Massai Maker-Mums create these beaded bracelets with proceeds going to help their center for children with disabilities.
  • 'Skully' Knit Winter Hat /w WPKN Oval Logo
  • Donate $100 and get a $50 Gift Certificate to Good News Restaurant and Bar

    Award-winning Farm-to-Table Restaurant 694 Main St S, Woodbury, CT 06798

    Carole Peck began her love affair with food 30 years ago, graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1973. Pioneering a then male-dominated profession, she grew to her now distinguished reputation. After graduation, Peck worked as the executive chef at many restaurants, resorts, and clubs from Cape Cod to Hilton Head to Austin to Miami and New York City. Along the way she continually gained recognition and professional acclaim. She settled in Litchfield County in 1983.
    • The Good News Restaurant and Bar is a generous in-kind supporter of WPKN! They donate hundreds of dollars in gift certificates to support us without asking for anything in return.
    • Farm-to-table restaurant that loves dishes that are simple and complex at the same time-simple in their purity and appeal, but rendered complex by the prismatic flavor profiles they offer, and the nuances of sensory delight.
    • Good News Restaurant and Bar is rated one of the ‘Top Restaurants in the U.S.’ It has won numerous awards and critical acclaim over the last 20 years.
    • New York Times bestseller books states “it’s a one of the top 1000 places to visit in the US and Canada before you die. Combine this with an atmosphere of comfort and sophistication – original artwork by the best up-and-coming artists in the region scattered around for your viewing pleasure, creating a truly perfect setting.”
    • Reservations are required on Fridays & Saturdays
    • They also support Ukraine! To date, they’ve raised $56,000, they match dollar for dollar. Visit their website to make a donation.
  • Get a few for a: friend, husband, wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, dog, Llama, investment adviser, snow-plower, mulcher, ombudsmen, board member, doubles partner, midshipman, plumber, sheet-rocker, world rocker or Rock ‘n Roller, father/mother, sister/brother, dog walker, or yoga sensei; don't forget your favorite PIRATE! - One size fits all.
  • Black & White Baseball Cap w/WPKN Record Logo
  • Limited edition autographed book by musician and author Chris Frantz of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club. Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, both members of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club new wave rock bands celebrate their 43rd wedding anniversary this year. Frantz, 69, of Fairfield has written a memoir about his life, “Remain in Love,” released on July 23 by St. Martin’s Press. The book’s title refers to his commitment to Weymouth as well as to his bands and music. WPKN is honored to be able to offer autographed copies of the book as a way to gather member donations.
  • Black & White Baseball Cap w/WPKN Oval Logo

Title

Go to Top