September 19, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jim Motavalli, publicity director, at [email protected]
WPKN to Host an Intimate 60th Birthday Benefit Afternoon with Loudon Wainwright III on Long Island October 15
Join us in Long Island for an unforgettable afternoon of music and celebration as we honor WPKN’s 60th Anniversary with the legendary Loudon Wainwright III. WPKN is Bridgeport’s free-form, listener-supported radio station, at 89.5 FM and wpkn.org.
The concert will take place on Sunday, October 15, from 1 to 4 p.m., at a private home in Cutchogue. The music starts at 2 p.m. The setting is the beautiful grounds of a private property, in a vintage barn. The exact location of the event will be disclosed by email after tickets are purchased.
Wainwright, a long-time WPKN listener and fan, is probably best known for his novelty hit “Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road),” which reached #16 on the Billboard charts in 1973. Other much-covered songs include “The Swimming Song” and “The Man Who Couldn’t Cry,” which Johnny Cash movingly sang on his American Recordings album in 1994.
The son of Loudon Wainwright, Jr., a well-known photographer for Life magazine, and Martha Taylor, a yoga teacher, Wainwright made his first, self-titled album in 1970 and immediately jumped to the first rank of confessional singer-songwriters.
Wainwright has since made 24 more albums for 11 different labels, most recently the acclaimed 2022 Lifetime Achievement, produced by frequent collaborator and musicologist Dick Connette with Stewart Lerman. It is his first record of original material since Haven’t Got the Blues (Yet) in 2014.
Wainwright, famed for his witty (and literary) between-song patter, is also an actor, appearing on TV shows like M*A*S*H and Parks and Recreation, and movies such as 28 Days, Big Fish and The 40-Year Virgin. Wainwright also excels as a musical revivalist, as indicated by High Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project from 2009. He’s also the patriarch of a musical dynasty that includes children Rufus and Martha Wainwright plus Lucy Wainwright-Roche, as well as ex-wives/partners Suzzy Roche (of The Roches) and Kate McGarrigle (of Kate and Anna McGarrigle).
Patrons of the Long Island concert should bring their own chairs or blankets for seating. Light snacks will be provided along with Prosecco and other wines, beer and cider. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite.
About WPKN
WPKN, rated “the greatest radio station in the world” by The New Yorker, recently completed its long-awaited move to 277 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport—walking distance to Read’s Artspace and other arts venues. Founded in 1963 as a 100-watt campus outlet, WPKN is today a 10,000-watt listener-supported community radio station broadcasting at 89.5 FM and streaming online at WPKN.org. WPKN’s terrestrial signal now reaches to a listenership of 1.5 million people in Connecticut, Long Island, parts of New York and Massachusetts. Operating 24/7 and largely run by volunteers, WPKN offers a unique and eclectic mix of live and recorded music, news, public affairs, spoken word, arts and culture and other free-form programming which defy genre. WPKN is proud to be listener-supported, commercial-free, community-driven radio available to the public at no cost, any time, day or night.
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez/Shore Fire Media.
About WPKN 89.5 Community Radio
WPKN, rated “the greatest radio station in the world” by The New Yorker, recently completed its long-awaited move to 277 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport—walking distance to Read’s Artspace and other arts venues. Founded in 1963 as a 100-watt campus outlet, WPKN is today a 10,000-watt listener-supported community radio station broadcasting at 89.5 FM and streaming online at WPKN.org. WPKN’s terrestrial signal now reaches to a listenership of 1.5 million people in Connecticut, Long Island, parts of New York and Massachusetts. Operating 24/7 and largely run by volunteers, WPKN offers a unique and eclectic mix of live and recorded music, news, public affairs, spoken word, arts and culture and other free-form programming which defy genre. WPKN is proud to be listener-supported, commercial-free, community-driven radio available to the public at no cost, any time, day or night.