Bachfest 2021

WKCR is thrilled to announce this year's Bach Festival, an 8-day long pre-emption where will feature only the music and genius of Johann Sebastian Bach. From Christmas Eve (12/24) through New Year's Eve (12/31), tune in to WKCR-FM NY 89.9 and wkcr.org for 192 hours of Bach as we celebrate another year's end with our annual Bachfest. This year, we celebrate the 44th anniversary of the Bachfest tradition. See our programming schedule below!

Date: 
Fri, 24 Dec 2021, 12:00am to Fri, 31 Dec 2021, 11:59pm

Columbia Student Workers On Strike Live Coverage December 8th 2021

Today the Student Workers of Columbia have called for a complete shutdown of campus, following an announcement by the university that striking workers may be fired and replaced in the coming semester. In lieu of our typical programming schedule, WKCR FM-NY will be broadcasting live strike coverage throughout the day (8am-6pm), interwoven with archival coverage of the 1968 campus strike. Tune in online at wkcr.org or on the dial at 89.9FM-NY.

Date: 
Wed, 8 Dec 2021, 8:00am to 6:00pm

Ragas Live Festival 2021

Starting at midnight on November 19th, and running for 24 hours, WKCR is proud to be presenting the 10th annual Ragas Live Festival. Born as a 24 hour live in-studio broadcast featuring 50 musicians in 2012, the festival expanded to a live concert experience in 2016, beaming to WKCR from Pioneer Works in front of an enthusiastic live audience.

Date: 
Fri, 19 Nov 2021, 12:00am to 11:59pm

John Coltrane Birthday Broadcast: Thursday, September 23rd

On Thursday, September 23rd, WKCR will conduct its annual all-day tribute to John Coltrane on the 95th anniversary of his birth. Born on September 23, 1926 in North Carolina, Coltrane is celebrated to this day for his innovative work on alto, tenor, and soprano saxophones, as well as his enormous contributions to the genres of bebop, hard bop, and free and avant-garde jazz. From the late 1940s to the mid-late 1950s, Coltrane collaborated with numerous jazz titans, performing as a sideman with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis, among others.

Date: 
Thu, 23 Sep 2021, 12:00am to 11:59pm

Lester Young and Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration: August 27-29

Beginning Friday, August 27, WKCR will have a three-day festival dedicated to the music of saxophonists Lester "Prez" Young and Charlie "Bird" Parker. The 27th marks Prez's birthday, and the 29th, Bird’s. We will play 24 hours of Young on the 27th, 24 hours of Parker on the 29th, and both Young and Parker interchangeably on the 28th. Join WKCR in celebrating two individuals who were true pioneers of their music.

Date: 
Fri, 27 Aug 2021, 12:00am to Sun, 29 Aug 2021, 11:59pm

2021 Louis Armstrong Birthday Broadcast!

In his autobiography, Swing That Music, Louis Armstrong titled the first chapter “Jazz and I Get Born Together.” Dating his birthday July 4, 1900, Armstrong created a mythology that linked his own birth to the birth of Jazz and the birth of America. While he may have been mistaken about the exact date (most historians believe it's August 4th), he was not wrong to connect his life with the beginnings of this American art form. It is now believed that his actual birthday was on August 4th, so we celebrate both dates with an all-day broadcast of the great's music.

Date: 
Wed, 4 Aug 2021, 12:00am to 11:59pm

Christa Ludwig Memorial Broadcast

On April 24, German mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig passed away in her home in Klosterneuberg, Austria at the age of 93. Over a prolific five-decade career, Ludwig established herself as one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century and was among the last of the great post-war singers of the classical song repertoire. Among her vast repertoire ranging from contralto depths to dramatic soprano heights, she was a definitive interpreter of the music of Gustav Mahler, Johannes Brahms, and Richard Wagner and was a frequent collaborator of almost every major conductor of her time.
Date: 
Tue, 4 May 2021, 12:00am

Duke Ellington Birthday Broadcast!

Join us from midnight onwards on Thursday, April 29, in celebrating the 122nd anniversary of the birth of Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, one of the most important composers and accomplished bandleaders in the history of jazz. In a career spanning more than fifty years, Ellington composed thousands of songs for the stage, screen and contemporary songbooks, crafting distinctive ensemble sounds that are complex yet accessible.

Date: 
Thu, 29 Apr 2021, 12:00am

Ella Fitzgerald Birthday Broadcast!

Join us all day Sunday 5/21 for a 24-hour special birthday celebration of the music of Ella Fitzgerald! Born April 25, 1917 and raised primarily in Yonkers, New York and Harlem, Ella Fitzgerald rose to prominence as a jazz vocalist in Chick Webb's big band in the late 30's and early 40's. After Webb passed away in 1939, Fitzgerald assumed leadership of the band and toured and recorded with the group until 1942. In the 1940's, Fitzgerald helped to bring the bebop style to vocal jazz namely through what is known as scat singing.

Date: 
Sun, 25 Apr 2021, 12:00am

Earth Day 2021!

This Friday, April 23, WKCR will have its first ever Earth Day Celebration! Tune in all day on Friday for music and talk shows about Earth, environment, and sustainability, with contributions from Columbia students and Columbia departments including Columbia Earth Institute, Columbia Engineering, and School of International and Public Affairs.

Date: 
Fri, 23 Apr 2021, 12:00am

Bix Beiderbecke Birthday Broadcast!

Cornetist, pianist, and composer Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke was one of the great musical innovators to emerge in the 1920s. One of jazz’s earliest soloists, he is of enduring importance to the dynamic history of jazz. This Wednesday, WKCR will dedicate 24 hours of programming to Bix in honor of his 118th birthday anniversary.

Date: 
Wed, 10 Mar 2021, 12:00am to 11:59pm

Ornette Coleman Birthday Broadcast

Join us Tuesday March 9 for a 24-hour Broadcast celebrating Ornette Coleman's birthday!

Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 - June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. Born and raised in Fort Worth, TX, he was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s, a term he invented with the name of a 1961 album.

Date: 
Tue, 9 Mar 2021, 12:00am to 11:59pm

Bachfest 2020 Schedule

As every December since time immemorial, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach will be played from Christmas Eve through New Year's Eve (8 days in total) on WKCR. BachFest is one of the longest-running KCR traditions which invites high listenership each year and though KCR programmers might not have access to the station this year, we wish to keep that tradition going.

Due to the current circumstances, BachFest 2020 will rely on archival programming and prerecorded programs produced from programmers' own materials.

Date: 
Thu, 24 Dec 2020, 12:00am to Thu, 31 Dec 2020, 11:59pm

Ragas Live Festival Schedule!

Ragas Live 2020 kicks off TONIGHT, and we have the schedule for the festival right here for you! Tune in!!!!!!

*NOTE: All programming has been shifted 12 minutes forward, as there was a technical issue; please adjust schedule accordingly

SATURDAY

7PM Raga Maqam: Amir ElSaffar with Brooklyn Raga Massive - Pioneer Works, Brooklyn NYC, USA

Date: 
Sat, 21 Nov 2020, 7:00pm to Sun, 22 Nov 2020, 7:00pm

Coleman Hawkins Birthday Broadcast

Tune into WKCR FM starting Friday, November 20 at 7AM EST for a very special 36-hour Coleman Hawkins Birthday Broadcast! The broadcast, shifted forward due to the Ragas Live Festival’s commencement at 7PM on Sunday the 21st, will feature an extra 12 hours of programming this year to make up for the scheduling conflict. From 7AM on the November 20th to 7PM on Hawkins’s birthday, November 21st, join WKCR at 89.9 FM NY or on the website for non-stop Hawk!

Date: 
Fri, 20 Nov 2020, 7:00am to Sat, 21 Nov 2020, 7:00pm

Ragas Live 2020!!!!

Ragas Live Festival 2020 reimagines the world music festival with an epic 24-hour, 24 set broadcast!

Born at WKCR 89.9 FM-NY in 2012, the festival will feature artists in 13 cities will contribute to a celebration of ‘Community, Unity, and Harmony,’ from Mysore to Madagascar.

Terry Riley, Zakir Hussain, Toumani Diabate, Betsayda Machado among the global music icons contributing to “24 hours of global resonance.”

Date: 
Sat, 21 Nov 2020, 7:00pm to Sun, 22 Nov 2020, 7:00pm

Rag Aur Tal/ Ragas Live Preview Sunday!

Rag Aur Tal is on from 7-9PM on Sunday, November 8th, 2020!

From November 21st @ 7PM - November 22nd @ 7PM, the Ragas Live Festival, the 24 hour musical event will broadcast on WKCR. The event has the participation of artists in 13 cities across Asia, Africa, North and South America. There are 90 musicians participating including some of the greatest instrumentalists of our time including Grammy Award winners Zakir Hussain, Toumani Diabate and Vikku Vanayakram.

Date: 
Sun, 8 Nov 2020, 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Melting the ICE on WKCR

Airing Tonight:
Melting the ICE / Derritiendo el Hielo, a​ bilingual radio show sharing information, love and support to people currently detained by ICE in New Jersey, NYC and beyond is airing t​onight​ and on the ​Third Thursday of Every Month at 9pm on WKCR 89.9 FM, ​reaching the Hudson, Essex, Elizabeth and Bergen County Jails and ICE detention centers in New Jersey.

Date: 
Thu, 15 Oct 2020, 9:00pm to 10:00pm

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