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Bramble and Blooms, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Universe

We’re bringing color to the drab days of New England winter with tulips, music, and aliens.

The history of aliens and our curiosity about their existence is a colorful one, and we speak with Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, about the ties between conjectures of late Erich von Däniken and the TV show, “Pluribus.”

The Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is preparing to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. and inspire folx to dance in their aisles. The program “Let’s Groove Tonight” brings the sounds of Detroit and Philadelphia soul to their stage, so conductor William Waldrop, soloist Cherise Coaches, and SSO President Heather Caissey Roberts show us how the orchestra gets down.

And in Granby, a young couple is bringing beauty to the season through a plethora of tulips. Bramble and Blooms is a brand new micro farm and flower CSA that is bringing more color to this bleached season. We speak with Lyle and Ryan Williams about this budding business.

Christopher “Monte'' Belmonte is host and executive producer of NEPM's The Fabulous 413. He was born and raised in Massachusetts and has been a radio host in western Massachusetts for the last 20 years — the last 17 of them as host of Mornings with Monte on The River 93.9/WRSI.
Kaliis Smith is a radio host and producer for NEPM's The Fabulous 413.