Category Archives: Check it out

Jess Phaneuf
Music Director, mvyradio
PO Box 1148
121 Carrolls Way
Vineyard Haven, MA 02568

ON AIR:
Monday through Friday, 2-6PM
88.7FM Cape & Islands | 96.5FM Newport | mvyradio.com

Host of UNCHARTED WATERS (new music show)
Fridays, 9PM (replayed Sundays, 9PM)

EMAIL: jess@mvyradio.com
CALL: (508) 693-5000 (Thursdays, 12-2pm)

I’m very happy to be the host of Uncharted Waters, our new music show on mvyradio! I’ve been digging through LOTS of awesome new music and putting together the hour-long program for the past 6 weeks! Time flies when you’re having fun! Below I’ll include some of my favorite new songs/artists plus a few of the full show playlists, and you can check out ALL of the playlists HERE.

Uncharted Waters airs on Fridays at 9pm, and again on Sundays at 9pm!
88.7FM on the Cape & Islands | 96.5FM in Newport | mvyradio.com

Middle Kids – “Mistake”

Laura Veirs feat. Sufjan Stevens – “Watch Fire”

The Suffers – “Do Whatever”

The Decemberists – “Once In My Life”

Friday/Sunday April 6/8 2018
“Plastic Hamburgers” Fantastic Negrito
“How Simple” Hopalong
“Show Me Something Higher” Leftover Salmon
“No Other Woman” The Greyhounds
“The Canyon” Laura Veirs
“Watch Fire” Laura Veirs
“Seven Falls” Laura Veirs
“Margaret Sands” Laura Veirs
“Born in the Right Country” River Whyless
“Without Applause” Horse Feathers
“Scott Street” Phoebe Bridgers
“Nothing Left to Lose” The Belle Of the Fall
“Heart Killer” Dr. Dog
“Can I Sit Next To You” Spoon
“Rocket Man” Little Big Town

Friday/Sunday March 30/April 1 2018
“Fist Fight” Ballroom Thieves
“A Little Honey” Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
“It’ll Be Gone” The Mother Hips
“King For A Day” Anderson East
“Star Watcher” The Decemberists
“Tripping Along” The Decemberists
“Once In My Life” The Decemberists
“Cutting Stone” The Decemberists
“It Keeps Us Dancing” The Family Crest
“Shades Of Blue” Yo La Tengo
“The Times They are a Changin” Bettye Lavette
“They Don’t Make Em Like That” Marcia Ball
“Do Whatever” The Suffers
“Low” Erin Costelo
“Sharon” Matt Costa

Friday/Sunday March 23/25 2018
“New Love” The National Reserve
“Pulled Up the Ribbon” Okkervil River
“Me and You” Willie Nelson
“Call It Home” The California Honeydrops
“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” Wynton Marsalis Septet w/ Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks
“I’m Your Man” Josh Rouse
“Hugs and Kisses” Josh Rouse
“Ordinary People Ordinary Lives” Josh Rouse
“Women and the Wind” Josh Rouse
“Such a Simple Thing” Ray LaMontagne
“Best Day” Lissie
“Need Your Love” Curtis Harding
“Blind Spot” Field Report
“I’m Gonna Find Another You” Wynton Marsalis Septet w/ John Mayer

Uncharted Waters airs on Fridays at 9pm, and again on Sundays at 9pm!
88.7FM on the Cape & Islands | 96.5FM in Newport | mvyradio.com

I’ve been at a bit of a standstill with this blog… or website… or whatever you want to call it. But I think I’m ready to just let go of any reservations and share my thoughts or post updates whenever I feel inspired to.

I’ve recently returned to Martha’s Vineyard to take on a new role at mvyradio. I’m the Music Director and the afternoon DJ, and it’s been an interesting three weeks back!

Workwise, I feel even more thrilled about the position as I was before I started…beyond helping with the music we play I’m also responsible for coordinating the station events across the year, so I’m excited to be in the planning stages of our 35th anniversary season! Stay tuned!

Moving back to Martha’s Vineyard, and particularly in February, does come with it’s difficulties but I’ve been very surprised at how pleased I am to be back. The PEOPLE here are especially wonderful and so with every friend I run into, comes that sense of community that I really missed! Plus the stars are SO BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL!

A few folks have written to ask why I decided to leave WUMB and it’s simply because it was still a part-time job, and I was seeking a full-time radio position! While I loved all that I was doing in Boston, it was a lot of hustle (3 jobs at one point) while just barely paying my bills…so I’m beyond happy to be able to focus on one full-time position in my field!

Follow me in these places, for more on life (and of course, music)…

Listen to me on-air weekdays, 2-6pm at mvyradio.com

I may be a little biased, since I think Robert Plant can do no wrong…but this new album is really dynamite, exploring some different terrain from track to track, and never taking a wrong turn!

If you like Ingrid Michaelson, Feist, or Tift Merritt, there’s a good chance you’re gonna love this Elizabeth & the Catapult album Keepsake. It’s definitely one of my favorite releases of 2017.

2 years ago today I drove myself and my belongings onto a ferry headed for “America”. I had been living and working on the island of Martha’s Vineyard for 7 years, year-round and I was (finally) moving away. The job and the island were always supposed to be temporary – a few years of radio experience and I would move on. I never anticipated that I would stay for so long, that I would learn and grow so much, or that I would meet so many incredible people.

a blurry photo I snapped through my windshield as I drove onto the boat

So much has happened in the past 2 years. I’m proud of myself for helping my family in a time of need, for helping my hometown with a new spot for live music, for getting myself back on stage (and landing a dream role!), and for landing a dream job.

I tend to push myself quite a bit, but I also know it’s important to step back at times and give myself some credit. I want to remind you to do the same.

“You know sometimes, I don’t know why, but this old town just seems so hopeless…”

Words escape me when it comes to the loss of Tom Petty. Today during my midday shift on WUMB, I incorporated plenty of his music, but really couldn’t speak much about him. I didn’t feel like a radio host, capable of spouting knowledge about an artist…I felt like a lover of music, without the means to express just how much this particular artist’s melodies, words and persona impacted me.

We’ve lost many incredible musicians this year, but this one particularly hurts for me. Tom Petty had a way of conveying universally felt emotions with such simplicity. That’s the idea with music right? To connect, to commiserate, to mourn or to rejoice together. Petty expressed himself through his music in such a REAL way. I think it made for a very down-to-earth vibe coming from an absolute rock star – something that was very unique.

There will truly never be another Tom Petty.

Maybe I’ll find more words in time, since this news is just setting in. For now I listen to “Here Comes My Girl” on repeat… a song I hope to walk down the aisle to some day! It’s a perfect example of his realness, his casual cool. He’s barely singing! He speaks and shouts and expresses what every person in a relationship hopes their partner feels –

“yea every time it seems like there ain’t nothin left no more I find myself havin’ to reach out and grab hold of somethin’…yea I just catch myself wonderin’ and waitin’, worryin’ about some silly little things that don’t add up to nothin’…and then she looks me in the eye and says ‘we’re gonna last forever’ and man you know I can’t begin to doubt it…no cause it just feels so good, and so free, and so right, I know we ain’t never gonna change our minds about it, hey!”