All this month we've been enjoying the celebration of music discovery and public radio over at PublicRadioMusicMonth.org with artists, record labels, public radio stations and fans.

On the site you can see how individual stations are celebrating this month. For example, WFUV's produced a three-part series chronicling the process the band Everest took developing an exclusive song for the station. KUT in Austin gathered artist video testimonials including one from Matt Drenik of the Portland-based group Battleme. Philadelphia's WXPN created a site dedicated to music, called The Key and a special PRMM Key Studio Video Session.

WUMB, a music station in Boston, pulled from their archives the first radio interview with Tracy Chapman. Here's their story.

It took WUMB 14 years to gain FCC approval to broadcast its 600 watt signal through Boston. But when the station finally went on the air in 1982, the staff knew it didn't want to sound like every other station out there.

"We were committed to doing something unique," says General Manager Pat Monteith. "So we looked around to find out what was missing and one thing struck us: there were no folk, singer-songwriter stations."

With a commitment to the local community, NPR Member Station WUMB has been seeking out the local musicians and music for 30 years and now has about 250-300 artists in studio every year for interviews and live performances.

"At this point they are knocking on our door. We probably have more live music in studio and on the air than anyone else in New England," Monteith says.

With just a handful of staff, WUMB sifts through many songs and albums to find the best of the rising starts as well as the well-known artists asking to come back to the station.

In 1985, Richard Reinert was hosting WUMB's Circles in the Stream, a program where he interviewed musicians and then invited them to play from their repertoire. Sometimes he found those artists at music festivals and sometimes just on the street corners.

One singer-songwriter Reinert discovered at a folk festival and interviewed that year was Tracy Chapman, now a Grammy Award-winning artist known for singles such as "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason."

Barely into her 20s, and about three years before her first album would be released, Chapman caught Reinert's ear, and he invited her to come on his show, which turned out to be Chapman's first ever radio interview.

"I didn't remember any of the details of the interview," Reinert said after listening to his interview with Chapman recently. "Except for her music."

It's not surprising that Reinert's strongest memory of his interview with Chapman is her music. Even after nearly three decades, her voice remains powerful. It's emotional. Listening to her then gives you the sense that she's really been that great all along and was only waiting for the world to wake up and realize her talent.

Occasionally over the years, Monteith thought about the Chapman interview but never got around to listening to it again even when the station digitized the audio several years ago.

Then when she was thinking about how WUMB could participate in Public Radio Music Month, Monteith knew the Chapman interview needed to be resurfaced for a new generation of public radio and music lovers to experience.

So, Monteith got up from her desk, and in five minutes was able to pull the audio of the Chapman interview from the station's archives.

It might sound like a simple task, but finding such a gem among 3,000 pieces of audio in the station's archives in such a short amount of time would have been impossible for Monteith just a few years ago.

WUMB received a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of the American Archive Inventory Project. The funds allowed the station to hire someone to inventory all their reels of audio and properly archive and preserve them in cold storage.

"If it wasn't for this project and this grant, I certainly wouldn't have been able to find this audio so quickly," Monteith says. "I really have to credit CPB for helping us take care of our archives."

Even before Monteith played the Chapman interview again, she says she could sense she was holding a bit of history in her hands.

"To hear musicians in their own words, it's an emotional connection you can hear in their voice," she says of the anticipation. "It's so powerful and meaningful."

It's the live interview and live music that Monteith loves so much.

"You can never capture again the uniqueness of a live interview or live music. Unless you record it," Monteith says. "Radio gives us a chance to hear a one of a kind experience."

Today, April 30, WUMB posted Reinert's interview with Chapman on their website so many more people can listen to the beginnings of this very talented artist.

In the process of asking Chapman for approval to re-broadcast her interview, Chapman called Monteith personally.

"I told her how great I thought the interview was and how she seemed so self-aware and a very young age," she said. "She seemed genuinely appreciated and humbled by the kind words."

"It was a conversation I'll never forget," Monteith said.

Much like Chapman's first radio interview in 1985.

Ashley Ahearn fell in love with the Elwha River just about the moment that she quite literally fell in it.

Last summer, the reporter for Seattle NPR Member Station KUOW headed out with a group of scientists to explore the river in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.

Just after putting on hip waders and stepping into the three-foot deep river, Ahearn writes in her reporter's notebook account, she lost her footing on a slippery rock and quickly found herself soaked through right up to her microphone. She writes:

The Elwha just slapped me. She brought me to my knees, literally.

This river has been tamed for about a hundred years. Dams have girdled her and weakened her. They have stripped her of her rich sediment and constipated her natural flow patterns. They have eliminated the mighty salmon runs from all but a five-mile stretch near her mouth, denying her the nutrients and other ecosystem benefits those fish deliver.

And she'll be damned if just any cocky journalist is going to just show up and presume to understand the HALF of what she's been through; not without paying a price.

The Elwha is not a cheap date.

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During KCPW's Pledge Drive last fall, when we were all holding our breath hoping to make hourly fundraising goals, we received an interesting phone call. It wasn't someone hoping to make a quick donation.

It was Peter Sagal.

He was calling to ask if KCPW wanted to host a Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! road show. An audible, excited relief flooded the station. The answer was an instant, YES!

Back in 2000, KCPW was the first NPR Member Station to host a Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! road show. It was a smash hit!

As soon as the news got out about the February 16 show, the phone began ringing off the hook with people asking for tickets. The show was completely sold out by the time the panelists arrived to our sweet, salty city.

KCPW hosted a reception before the show that was busting at the seams with supporters. Local artist Travis Bone was commissioned to generate an original WWDTM - SLC image that was used to make t-shirts, posters, and bookmarks that were a big hit at the concession stand.

"Wait Wait was great. Memorable," said KCPW supporter Tim Chambless. "More significantly, it was great to see the Salt Lake's symphony hall full to capacity of NPR listeners. I was very pleased to hear the closing words of encouraging support for KCPW."

We couldn't agree more. Thanks Tim. And thank you, Peter Sagal for that call.

Erin Haley is the Development Director and Major Gifts Coordinator at KCPW 88.3 & 105.3 FM in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Just before Thanksgiving, Julie Philipp, the news director at NPR Member Station WXXI in Rochester, New York, received a letter from one of the station's youngest listeners that gave her an idea for a special series.

The letter — hand-written on lined paper — came from the almost-ten-year-old Liza, whose mom listens to WXXI as she drives Liza to school. Liza's request: for the station to air some happy stories.

"...Every morning on the radio they're talking about sad things, crimes, murders, car crashes, terrible storms," Liza wrote. "Sometimes it depresses people who listen to it. So it would make me happy to hear good news, and would lighten other people up, too."

Leading the news team at this station covering the Finger Lakes region of New York, Philipp was very aware of these often-hard-to-hear stories Liza was referring to.

"We really just needed a break," Philipp says.

Philipp and her team of six journalists decided to act on Liza's request and put together a week-long series called "Liza Letter, Series of Good News Stories," highlighting the good news happening in their community.

"Each reporter was asked to come up with a story that wasn't too sappy or trite but was a different look on the positive," she says.

The segments in the Good News series included a profile of a barber who takes customers' blood pressure, a local company offering music classes to employees and an arts and literacy program for young people in jail.

To kick off the series, Philipp interviewed Liza, who read her letter and even offered up some of her own 'Good News' story ideas.

Philipp is proud of her reporting team and is grateful for Liza who reminded them to look a little deeper for the good news in their community. Gauging by the comments left on WXXI's website, listeners were grateful for the series as well.

"I love this!" says commenter 'Bethhoh.' "As a therapist working with people who struggle with depression, I have told them to limit their intake of the 'news' because it is so saturated with sadness. I love Liza's idea and that WXXI is following up with it. My husband and I will surely allow our 7 year old and 13 year old sons to tune into this! Thank you WXXI."

Liza's interview and all the pieces from the series have been archived on WXXI's website:

"Liza's Letter" Series of Good News Stories

Good News Series: Liza's Letter

Good News Series: Museum of Kids Art

Good News Series: "School of Rock" at Work

Good News Series: Barbershop as Health Clinic

Good News Series: Reading Power Play Program

Good News Series: Youth Inmates Share Their Stories

Every so often we bring you stories of NPR Member stations and the incredible good they do in their individual communities. We aren't the only ones who have noticed the cool things happening around the public radio world. Here are some of the latest pieces in the media:

- WQXR, New York Public Radio's classical music station, has launched a campaign to promote November as "Beethoven Awareness Month" with the message "Obey Thoven." The New York Times has a feature on the tongue-in-cheek idea to raise awareness.

- KACU has come a long way from very humble beginnings in 1986. In the 25 years since, KACU has grown and developed a strong relationship as a member of the Abilene, TX community, and beyond. The Abilene Reporter-News has the story of this station that has defied all odds.

- The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that WABE in Atlanta just concluded its most successful fundraiser in the station's history, both in terms of money raised and individual pledges.

- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played a special concert for KCSN, an NPR Member station at Cal State Northridge, for the station's fall pledge drive. KCSN recently switched from classical music format to contemporary rock, and the concert was a successful entry into this new genre. The Hollywood Reporter, for one, took notice.

- Chicagoist's Steven Pate makes the case for supporting Chicago NPR Member station, WBEZ. In the opinion piece, Pate writes, "If you believe there should be local public radio, you should give money to local public radio. Period. Most of all, thinking of public radio as a public good whose existence is positive for the community, even if it can always be improved, seals the deal for me."

- Last year WHYY launched a hyperlocal community news site for for northwest Philladelphia called NewsWorks. Nieman Journalism Lab checked in with the innovative venture to review its successes and failures thus far.

We thought NPR's own celebration of its 40^th anniversary earlier this year was a pretty big deal. But this week we were reminded that, believe it or not, life actually existed before NPR. And it was a pretty good life, they say.

Here in Washington, D.C., public radio's WAMU has been providing residents (and surely a few tourists) with local, regional and national coverage of news, as well as music and culture for the last half century. WAMU has also been providing employees to NPR.

To pay tribute to WAMU on their golden anniversary, we've asked a few employees who have worked at both NPR and WAMU to share their congratulations and remembrances of their time at the station.

Susan Stamberg
Correspondent, NPR
My first radio job was at WAMU. I'd been working at the New Republic magazine as a typist (it was a real skill of mine in those days!), became bored, hunted around, and landed at WAMU.

I remember walking into the control room for the first time, looking around at all the wires and buttons and thinking, "I was an English major. What am I DOING here?!"

But I fell in love with radio, learned all about the buttons and wires, produced a weekly public affairs show, then a daily local program and (a precursor to All Things Considered), made my radio debut the day the weather girl got sick and we needed a weather report.

I have more memories than I can remember. And great affection and gratitude for the station that gave me my start.

Continue reading for more remembrances from NPR.

Public radio listeners are accustomed to pledge drives and the interruption (admittedly, for a good cause) in their daily listening. This is about a public radio pledge drive of a different sort.

Vermont was especially affected by Hurricane Irene, which swept up the East Coast last month. Through the wind and rain, flooding and power outages, Vermont Public Radio's reporters and staff worked tirelessly to keep their listeners informed with important safety information.

As VPR continued to report on the destruction and cleanup efforts, they heard from many concerned listeners who wanted to know how to help.

The staff of VPR did what they do best: they held a pledge drive with all donations going to hurricane relief funds.

During last week's one day drive, VPR listeners donated more than $628,000 to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund.

VPR posted the results of the special fundraiser on their blog, saying:

It has been inspiring to see Vermonters from all walks of life reaching out to one another for support, and we were so pleased to carry that spirit of community at VPR through this special fundraising effort.

VPR's ongoing coverage of the hurricane's aftermath can be heard on their air and online at www.vpr.net

In remembrance of the 10th anniversary of September 11, public radio and television stations across the country are engaging with their communities to explore the local impact that day had on every aspect of American life, and how it continues to affect us all a decade later.

The weight of 9/11 reaches much further than the boroughs of New York City, the landmarks of the nation's capital and the wings of an airplane. Member Stations across the country are hosting community discussions, memorial concerts and days of service as a living record of how Americans continue to heal from 9/11.

We've compiled a list of original programming offered by NPR Member Stations across the country this week, and the Sunday anniversary. Remember to visit your station's website for their latest broadcast plans.

Follow for the program guide.

In the aftermath of last weekend's Hurricane Irene, one small state found itself a major target of the storm's damaging winds and rains. For even the most prepared Vermont residents, power outages, massive flooding and washed out roads have caused deep disruptions to daily life. As the focus in the state now turns to response, recovery and, eventually, rebuilding, Vermont Public Radio's Brendan Kinney has seen first-hand how this storm has both torn up the community and is now bringing people together.

"The phones just don't stop ringing," he says. "People want to connect, share stories and provide updates."

To keep the audience informed and relay important public safety news, VPR – which is a network of 23 stations across the state — has aired additional live and extended broadcasts of its flagship newsmagazine, Vermont Edition.

Read more after the jump.

This summer, Talk of the Nation host Neal Conan took the show on the road. Conan and the crew headed to Colorado where they first did two shows at the Aspen Ideas Festival in conjunction with Aspen Public Radio, and then went to Denver for a live broadcast from the studios of Colorado Public Radio (CPR).

We talked with CPR's Programming VP Sean Nethery to get his thoughts on the live event. Nethery says he appreciated how the program focused on issues important in Colorado, like federal farm subsidies and the challenges faced by independent booksellers, and expanded them to be of interest to a national audience.

"This is the best example of how local stations and a national news organization can work together," Nethery says. "It was a lesson for us to see how a local story can be clearly relevant to a larger issue."

The local-national partnership is especially important to the audience, says Nethery. Listeners care about local issues and also how those issues connect to the larger world.

"By having Talk of the Nation and Neal Conan in Colorado, we could showcase the ways we are connecting, complementing and completing the national service NPR provides."

The small group of donors to CPR who were able to be in the studio during the broadcast, helped Nethery to remember why he works in public radio.

"We don't think it's always that exciting to work here," he says. "But I was in the room; they were just riveted. It's more exciting for the listeners than we realize."

Here's a behind-the-scenes video with Neal and shots from the broadcast the station put together so everyone could share in the excitement:

Next month, Neal and Talk of the Nation will be stepping out again. This time they'll be a little closer to home at National Geographic in Washington, D.C. Stay tuned to find out how you can be a member of the audience.

Last December, we told you about a young listener who unwrapped quite a spectacular Christmas gift (if we do say so ourselves). Remember Caetano? Well, now, he's had another big public radio experience.

We checked in with Kathleena Ramirez, the membership coordinator at KAZU, NPR's Member station in Monterey Bay, California, who gave us an update on the latest in the story of the now 10-year-old public media fan.

After receiving a half a dozen autographed headshots from NPR journalists for Christmas, Caetano's mom realized that her very-avid-public-radio-listener son had never actually visited KAZU.

"We are the first station he wakes up to and goes to bed listening," says KAZU's Ramirez. "He uses the information he learns from NPR to challenge his teachers, as support for completing his homework, and for entertainment. He's definitely inspired by the content of NPR to think globally and keep him updated on international news."

Seriously... Yeah, we know. Hard to believe, he's only 10 years old.

So, as his birthday neared, Caetano's mom arranged with Ramirez to give her son a tour of KAZU.

Ramirez says, "During his tour we showed him how to record his voice and how a switchboard works. We talked about the history and evolution of KAZU in the Monterey Bay Area."

According to his mom, the tour was one of the happiest days of Caetano's life.

For Ramirez, the tour brought to the forefront a reminder of the importance of public broadcasting to local communities and individuals.

"This tour was a huge reminder of how much our members and other community members listen to us first," she says. "KAZU is their first choice for learning about what's going in the world, in the US, and even locally in the Monterey Bay area."

Hope your as inspired by Caetano's enthusiasm as we are. And, if you are ever in D.C., NPR fans can take a tour of our facilities.

This week, NPR joined public radio stations in eight states to announce the pilot of a major journalism network covering the impact of state government actions and decisions on citizens and communities.

The scope of the project is impressive: to hire and train two reporters in all 50 states to focus on this critical (and under-reported) beat. Member stations in Florida, Idaho, Indiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas are first up.

During the two year pilot, the participating stations in each state will pick one topic to report on in-depth. For example, Pennsylvania is already reporting on energy, while Ohio and Indiana are each covering education. Throughout the summer and fall, the rest of the eight pilot stations will be launching online and on air coverage on more topics such as health care, the economy and jobs.

Right from the start, the participating stations knew strong collaboration is the key to the success of the program.

"All of the stations [participating in Ohio] have their own news teams and cover important topics. [StateImpact] leverages that, gives more impact to the reporting and allows the stations to have a bigger impact," says Peg Neeson, community relations director at 90.3 WCPN ideastream in Cleveland.

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I got rhythm
I got music
I got my girl
Who could ask for anything more?

"I Got Rhythm," George and Ira Gershwin's iconic jazz standard has been performed by some of the finest singers, from Judy Garland and Bing Crosby to Ella Fitzgerald and Barbra Streisand.

But perhaps, even after all these years, no other performance of the piece could do more to instill a love for jazz in yet another generation than Jackson High School's rendition of the classic for NPR Member station KPLU's School of Jazz program.

Now it its seventh year, KPLU's School of Jazz pairs a dozen Seattle-area high school jazz bands with professional musicians. These mentors work with the student musicians to prepare them to record a song for a compilation CD, which KPLU features on the air and is sold at school fundraisers and on the KPLU website.

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If you happen to be in the Baltimore, MD, area this summer, here's a suggestion for your vacation travel plans: be sure to swing by and check out the First Thursdays Concerts in the Park from NPR Member station WTMD.

Just starting its seventh season, this adult-alternative music station's monthly outdoor concerts feature a lineup of hometown favorites, rising stars, and nationally known artists.

This free public service provided by WTMD is just one example of the many different ways public radio stations serve their local communities.

In a city that Rolling Stone named as the "Best Scene" in their 2008 Best of Rock issue, WTMD certainly does it part to contribute to the exploration and enjoyment of music by bringing new and interesting music to the stage.

"This is the only large-scale free concert in the Baltimore region," says Stephen Yasko, General Manager of WTMD. "It's a low-key, comfortable environment to experience music."

Approximately 3,000 people attend each of the year's six shows, running from April to October.

To keep the event free, WTMD partners with local businesses who sponsor the event. Any remaining costs are covered by WTMD's majority-listener-supported operating budget.

"Our primary focus is on community-based business. The food is local, the beer is local. We really want to keep the hometown feel. To showcase the best of the city."

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Last week we heard from our colleagues in the South who were in the trajectory of the massive tornadoes that touched down in Alabama on April 27.

Elizabeth Brock, director of the Center for Public Television and Radio at the University of Alabama, describes the scene in Tuscaloosa:

The tornado was up to a mile wide in some places. Once it touched down in Tuscaloosa, it stayed on the ground for nearly two hours traveling through Tuscaloosa neighborhoods and business districts into Birmingham. Some of the neighborhoods and smaller communities have been completely wiped out.

Tuscaloosa took the brunt of the direct hit. When you go into the communities, it's the most incongruous sensation. Visually, it's a war zone — homes leveled for blocks and blocks — but the air is sweet with the smell of pine from all the uprooted trees. I'll never forget that contrast.

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