Three Song Stories WGCU

Ken Wells is vice president and general manager of Cabbage Key. His family has owned Cabbage Key since 1976. As a young boy he collected and sold shells to visitors out of a cardboard stand along Cabbage Key’s shoreline.

In October of 2023, Ken was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer at the age 44. He turned to making music as an emotional outlet amid the physical and emotional battles that overwhelmed his life.

That experience taught him the crucial need for cancer patients to tend to both their physical health and mental health, and so he established the “Ken Wells: The War on Cancer Fund” to help others who lack resources to navigate their personal cancer journeys through financial assistance for medical treatment, and for mental well-being through counseling or finding emotional outlets like he found with making music.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Chaerin Kim is a multi-instrumentalist (she actually plays 10 instruments) who currently teaches piano and harp at University of Massachusetts Boston. She’s also a conductor and composer who has released 146 songs on 7 albums, and she’s scored more than 100 versions of her original song “Rendezvous” which began as a piano piece but has now been produced in  80 different languages.

Dr. Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea and lived there until she moved to London for her first round of graduate school at the Royal Academy of Music. She was recently elected as an Associate of the Academy, a title which is awarded to alumni who have distinguished themselves in the music profession and made a significant contribution in their particular field.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charlie Pace is a Southwest Florida singer-songwriter who's been performing since she was 7 years old. She released first her single at the age of 14, and a few months out of high school, Charlie became a backup vocalist for the nationally-touring Pink Floyd Tribute band, Floyd Nation. She performs original and cover music under her own name, as well as original punk music with her side band CAAM.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave McMahan (known best by his stage name Dave!Ja!Vu! is a prominent name in SWFL's local music scene, taking the stage as a one-man acoustic guitar and harmonica playing folk punk band.

Fueled by DIY punk energy, Dave records all of his own albums and handmakes his merch, down to the artwork inserts and clothing. 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. April Lynn James (AKA The PhDiva) is a classically trained soprano with a PhD from Harvard. Her “delightfully readable” book, The Tenth Muse: How Maria Antonia Advanced the Pastoral Opera debuted at #1, and is an international best-seller. During her doctoral studies did she begin her holistic wellness journey in earnest, in order to heal from stress induced weight gain, depression, and tendonitis. The “Decade of Awfulness” following graduate school took her further along this path, leading to encounters with her guardian angel, Madison Hatta, Sonneteer, with whom she continues to collaborate in creating poetry and Wonderland-inspired Whimsical Things. Her mission is to bring joy and inspiration to the world through performances, presentations, publications and products.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Fredara Hadley is a professor of ethnomusicology at Juilliard in New York City. She teaches courses on ethnomusicology, jazz history, and African American music - and her research focuses on the diverse musical legacies and impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Hadley’s commentary is featured in the recently released PBS series, "Gospel" and the 2021 series "The Black Church”
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.