The Country band “Danny Wooten & Southern Slang” takes to the stage tonight for the “Free Fridays” concert series in downtown Gainesville. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green-Townsend talked with lead singer and songwriter Danny Wooten about the style of music the band will bring to the Bo Diddley Downtown Plaza.
Deep Behind the Music- The Campfire Tapes from White Springs
This one-hour special features music gathered from around the campfires of the Florida Folk Festival in White Springs. Musicians include: Gabe Valla, Greg Turner, Dale Crider, Raiford Starke, James Hawkins, Rod MacDonald, Becky Palmer, Clyde Walker, Lis and Lon Williamson and Frank Thomas.
Songs in this program in chronological order:
1. Gabe Valla, Greg Turner and friends jamming
2. Sweet Sunny South- Dale Crider
3. Girl From Immokalee- Raiford Starke
4. Kiss Your Baby Goodbye- Becky Palmer
5. Swept Away- James Hawkins
6. Ballad of a Black-haired man- Rod MacDonald
7. Gabe Valla, Greg Turner and friends jamming
8. No Trouble Doc- Raiford Starke
9. Devil Eyes- Becky Palmer
10. Deep Down In The Everglades- Rod MacDonald
11. Wind and Water- Clyde Walker
12. Sweetheart of the Pines- Lis and Lon Williamson, Gable Valla and Greg Turner
13. I Remember Gamble Rogers- Dale Crider (written by Steve Gillette)
14. Macclenny Farewell- Clyde Walker (written by Will McLean)
15. Old Folks at Home- Frank Thomas & audience at Ann Gazebo stage (written by Stephen Foster)
16. Bonus Track: Did Bill Really Show Her His Willy- Rod MacDonald
Singer-Songwriter-Musician Mike Jurgensen From New Port Richey Continues to Entertain Mike Jurgensen has won the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Competition three times. Now he serves as one of the contest judges. It’s a testament to his talent. Whether singing solo or performing in the band 2PM, Mike’s smooth “James Taylor-style” voice captivates the audience. Two of his songs, “Margaret” and “Music Drifts Along This River,” were included in the national Edward R. Murrow award-winning documentary, “Apalachicola “Doin’ Time” produced by Donna Green-Townsend in 2000.
Mike currently performs with the trio, “2PM” which includes musicians Pete Price and Pete Hennings. During the group’s latest appearance as part of the Sunday Sampler Series at the historic train depot in Dunnellon, FL they performed one of Mike’s latest songs, “Let’s Just Play One More.” The song captures how music can go late into the night around campfires at music festivals around the state because it’s just hard to pull yourself away from a great jam with friends.
Mike Jurgensen sat down with Donna Green-Townsend to talk about what inspires his songwriting:
Feature on Mike before a concert at the Studio Arts Center in Crystal River, Florida.
2PM performing the Herb McCullough Song, “Love Is All There Is,” at the 2018 Will McLean Festival.
2PM performing David Crossland’s song, “When The Buffalo Comes Back,” at the 2012 Will McLean Festival
2PM performing Ken Skeens’ song, “Down A Barefoot Road” at the 2012 Will McLean Festival.
(artistic video production)
Updated, July 11: Martin Beckles has died from his injuries, Florida Highway Patrol announced Wednesday afternoon.
The accident report stated he was to be treated at UF Health Shands Hospital, though Shands officials never confirmed his stay there. That was likely because he was brought in under an alias due to the severity of his injuries, an FHP investigator told WUFT News.
Prior to Beckles’ passing, David Westrick, FedEx spokesman for media relations, could not confirm how long the company had employed Beckles, though he did say FedEx was working with authorities on the investigation to determine how the crash happened.
“Our thoughts and well wishes are extended to Mr. Beckles and his family,” Westrick said.
Gary Sease, a CSX spokesman, wrote the following in an email to WUFT News:
The CSX freight train was southbound and had begun its trip at Jacksonville with a destination of Tampa. The train had two locomotives and 34 rail cars. The speed limit for trains in that particular area is 60 mph and the train’s event recorder indicates it was traveling 53 mph when it collided with the delivery truck on July 3. The crossing is a private one for the access of a property owner in the area. It is marked with cross bucks (the “X” sign indicating a crossing). We are cooperating with authorities looking into this collision. Our thoughts are with the injured driver.
There are no railroad crossing arms at the area where Beckles was hit, and a blog comment posted by a witness Sunday mentioned the difficulty of seeing a train coming due to the rain at the time of the accident.
“You could not see more than 30 feet in front of you,” wrote Ashley Schneider, an employee at Walt’s Tree Service, 11106 SE US Highway 301. “The conductor was trying very hard to hold back the tears wishing there was something he could do to change the event.”
No charges have been filed in the investigation, which is ongoing.
Original story, July 4: The driver of a FedEx vehicle suffered critical injuries after a train collided with his truck at a railroad crossing Wednesday afternoon just south of Hawthorne.
The Florida Highway Patrol reports Martin Beckles, 51, of Ocala was attempting to cross railroad tracks from a private drive off U.S. Highway 301 south of Hawthorne at 3:55 p.m. when a southbound CSX train hit the truck’s passenger side.
The railroad crossing does not have cross arms and FHP reports heavy rain at the time of the accident. Beckles was rushed to UF Health in Gainesville. Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Bruce Simmons said the investigation into the accident is continuing.
Aired on WUFT on July 10th, 2013
The coming-of-age musical “Avenue Q,” which features a unique blend of actors and puppets, is in its final three weeks at the Hippodrome State Theatre in downtown Gainesville.
The original play garnered Tony Awards for best musical, best score and best book. WUFT-‘s Donna Green-Townsend talked with two New York actors who are in the play, Michael Hull and Jennifer Lauren Brown, about the popularity of this “adult-themed” comedy.
For more on the show, visit the Hippodrome’s website.
Click here to see this story on the WUFT website with an additional video from the puppets.
The Florida Citrus Commission wants consumers to count on Florida’s ability to provide a citrus product. Not only is that reliability important, but the citrus commission also wants consumers to expect a quality product. To that end, the commission has to come up with clever marketing strategies ways to market the state’s oranges and grapefruit. Donna Green-Townsend talked with the Director of Marketing for the Florida Citrus Commission, Bill Gordon. This story originally aired statewide on the IFAS program, Florida File in 1990.
Orange County is home to thousands of hotel rooms. The amount of trash hauled away to landfill sites costs hotels a lot of money. In 1990 Orange County Energy Extension Agent Jo Townsend talked with Donna Green-Townsend about an award-winning hotel recycling project designed to save the hotel industry money while doing something positive for the environment. This story ran on the statewide IFAS television program Florida File in 1990.
In an effort to increase oyster harvesting in Dixie and Suwannee Counties in Florida, the Florida Sea Grant Program in cooperation with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute teamed up with 4-H students in a special oyster aquaculture program. As Donna Green-Townsend reports, the project involved placing oyster seeds in a variety of mesh bags out in the Gulf of Mexico. (this feature originally aired on the statewide IFAS program Florida File in 1990)
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