WUMB-FM (91.9 FM) in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, is the radio station of the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...

. It broadcasts a mix of

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

, and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

hosted by its staff weekdays. On weekends the station concentrates on traditional folk,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, blues, and

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

including syndicated programs. Overnight programming starting at midnight and usually through 5am is a repeat of a portion of the previous day's programming; an announcement of this fact is made at midnight. The station has received many awards for its folk music programming.

Programming

WUMB-FM operates as a noncommercial

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

–style station which carries some

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

programming. HD Radio technology allows WUMB to transmit a high-quality digital signal. Due to the crowded state of the noncommercial end of the FM dial in New England, WUMB operates at a modest 160 watts, effectively limiting its coverage area to Boston itself and its innermost suburbs. To widen its signal, it operates a network of eight repeater stations across eastern Massachusetts and southern

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. WUMB-FM can also be heard on the Internet at both low bit rate for those with dial up connection and in stereo for those with broadband service. Since 1998, WUMB has sponsored a live music festival, called the Boston Folk Festival through 2009, but renamed to WUMB Music Fest in 2010 and 2011. The first festival was held at scattered sites in Boston's Back Bay. Since then, it has taken place on the University of Massachusetts-Boston campus. The event is currently in hiatus, however WUMB does continue to participate in music festivals around New England like the Lowell Summer Music Series and the New Bedford Folk Festival. Until 2013, WUMB broadcast with 660 watts, with a

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

of 63 meters; after the station lost its then–transmitter site, the station moved to a new site and began broadcasting with its present 160-watt facility. Original materials from WUMB have been contributed to the

American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The AAPB is a national effort to di ...

Repeater stations

In addition to the main station, WUMB is relayed by eight repeaters and one translator to widen its broadcast area. Notes: In addition to its primary repeaters, starting in 2007

WPNI WPNI (1430 AM) was an American radio station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to serve the community of Amherst, Massachusetts. History The station was first licensed, as WTTT, on August 6, 1963. On November 1, 1999, th ...

(1430 AM) in Amherst temporarily repeated WUMB by arrangement with

WFCR WFCR (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Amherst, Massachusetts. It serves as the National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Western Massachusetts, including Springfield. The station operates at 13,000 watts ERP fro ...

while

Pamal Broadcasting Pamal Broadcasting, Ltd. is a family-owned radio group with twenty-three stations in medium-to-small markets in the Northeast. Based in the Albany suburb of Latham, New York, Pamal Broadcasting was founded in 1987 as Albany Broadcasting Company, ...

sought a buyer for the station; this ended when Pamal shut WPNI down on November 30, 2013.

WHRB WHRB is a commercial FM radio station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It broadcasts at 95.3 MHz and is operated by students at Harvard College. The station is owned by Harvard Radio Broadcasting Co., Inc., a non-profit corporation independent ...

(95.3 FM) in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and

WLYN WLYN is a brokered time radio station in the Greater Boston area broadcasting ethnic programming. The station is licensed to Lynn, Massachusetts, and is owned by Multicultural Broadcasting. Its programming is broadcast on 1360 Kilohertz, kHz on ...

(1360 AM) in Lynn have also offered temporary WUMB simulcasts in the past during transitions to either new studios or new ownership.

References

External links

*
Artist - Song now playing

WUMB-FM records, 1969-2012
University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library,

{{Authority control UMB-FM Radio stations established in 1982 NPR member stations 1982 establishments in Massachusetts University of Massachusetts Boston