Gulf Coast Life: Arts Edition
John Davis has been a full-time Reporter/Producer for WGCU since 2009. He is the local host for NPR’s Morning Edition and producer and host for WGCU’s radio talk program Gulf Coast Life! John came to WGCU as an intern in 2007, and is now reporting on a broad spectrum of topics of interest to Southwest Florida. Prior to joining WGCU, he worked at WDUQ-FM in Pittsburgh, PA covering local government and general assignments.John studied journalism at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University. His work has garnered awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and a first place award and “Best in Show” from the Florida Associated Press for his investigative work in 2011. Send news pitches to wgcunews at wgcu.org
Latest Episodes
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Guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and sound engineer Caleb Vilca performs live in studio. Vilca is perhaps best known as frontman of the Southwest Florida-based alt rock band Perfect Sequence, but recently dropped a new solo single titled “HEARTBEAT,” that shows a different side of his musical creativity and influences. -
The second annual Fringe Fort Myers returns May 30 – June 2. The four-day festival includes a wide array of performances from independent, experimental and alternative artists from all over the world. We get a preview from festival organizer and founder Bill Taylor. We also hear from featured performer Keith Alessi about the true experiences that inspired his one-man show “Tomatoes Tried To Kill Me But Banjoes Saved My Life.” -
The Southwest Florida Symphony’s final performance of the season, May 18, titled “70s, 80s & 90s Unplugged” features music inspired by the popular MTV Unplugged concert series. Ahead of the show, we will hear from composer, producer, arranger, conductor, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and music educator Andrew Lipke, who created the symphonic arrangements and who will serve as maestro and featured performer. -
The Southwest Florida-based improv comedy team “Oops, We’re a Troupe,” will present a fully improvised long-form musical courtroom drama titled, “Disorder in the Court,” on May 11 at the Alliance for the Arts. Troupe members Julian and Lucy Sundby talk about the troupe, the performance, and mastering the art of improv comedy. -
The 14th annual Fort Myers Film Festival runs May 22-26, 2024. Over the course of the five-day festival, more than 90 films in a broad spectrum of genres will be screened, including the unconventional love story film “In Fidelity,” starring “Saturday Night Live” alum Chris Parnell. We’ll talk with Parnell about the film and get a broader preview of this year’s festival offerings from Fort Myers Film Festival founder Eric Raddatz. -
The Americans for the Arts’ AEP6 (Arts & Economic Prosperity Study 6) finds that Lee County’s nonprofit arts and culture sector generated more than $135 million in economic activity in 2022 and supported more than 2,500 full time jobs. We listen back to our conversation from earlier this year exploring results of the study, and the case they make for more public support for the arts, in a conversation with Alliance for the Arts Executive Director Molly Rowan-Deckart, Florida Repertory Theatre Producing Artistic Director Greg Longenhagen, and local arts reporter and advocate Tom Hall. -
The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center hosts an inclusive group exhibition of works by STARability Foundation participants titled “Divergent Inspiration.” The Foundation also recently received a game-changing $5 million donation from philanthropist and entrepreneur Tom Golisano. STARability CEO Karen Govern talks about the exhibit, plans for expansion, and the foundation’s work, mission, and history. -
The Southwest Florida Symphony’s final Masterworks concert of the season features guest cellist Sterling Elliot performing Tchaikovsky’s “Variations on a Rococo Theme,” a new work by Taiwanese composer Ke-chia Chen titled “Ebbs and Flows,” and Shostakovich’s beloved Symphony No. 5 in De minor, which is steeped in the turbulent history of the Soviet Union.We take a deeper dive into the program with Southwest Florida Symphony Maestro Radu Paponiu. -
Renowned guitar player, singer songwriter and music educator Dave Isaacs, known as the “Nashville Guitar Guru, is leading Babcock Ranch’s inaugural “Musician in Residence” program. We talk with Isaacs about his musical background, his unique and personal teaching style, and his vision for the new program. -
Ghostbird Theatre to perform play “Artificial Genesis” written by generative Artificial IntelligenceGhostbird Theatre Company is mounting a production of a new play titled “Artificial Genesis” about the end of the world brought about by artificial intelligence. The play itself was written by a generative AI model. We’ll take a closer look in a conversation with the show’s director Barry Cavin and his son Emory Cavin, who’s responsible for the AI interface design and programming that led to the creation of the play.
