Traditions
with Ron Olesko and Bill Hahn
Shows
Traditions
May 3rd is the 94th Bday of Pete Seeger and it will be celebrated in talk and music on TRADITIONS on the April 28th. Enjoy music from Pete and the Weavers (and Almanacs) followed by tribute pieces. We will also remember and mourn the loss of the wonderful Richie Havens (see photo).
Sundays 3:00 to 6:00PM Eastern Time
Show Feature:
This Sunday, Oct. 7th, Tarditions host Ron Olesko welcomes Cathie Ryan to the studio. The acclaimed Irish singer (and songwriter!) will discuss her new CD "Through Wind and Rain". Also joining Ron onthe show will be singer-songwriter Arlon Bennet who will preview his new CD "World of Possibility".
Ron Olesko grew up during the Folk Revival of the 1960’s and some of his earliest memories include being captivated by songs such as "Sloop John B." and "There's A Hole In The Bucket" being performed on the Captain Kangaroo TV show. In 1975 he enrolled at Fairleigh Dickinson University and joined WFDU-FM on his first day as a freshman and has been with the station ever since. Ron started as a DJ playing alternative rock interspersed with folk music. In 1977 he presented a program with Marjorie Guthrie as his guest, the widow of one of Ron's musical heroes, Woody Guthrie. From that point on, folk music became the centerpiece of Ron's radio work.
In 1980, just after he graduated from FDU, Ron began the series “Traditions”, now WFDU-FM’s longest running program. Ron also appears on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's folk channel's The Village and was nominated in the Broadcaster Category for 2007 Folk Alliance Music & Business Awards. In addition, Ron is the President of the Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club in Fair Lawn, NJ and also writes for Sing Out! Magazine. When taking a break from folk music, Ron can either be found in Section 112 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey on game day or sitting in his den watching his beloved New York Mets.
Bill Hahn has worked at WFDU since 1994 as the host of Traditions and Sunday Simcha. His Traditions show is a mix of folk music that is not only traditional but modern and meaningful, incorporating much thematic material. Sunday Simcha offers Jewish music and humor from the past and present, including material that goes beyond the “box” of traditional.
Bill emigrated from Austria in the late 1930s to New York. After his wife arranged for the Sloop Singers to perform at his birthday party, Bill was inspired to begin working in the music business and producing benefit concerts. A relationship with Ron Olesko (of WFDU) formed and Bill later came aboard the station. His music interests are varied, from Gilbert & Sullivan to folk to pop, but spare him opera and rap. Hobbies outside of radio include tennis and photography (when film was still used).
Through WFDU, Bill has had the pleasure of meeting: Ronnie Gilbert, Si Kahn, David Amram, Pete Seeger, Phil Patton, Mike Burstyn, Julie Gold, and many more that are too numerous to mention.
Radio, to Bill Hahn, has always been way ahead of TV since it is the theater of the mind. There are the class acts like Prairie Home Companion, the intelligent talk programs (NPR) and, of course, the eclectic sound of WFDU.
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