sokol heroes 

Sokol Heroes was a weekly one-hour radio show on WRSI 93.9 The River that celebrated music connected to Western Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley.

Between February 2016 and September 2018, Sokol Heroes aired 137 shows on Saturday nights.

Sokol Heroes was hosted by The River’s Midday On-Air Host and Production Director, Michael Sokol, and his father David Sokol, who was the longtime music editor for the area’s Advocate Newspapers and the co-author of Positively Center Street, a history of Northampton’s iconic Iron Horse Music Hall.

Each show’s playlist featured a wide-ranging spectrum of the artists and recordings – on major and independent labels – that came out of Western MA over the years. Digging deep into the historical catalog while keeping their fingers on the pulse of the current scene, Michael and David might have played a band from the late 1960s and then premiered a brand new song released that week. Sokol Heroes was unlike anything else on the Western MA airwaves, and it remains an important archival testament to the vibrant musical tapestry of that area over the decades.

Press coverage: Ken Maiuri’s Clubland Column, Daily Hampshire Gazette, 10/17/16

Episode 001 | 2.6.16

Tracklist

Episode 002 | 2.13.16