Audio
UMass Student Union Ballroom, 5/12/26
Events
Upcoming:
None scheduled
Past:
Saturday, August 8, 1:00-2:00: Wedding reception
Private event at Morgan Road Pavilion
Tuesday, May 12: MSP Anniversary Celebration
Private event for UMass faculty union members.
Tuesday, April 28, 8:00-8:45: Dead Night
Haze, 24 Main Street, Northampton
Wheel opens for Dead Night without Connor. Brian will sub on bass. $5/21+
Friday, April 17, 3:00-4:00: Radio Signal opens Dragonfly
Dragonfly Boutique, 270 Pleasant Street, Northampton
Radio Signal will play a set at the grand opening of Dragonfly Boutique, established by the owner of our former Liberal Arts open mic venue (see below).
Tuesday, April 14, 8:00-8:45: Dead Night
Haze, 24 Main Street, Northampton
Wheel to the Storm opens for Black Sweatpants at Dead Night. $5/21+
Contact Wheel to the Storm
You can reach us at info@wheeltothestorm.band to say hi or if you are interested in having us play at your event. We are available in electric and acoustic format. Our built-in acoustic duo Radio Signal can play an opening set.
About Wheel to the Storm
Win (rear), Brian, Sigrid, Connor, and Lurene (front), that time we got lost trying to find the stage
Our genesis was a Grateful Dead rock band class Win and Brian independently asked Downtown Sounds to organize. Garrett at DS got local Dead band keyboardist Parker McQueeney to teach, and the magic began. Over 24 weeks, our technique improved and our fervor for playing and being together became undeniable, and we left the nest as Wheel to the Storm.
The Liberal Arts Open Mic
Lurene backs "Stand By Me," July 2025
We hosted street musicians, full bands, and dozens of musically inclined people from the neighborhood. Experts, first-time performers, regulars, and one-timers all joined in. There were jam sessions and scripted sets. Some participants were unhoused. A few had raging addictions. It was a home for chaos and magic.
In November 2025, Liberal Arts gallery has closed its doors after a five-year run. Huge thanks to Jen and Liberal Arts for the opportunity to play weekly as the open mic host band.
Personnel
Sigrid and Win as Radio Signal
Lurene Grenier: Lead vocals, lead guitar
Connor Grenier: Bass guitar
Brian Hell: Rhythm guitar*, backing vocals, recording engineer
Win Close: Drums*, backing vocals, Radio Signal**
Sigrid Schmalzer: Backing vocals, percussion, Radio Signal**
* Close-as-Hell sets: Win and Brian tend to forget which instruments they play, and sometimes end up playing a set with their instruments switched.
** Close and Schmalzer also perform as Radio Signal, a tribute to Mike + Ruthy/The Mammals
Dead Night
One-time string band combo at Dead Night, October 15, 2024
The heyday of Dead Night was from 2023-25, at its original Bishop's Lounge location, and weekly. An astounding number of local Dead musicians and bands rotated through it. Drummer Kade Parkin organized it. Full bands that appeared regularly include Dead Collective, Owsley's Owls, Drunken Noodles, and Shakedown CT, as well as Kade's house bands Black Sweatpants and Tons of Steel. Regular and one-time combos came and went with the likes of lead guitarist and Jerry sound-alike Mark Paradis, keyboardist Parker McQueeney, rhythm guitarist and young Bob look-alike Mike Parham, and bassist Brian O'Connell. All of the above-mentioned musicians have helped teach Wheel to the Storm, as have the weekly Dead Night performances.
Dead Night has been a major source of inspiration to Wheel to the Storm (as well a host). Wheel to the Storm's first original, Little Dark Bar, is a tribute to Dead Night.