Nantucket History & People

Some Wicked Rusty performing at a Nantucket rehearsal, with LeeAnn Papale-Kalman on vocals, Rick Kalman on guitar, and bandmates on bass and drums
Nantucket History & People

Together Again

“We’re putting the band back together.” Those immortal words were put forth by Joliet Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) in the classic 1980 movie The Blues Brothers. Who doesn’t love a classic buddy movie filled with laughs and great music? Yeah, I’m all in! I recently found myself in the middle of a Nantucket version of this plot. And it was so great!

Nantucket History & People

Remembering the Bicentennial on this 250th

The summer of 1976—what a time to be a kid on Nantucket! The entire island was gearing up to throw a 200th birthday party for the greatest nation in the history of mankind. This was a big deal, I tell ya! Main Street, Federal Street, and much of the downtown area was completely blocked off for the festivities. Planners were planning, costumes were being sewn, and floats were being constructed. Oh yeah, the Bicentennial celebration had Nantucket a-buzzing!

An Island Point of View, Nantucket History & People

An Inside Scoop on Elin’s Nantucket

If you’ve everfelt the pull of Nantucket while reading an Elin Hilderbrand novel—the salt air, the fragrance of rose-covered cottages, the excitement of the brewery and The Box—there’s a way to actually experience it. The Elin Hilderbrand Nantucket Blue Book Tour, designed by Heather Thorpe and operated by Nantucket Island Tours offers fans an opportunity to enjoy Nantucket in real life: a ride across our island with someone who knows Elin not just as an author, but as a sister.

Richard Russo speaking at Nantucket Book Festival event
Nantucket Arts, Nantucket History & People

Drawn into the World He Tried to Escape

By all outward measures, Richard Russo has had the kind of literary career many writers only dream about — a Pulitzer Prize, an Oprah’s Book Club selection, beloved novels adapted for film and television, and a body of work spanning four decades that has made him one of the defining voices of working- class American fiction. But spend time with the author and you understand that none of it came easily, and none of it was guaranteed.