Part 2 of RadioACTive's Thanksgiving Special Starts with Aztec Blues

  • November 27, 2025
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Thursday, Nov. 27: A brand new single from Utah's own CHAC XOL to start the show. Brad Parry, Tribal Council Vice Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, on the Wuda Ogwa Cultural and Land Restoration Project. Envision Utah's Common Good Awards Spotlight on the Great Salt Lake Collaborative. Plus, LionFish shares Little Bird, a song for Bear.

Get More Local, More Vocal with Tonight's Guests, Organizations & Community Events

The RadioACTive Team wishes you and yours a peaceful weekend, no matter how or with whom you celebrate — or just hang out on a Thursday. To give or get help this holiday season, click here.

Brand New Homegrown Music: CHAC XOL

A Mexican-American artist in search of his cosmic folk, CHAC XOL dropped a new single early this morning — Aztec Blues — and sent it over to start the show.    

  • "Aztec Blues is out now on all streaming platforms, familia! I decided to release this song about my indigenous ancestry on Thanksgiving as a reminder of what’s really important today, which is to remember Native American heritage. This song serves as a reminder of the cosmic Aztec culture that is often overlooked due to the colonization of the Americas. Huge shoutout to @willow_tabarnak for the incredible album cover art for this single, to @thetoasteroven.mp3 for always helping us create pure magic, and to my band for helping me produce and record this single. I will be delving further into my ancestry and what got me into making music in the first place with upcoming music. This is a sneak peek of what’s to come. Have a wonderful Native American Heritage month, familia." — CHAC XOL post on Facebook

Wuda Ogwa Restoration Project 

Earlier this month, more than 1,000 volunteers arrived at the Wuda Ogwa Restoration Project to plant 50,000+ native trees and plants on the ancestral homelands of the Northwest Band of the Shoshone Nation. On January 29, 1863, the U.S. Military massacred 350-500 men, women and children at the site, which was reacquired by the tribe in 2018. RadioACTive's Lara Jones attended the event and shares her conversation with Brad Parry, tribal vice chair, and water resources engineer Brian Andrew of Hansen, Allen & Luce.

A Song for Bear

Derrek Wright and Anthony Perry of LionFish brought over a special song that honors their brother and bandmate, Bear Carillo, who passed away in May. Together, they completed the recording and mixed the song before his death. It not only tells part of his life story as a "little bird" but is also his swan song.

  • ABOUT BEAR: "Bear returned to Salt Lake in 2019 to play music and joined LionFish, which reunited him with his best friend and LionFish drummer Anthony Perry. A percussionist and lead vocalist, Bear was in a legendary Salt Lake band in the 80s called Spaces with Perry, Steve Dunne, Ricardo Romero, and a few others. They were staples on the Salt Lake scene and put out two records.
  • "Bear was adopted by a Mexican family in Rose Park and grew up thinking he was Mexican. In 2018, he learned about his true Navajo heritage and met his biological father through a DNA test. His daughters are producers for NPR in Los Angeles and interviewed him to tell his story and the story of Lost Birds in general."

Envision Utah's Common Good Awards: Spotlight on Great Salt Lake Collaborative

A big thank you to Amy Upchurch of Envision Utah for sending us the season-opening episode of Common Good Awards Spotlights to share with you tonight. There are about 10 minutes we weren't able to include in tonight's show due to time constraints. Use the player below to hear more about the work of 19 newsrooms documenting and protecting one of Utah’s most critical natural resources. Upchurch talks with Heather May, Ben Winslow, and Anna McEntire about the scope and impact of the more than 1,000 journalist stories on the Great Salt Lake, the catastrophic consequences Utah faces if the lake dries up, and the latest research and solutions that offer hope for its future. 

A Ham Bag and a Decent Crash Rate

Thanks for all the stories shared with us this year. We had so many, we'll be sharing more as we approach the end of the year. Closing out tonight's show: Liz in SLC takes her "ham bag" and her life in hand on an iffy flight to Alaska, paired with a childhood song and Matthew Webb's "Gobble Gobble."

Guests' views, thoughts, or opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the board, staff, or members of Community Radio of Utah, KRCL 90.9FM. Tonight's RadioACTive team included:

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