Gulf Coast Life: Arts Edition
John Davis has been a full-time Reporter/Producer for WGCU since 2009. He is the local host for NPR’s Morning Edition and producer and host for WGCU’s radio talk program Gulf Coast Life! John came to WGCU as an intern in 2007, and is now reporting on a broad spectrum of topics of interest to Southwest Florida. Prior to joining WGCU, he worked at WDUQ-FM in Pittsburgh, PA covering local government and general assignments.John studied journalism at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University. His work has garnered awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and a first place award and “Best in Show” from the Florida Associated Press for his investigative work in 2011. Send news pitches to wgcunews at wgcu.org
Latest Episodes
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The Florida Philharmonic kicks off its third season with a concert celebrating the mystery, magic and macabre of Halloween with a program titled “Masquerade: Symphony of Shadows.”The concert features well-known works by composers from the Romantic Era along with more contemporary pieces by Emmy award-winning composer Anthony DiLorenzo. We’ll get a preview in a conversation with Maestro Richard Stoelzel and Concertmaster Ming Gao. -
Players Circle Theater kicks off it’s 2026-2027 performance season this month with the Broadway farce “The Nerd.” The season also includes a holiday show, a comedy, a romantic comedy, a one-man historical drama, a musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell and the regional premiere of the sci-fi drama “Marjorie Prime.” We’ll explore the season ahead in a conversation with Bob Cacioppo and Ted Wincek. -
Laboratory Theater of Florida is mounting a production of playwright Martin McDonagh’s “The Pillowman.” It is simultaneously a dark comedy, crime procedural, and psychological thriller about a fiction writer being interrogated after a string of horrific child murders bear a striking resemblance to his own disturbing short stories. We will explore the show in a conversation with cast members Ryan Adair and Christian Rivero. -
We listen back to our show from 2025 featuring Emmy-nominated jazz trumpeter, vocalist and composer Benny Benack III performing live in studio with musicians from the FGCU Jazz Combo. -
In October, the Marco Island Center for the Arts will present a workshop production of the weirdly funny love story “Chameleüns.” We will explore the play in a conversation with co-authors Frank Blocker and Rochelle Burdine along with the actors and real-life married couple Dixie and Patrick Huey. -
Florida Repertory Theatre opens its 29th season with “Forever Everly: The Everly Brothers Rockumentary.” The show is a multimedia theater experience combining documentary film, biographical storytelling, and music performed live on stage and in synchronization with archival concert footage. We will talk with the performers and creators of the show, Jared Mancuso and Nick Gallardo. -
Southwest Florida-based artist Beth Carter Bell has a new exhibition coming to the Grand Atrium gallery at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in the downtown Fort Myers River District titled “Diaphanous Vision.” Ahead of the exhibit’s opening reception, Sept. 4, we take a deeper dive into the show and the Data-A aesthetic in which works in the show are grounded. -
The Cape Coral Art Center is featuring a retrospective exhibition of works by Pine Island-based painter Zan Lombardo titled “Larger Than Life Watercolors” in reference to the large-scale watercolor scrolls that Lombardo is perhaps best known for. We’ll have an encore presentation of our recent conversation with Lombardo about her unique artistic practice, what inspires her paintings, and the evolution of her work over time. -
Theatre Conspiracy is closing it’s the summer season with a production of Carey Crim’s comedy “What Springs Forth.” We’ll talk with cast members Tiffany Campbell, Anne Reed, and Lucy Sundby. -
The Cape Coral Art Center is featuring a retrospective exhibition of works by Pine Island-based painter Zan Lombardo titled “Larger Than Life Watercolors” in reference to the large-scale watercolor scrolls that Lombardo is perhaps best known for. We talk with Lombardo about her unique artistic practice, what inspires her paintings, and the evolution of her work over time.
