Writer

Kenneth Best

Ken Best served as editor of UCONN Magazine for 10 years. He is a co-host of the UConn 360 Podcast. He previously covered news and sports in Connecticut for The New York Times, edited the Weekend section for the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time, wrote arts and culture stories syndicated by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service and was the media coordinator for Yale-New Haven Hospital. During the summer of 2015 he hosted “Walking a Blues Road,” a weekly program on WHUS in Storrs based on the holdings of the Samuel and Ann Charters Archives of Blues and Vernacular African-American Musical Culture at UConn’s Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. He is the author of Eight Days a Week: An Illustrated Record of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Pomegranate Books).

Author Archive

A man holding a banjo.

An Evening of Contemporary Bluegrass with Noam Pikelny & Friends at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts

Pikelny has emerged as the preeminent banjoist of his generation

March 21, 2025 |

The band Snarky Puppy plays on stage.

Snarky Puppy Brings Joyous, Eclectic Mix to Jorgensen

Group that started among college friends has since become world-famous

April 11, 2024 | Kenneth Best

The members of the bluegrass group Nickel Creek.

Building a Set of Songs from the Ground Up? ‘It Was a Joyous Process’

Nickel Creek brings 'something different' to Jorgensen on March 21

March 20, 2024 | Kenneth Best

‘A Celtic Family Christmas’ Comes to Jorgensen

Fiddle virtuosos bring an energetic performance of song, dance, and storytelling

December 1, 2023 | Kenneth Best

The bluegrass musician Molly Tuttle, surrounded by the members of her band, Golden Highway.

Grammy Winner Brings ‘Superdrive’ Sound to Jorgensen

Molly Tuttle and her band, Golden Highway, will play on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m.

November 9, 2023 | Kenneth Best

Stuart Brown has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Broadway stage.

UConn Magazine: Off Broadway

The recently retired director of student services at UConn Waterbury brings the stage to more than 40,000 listeners a month

October 28, 2021 | Kenneth Best

Sophomore Aaliyah Edwards will compete in the Tokyo Olympics for the Canadian women's basketball team. She joins a talented squad of Husky alums in basketball, soccer, field hockey, and more

Huskies Heading to Tokyo for Summer Games Will Represent Six Nations

UConn will be represented by 16 athletes at the Summer Olympics and Paralympics

July 23, 2021 | Kenneth Best

Alumni Athletics
A Virginia mansion burned by the British during the Revolutionary War provides the setting of Professor James Coltrain's "Blackhaven."

DMD Professor’s ‘Blackhaven’ Game Lets Players Unravel Mysteries of the Past

A historically-themed video game that explores themes of contemporary relevance

July 14, 2021 | Kenneth Best

UConn Voices
A photograph from the exhibition showing a closeup of a smiling woman's face in black and white.

Benton Museum Provides Look at Joe Standart’s ‘Immigrant Eyes’ Project

An intimate insight into the lives of immigrants to Connecticut

July 12, 2021 | Kenneth Best

A new exhibit at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry demonstrates the medium's ability to address complex social issues.

Ballard Museum Exhibition Examines ‘Puppetry’s Racial Reckoning’

A new exhibit inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and national conversation about racism

June 30, 2021 | Kenneth Best

UConn Voices