Owen Daniel is the youngest guest we’ve ever welcomed to our “06880” podcast.
The Weston High School senior balances schoolwork* with performing, songwriting and producing music events.
His songwriting draws inspiration from artists like Noah Kahan, Lewis Capaldi and Olivia Rodrigo, blending introspective lyrics with an acoustic sound.
This fall, Owen heads to Berklee College of Music in Boston. Before he goes — and the world learns about him — he stopped by the Westport Library, for a wide-ranging chat.
It was a great morning. My only regret is I forgot to ask him to bring his guitar.
Click here or below to hear Owen’s take on his life, his music, and the performing and recording world in general.
*Though as a 2nd semester senior, that’s probably now just an abstract concept.
As the state Department of Transportation meeting about the Cribari Bridge nears (March 19, 6 p.m., Town Hall auditorium), 2 complementary petitions are circulating.
One — newly launched — calls for preservation of the 143-year-old span as a functional and picturesque community landmark. It emphasizes the bridge’s historic and visual importance to Westport, and urges that it be maintained as close to its present character as possible.
The petition says, “It’s essential that we keep the bridge a functional and picturesque icon, retaining its place not only in our community but also in our hearts. Click here to see.
An earlier petition focuses on a clear outcome: preserving the bridge itself.
It calls for full federal oversight and procedural transparency in the planning process. It asks that all required public engagement, regulatory review and historic preservation standards be fully and openly applied before decisions are finalized.
Specifically, it seeks confirmation that cumulative and long-term impacts — including effects on National Register structures and the Bridge Street Historic District — are thoroughly evaluated under applicable federal preservation guidelines. Click here to see. (Hat tip: Werner Liepolt)
The Cribari Bridge is the oldest one of its swing type in the country. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
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Westport’s newest restaurant opens tomorrow.
And — judging by a sneak preview yesterday — it will be one more jewel in the town’s culinary crown.
Felice takes over the 2nd-floor Main Street space occupied most recently by Mexicue. (Before that, it was Onion Alley and Bobby Q’s.)
In just a couple of months, they’ve done a complete makeover. The large, space has been made warm and inviting, with both Tuscany and contemporary décor. A large bar separates 2 rooms, with tables and banquettes.
Westport is Felice’s newest location, following very popular locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island and Florida. Diners yesterday who love the Upper East Side restaurant say this one follows its worthy lead.
Felice will be open 7 days a week, for lunch (weekdays, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.), dinner (Sunday through Thursday, 4 to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 to 11 p.m.) and brunch (Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
As graduation season approaches, singer-songwriter Owen Daniel has announced a graduation performance contest.
The winner of the contest — celebrating his new single, “Hundreds of Miles” — will get a live acoustic performance of the song at a graduation ceremony.
Daniel is an upcoming graduate himself. He is a senior at Weston High School.
“Hundreds of Miles” reflects on moving away from home, navigating emotional distance, and entering a new chapter of life. Its themes resonate too with anyone experiencing change or growth.
Students, parents and school administrators can enter by clicking here. The deadline is March 31.
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Tether — the largest stablecoin company in the world — is investing $200 million into Whop.
That gives the platform — which connects buyers and sellers in the digital economy, focusing on influencers and content creators, and whose co-founder and chief technology officer is 2018 Staples High School graduate Jack Sharkey — a valuation of $1.6 billion.
Sharkey says the partnership “marks a major step in building the world’s largest internet market. Tether is committed to enabling everyone in the world to participate in the new internet economy. The way humans work and create value is changing fast. The world needs both an open internet market giving people a platform to conduct business, as well as a transparent payments network.
“There is enormous opportunity when you combine Tether’s global scale and wallet technology with Whop’s community of next generation entrepreneurs.
“In partnership with Tether, we will be scaling infrastructure in real-time for new business models as they emerge across the globe.”
Earlier investors include Bain Capital Ventures, The Motley Fool Ventures and Peter Thiel.
“They believed in us when Whop was just a sneaker bot rental marketplace,” Sharkey adds.
“My co-founders and I met as teenagers on the internet selling software. We first launched Whop as a way to sell our software to people in Facebook and Discord forums.
“Prior to Whop, the place we found customers was different from the place we collected payments, different from the place we talked to customers, and there wasn’t a central place to “do business” on the internet.”
Jack Sharkey (right) gets his entrepreneurial drive from his father Scott (left) — the founder of Westport-based Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids, and Every Home Should Have a Challah.
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Yesterday’s Roundup noted the death of Neil Sedaka — a 20-year Westport resident, beginning in the late 1970s.
When he headlined a Levitt Pavilion benefit concert in 1982, Miggs Burroughs interviewed him.
Miggs remembers him as “a very sweet and gentle man,” and sends this photo of them together:
And finally … one more tribute to our former neighbor, the late Neil Sedaka:
(February is already over — we’re 1/6 of the way through 2026. If you forgot your New Year’s resolution to help support “06880”: No problem! Just click here. And thank you!)
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