WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour

Last updated
WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour
Running time1 hour
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Home station WEKU (radio)
KET (television)
Syndicates Public Radio Exchange (radio)
National Educational Telecommunications Association (television)
TV adaptationsWoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour
Starring Michael Johnathon
Recording studio Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center
Lexington, Kentucky
Original release1998 (1998)
Website www.woodsongs.com
Podcast www.woodsongs.com/podcast.xml

The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour [1] is a radio program created, produced, and hosted by folk singer Michael Johnathon.

Contents

Background

WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour is a live audience celebration of grassroots artists and music.

The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour is an all-volunteer-run non-profit organization and is a worldwide multimedia celebration of grassroots music filmed in front of live audience. WoodSongs is a one-hour musical conversation focusing on the artists and their music. [2] The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour began in 1998 in a small studio that had a sitting place for only 20 people. It was recorded on a cassette tape that had to be turned over halfway through the broadcast, and was picked up by one radio station, WRVG in Georgetown, Kentucky. [3] [4] In 1999 WoodSongs moved to a 150-seat room at the Lexington Public Library. After selling out 50 shows in a row, the broadcast was moved in 2000 to the Kentucky Theatre, [5] where it stayed until January 2013 when it moved to the 540-seat Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center. [6] By 2005 WoodSongs was being aired on 320 radio stations, and on 509 radio stations across North America and Internationally by 2013.

Radio broadcast

The radio program is available to both noncommercial and commercial radio stations, one of the few widely distributed radio programs in the United States to be offered to both types of stations. This does not include the addition of the American Forces Network which broadcasts it in 173 nations, to over 1 million listeners worldwide, and every US Naval ship at sea. In Kentucky, KET (Kentucky Educational Television) (PBS) public television [7] airs the show several times a week. It is distributed to public television stations by the National Educational Telecommunications Association. [8] Commercial cable/satellite network RFD-TV also carries the series. [9] The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour produces one show a week for 44 weeks a year every Monday evening at the Lyric Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky, and has produced over 750 broadcasts that have aired worldwide.

Partnerships

The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour occasionally tours. In 2013 the program partnered with Alltech, [10] Kentucky Tourism, [11] Lexington Tourism, [12] and Tourism Ireland [13] to bring WoodSongs to Dublin, Ireland, for a double-broadcast event attended by 2,000 fans at the Dublin Convention Center. [14] The Ireland broadcast celebrated Kentucky bluegrass as presented by Irish bluegrass artists. This broadcast was also presented as a special broadcast on DISH TV Network. This added 14 million USA television homes to the public broadcast of this show. The WoodSongs broadcast was also taken to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to celebrate the music of the Ozarks. Almost 1,000 fans sold out the auditorium [15] as Ozark musicians of many backgrounds presented their music on a national broadcast.

Community involvement

All artists and WoodSongs members are affiliated with the program on a volunteer basis. WoodSongs allows for community involvement and volunteer opportunities in many ways. In the Central Kentucky community, they involve regional schools and universities for the WoodSongs intern program, which allows students to participate in the set up of nationally broadcast weekly productions. WoodSongs also has ongoing relationships and works closely with music teachers, private instructors, and local arts groups, [16] [17] as well as independent artists who add local performances in the lobby of the Lyric Theatre each night of the WoodSongs broadcast. WoodSongs has a long history of spotlighting and featuring Kentucky and Appalachian artists. They have presented well over 300 different Kentucky artists on a worldwide level including J.D. Crowe, Ben Sollee, Homer Ledford, Dale Ann Bradley, EXILE and The McLain Family Band. The broadcast stage is open to artists of all genres, from all regions, all economic and ethnic backgrounds.

Michael Johnathon started the WoodSongs CoffeeHouse Association which has over 90 concert stages nationwide. The purpose of the WoodSongs CoffeeHouse is to encourage local participation by regional musicians and artists, and to give them a platform to express themselves and surround themselves with the music community. [18]

Johnathon also created the WoodSongs Front Porch Association (501-c-3). The members are called SONGFARMERS, with over 56 community chapters from Hawaii to Florida, Arkansas to Vermont. A TV documentary about the community driven project aired on the RFD-TV Network.

All but some of the oldest shows are archived on the WoodSongs website and can be watched for free. [19] The University of Kentucky [20] is the host of the global WoodSongs archive. This archive is administered by Professor Ron Pen at the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music. DZWR also streams archived episodes of this program every Saturday night.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurovision Song Contest 1995</span> International song competition

The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 13 May 1995 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), and presented by Mary Kennedy, the contest was held in Ireland following the country's victory at the 1994 contest with the song "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan. It was the third consecutive contest to be held in Ireland – the first and only time in the history of the event that a country has hosted three editions in a row – and the second consecutive edition to be held in the Point Theatre in Dublin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Educational Television</span> PBS member network serving Kentucky

Kentucky Educational Television (KET) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is operated by the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television, an agency of the Kentucky state government, which provides more than half of its annual funding. KET is the dominant public broadcaster in the commonwealth, with transmitters covering the vast majority of the state as well as parts of adjacent states; the only other PBS member in Kentucky is WKYU-TV in Bowling Green. KET is the largest PBS state network in the United States; the broadcast signals of its sixteen stations cover almost all of the state, as well as parts of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The network's offices, network center, and primary studio facilities are located at the O. Leonard Press Telecommunications Center on Cooper Drive in Lexington; KET also has production centers in Louisville and at the Kentucky State Capitol Annex in Frankfort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRFL</span> Radio station in Lexington, Kentucky

WRFL, Lexington is a 7900-watt college radio station that broadcasts live, 24 hours a day, from the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Kentucky. The station has broadcast continuously at 88.1 MHz on the FM radio band since 1988, and prior to COVID-19, without automation.

RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United States Postal Service's system of delivering mail directly to rural patrons. Production and uplinking facilities for RFD-TV are located at 49 Music Square West, Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. RFD-TV's sister radio channel is Rural Radio on Sirius XM. RFD-TV formerly owned a theater in Branson, Missouri where some variety shows that air on RFD-TV were filmed, as well as the Imus Ranch in Ribera, New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKYT-TV</span> CBS/CW affiliate in Lexington, Kentucky

WKYT-TV is a television station in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Winchester Road near I-75 on the east side of Lexington. In addition to WKYT-TV, Gray owns WYMT-TV in Hazard, Kentucky, a separate CBS affiliate serving eastern Kentucky with its own syndicated programming inventory and local newscasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WYMT-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Hazard, Kentucky

WYMT-TV is a television station licensed to Hazard, Kentucky, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield region. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Black Gold Boulevard off the KY 15 bypass in Hazard, and its transmitter is located south of the city in the Perry County community of Viper.

WKMJ-TV is a PBS member television station in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is the flagship station for KET2, the second television service of Kentucky Educational Television (KET), which is owned by the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television.

Stoll Vaughan is an American singer-songwriter from Lexington, Kentucky. He is the great-nephew of United States Senator John Sherman Cooper. Vaughan began his professional music career as guitar player for the Indiana band Chamberlain. He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan.

Michael Johnathon is an American folk singer-songwriter, producer, author, and playwright. He has released 20 albums, published 5 books, a play, composed an opera, performs with symphony orchestras and in coffee houses, completed a motion picture script, created three volunteer organizations and tours nationwide.

WVLK is a commercial AM radio station in Lexington, Kentucky. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a news/talk format. The studios are inside Kincaid Towers on West Vine Street in downtown Lexington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Sollee</span> American musician

Ben Sollee is an American cellist, singer-songwriter, and composer known for his political activism. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, and mandolin along with percussion and unusual cello techniques. His songs exhibit a mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz, and R&B elements. Sollee has also composed longer instrumental pieces for dance ensembles and for film. Sollee revealed on Twitter that, in the fall of 2020, he contracted COVID-19. The following year, he tweeted that, as a result, he now suffers from long covid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearse Lyons</span> Irish businessman

Thomas Pearse Lyons was an Irish businessman and the founder and President of Kentucky-based Alltech Inc., an American animal health and nutrition company that is centred on innovation, research and development. Lyons was considered an "entrepreneur, salesman, marketer and scientist all rolled into one", and was widely regarded in the agribusiness sector as an innovator and industry leader.

Alltech is an American company, headquartered in Nicholasville, Kentucky, with operations in animal feed, meat, brewing, and distilling. Alltech develops agricultural products for use in both livestock and crop farming, as well as products for the food industry. Alltech operates under three main divisions: animal nutrition and health; crop science; and, food and beverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company</span>

Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company is a brewery and distillery based in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1999 by Pearse Lyons, the president and founder of animal nutrition company Alltech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Down Hill Strugglers</span> American band

The Down Hill Strugglers, previously known as the Dust Busters, is an American old-time string band trio from Brooklyn, New York, United States. Formed in 2008, the band has been influenced by the music that came out of rural America, including Appalachian traditions, music from the Deep South, and the Western States. The band was originally made up of Craig Judelman, Eli Smith, and Walker Shepard. In 2012, Craig Judelman left the Dust Busters and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Jackson Lynch. At that time, the band changed its name to the Down Hill Strugglers.

KET ED, known as the Education Channel, was a digital television programming service operated by PBS member network Kentucky Educational Television. The service provided programming from the Annenberg/CPB project, along with encore presentations of some PBS programming, and much of KET's locally produced in-house instructional television (ITV) productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center (Lexington, Kentucky)</span>

The Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center is a nonprofit, city-owned, multi-use arts and performance venue located at the corner of Third Street and Elm Tree Lane in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Opened in 1948 as a cultural hub of Lexington's segregated African-American community, the Lyric closed in 1963 and remained in disrepair for almost 50 years. Planning for this renovation began in the 1990s. In 2010, the Urban County Council of Lexington allotted $6 million to revive and reopen the theater under a new mission as a center for art, community, history, and education. The renovated building seats 540 in its proscenium theater and now includes an African-American culture museum, rotating gallery, courtyard, and 325-capacity multi-purpose room. The Lyric hosts arts performances, rental events, luncheons, movie viewings, youth programs, and other events.

The Kentucky Channel, also known by its Program and System Information Protocol short name and on-screen logo bug as KET KY, is a full-time 24/7 statewide digital television programming service originating from PBS member state-network Kentucky Educational Television. The channel features programming related to the U.S. state of Kentucky, as well as coverage of Kentucky General Assembly when it is in session.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everett McCorvey</span> American opera singer

Everett McCorvey is an American classical tenor, teacher, impresario, conductor and producer, living in Lexington, Kentucky, where he holds an Endowed Chair in Opera Studies at the University of Kentucky, is director of the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre and Professor of Voice. He is also the founder and conductor of the American Spiritual Ensemble, Artistic Director of the National Chorale and President of Global Creative Connections, a production company producing live public and private events. He has also been on faculty at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Bay View Music Festival in Bay View, Michigan. His students have won numerous national and international singing competitions and regularly perform at leading houses throughout the world.

References

  1. ↑ "Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour - TV". Archived from the original on 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  2. ↑ "Woodsongs.com webcast page". Woodsongs.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 3 February 2001. Retrieved 23 June 2022– via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-05-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ "The Kentucky Theatre — Coming Soon". Kentuckytheater.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Home". Lexingtonlyric.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "KET > Kentucky Educational Television". Ket.org. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "WoodSongs". Netaonline.org. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  9. ↑ WoodSongs at RFD-TV. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Alltech - Quality Animal Nutrition, Health and Feed Supplements". Alltech.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Home | Kentucky Tourism - State of Kentucky - Visit Kentucky, Official Site". Kentuckytourism.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "Lexington, Kentucky Visitor Information". Visitlex.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "Welcome to Tourism Ireland - Tourism Ireland". Tourismireland.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "The Convention Centre Dublin | TheCCD.ie". Theccd.ie. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "Eureka Springs City Auditorium". Theaud.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-23.
  16. ↑ "LAMA | Lexington Area Music Alliance". Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  17. ↑ "LexArts | Art Everywhere Lexington, KY". Lexarts.org. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "What is a WoodSongs Coffeehouse?". Woodsongs.com. Archived from the original on 2002-06-16.
  19. ↑ "WoodSongs archive". Woodsongs.com. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Home | University of Kentucky". Uky.edu. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.