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Why no Blues Radio Stations?
- Thread starter 51PRI
- Start date
Totally agree
I'd do:
Albert Collins "Black Cat Bone"
Albert King "Chump Change"
Albert King "Call My Job"
as just quick examples off the top of my head
I can keep going....I could put together blues setlists of songs that would be different than most blues bands, keep a dancefloor going, and be uniquely interesting.....but, no, Stevie Ray Wannabe will just keep doing the same ol same ol
Absolutely LOVE Chump Change and the whole King Albert album.
The SRV wannabe scene got old in Houston quickly. When I came back to H-town in the 90's, there were still Duke-Peacock alumni here and i was honored to play with a few of them. Much harder to keep me happy on gigs now that they're gone.
We are lucky that the main blues bar owner here expressly does NOT want SRV shredders.
KJazz Radio 88.1 FM - station operated off of the Campus of CSU Long Beach, CA; Nothin But the Blues Saturday's and Sundays 2-6 pm
No wonder Jeremy Spencer loved him so much lol....Thats killer!...Thanks for turning me on to that
My pleasure. There's a lot of killer Elmore, but you REALLY have to dig. He did use the Dust My Broom lick to excess!
Commercial radio exists on selling advertising.
The amount they are able to charge for said advertising is tied to how many radios are tuned to their station.. And the ages of the listeners,...even what time of day they listen.
If 18 to 30 year old people would tune in at 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM everyday ...in large enough numbers...... to hear Gorillas mating..... They'd program it.
Hope that helps.
The amount they are able to charge for said advertising is tied to how many radios are tuned to their station.. And the ages of the listeners,...even what time of day they listen.
If 18 to 30 year old people would tune in at 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM everyday ...in large enough numbers...... to hear Gorillas mating..... They'd program it.
Hope that helps.
if your open to internet radio:
Blues Radio Stations
this is my go-to for everyday house radio:
https://radioparadise.com/player
highly recommend if you enjoy an eclectic mix of modern and classic
Blues Radio Stations
this is my go-to for everyday house radio:
https://radioparadise.com/player
highly recommend if you enjoy an eclectic mix of modern and classic
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Check out the educational band on the weekends. You’ll find plenty. It’s not weekday music. It just isn’t.
By far the huge majority of radio stations are owned by two conglomerates who are squeezing nickels out of thin air by having vast radio networks they control run by consultants: This is why driving coast to coast (or any distance inside the country), so many stations in a given genre sound so alike . . . . and the playlists are constrictive and tightly controlled. To them, Blues is small niche, like bluegrass, zydeco, tejano, etc., with very small returns, so no dice.
Of course, college radio is a big relief for non-formatted stations. If you're a subscriber, Sirius/XM must have a channel for just about anything. And, there are still the holdouts, the little stations (often AM surviving platforms) that reach into all kinds of little corners, from hellfire preachers, spanish language, hard core survival or WAY Far Right foghorns, you name it.
In Nashville, I have college radio with the wonderful 89.5FM from Murfreesboro (soon moving to new digs with a performance venue in Nashville), Fisk University at 88.1FM with smooth (and other) jazz, and I'm hoping for a return of a classical station. WSM 650AM, home of the Opry, is as modern country as it gets, but evenings and overnight still plays haybales and longneck classic country. And my real fave is an urban station, WVOL 1470AM, that's predominantly 60's soul, 70's R+B, black gospel on Sundays, and from 6PM Friday night thru church on Sunday morning, they play hardcore classic blues and R&B, the only station I can think of that will play Robert Johnson, Ray Charles, Johnny Guitar Watson, Little Walter, the three Kings, etc., and the other assorted scary guys with pleated pants and straight razors. For modern, non-playlist happening stuff, Radio Lightning, WRLT 100.1FM to go with the more Americana 89.5FM I listed above.
And of course, most all of them have a LISTEN LIVE button on their website, or can be had on I-Heart-Radio and similar apps.
Of course, college radio is a big relief for non-formatted stations. If you're a subscriber, Sirius/XM must have a channel for just about anything. And, there are still the holdouts, the little stations (often AM surviving platforms) that reach into all kinds of little corners, from hellfire preachers, spanish language, hard core survival or WAY Far Right foghorns, you name it.
In Nashville, I have college radio with the wonderful 89.5FM from Murfreesboro (soon moving to new digs with a performance venue in Nashville), Fisk University at 88.1FM with smooth (and other) jazz, and I'm hoping for a return of a classical station. WSM 650AM, home of the Opry, is as modern country as it gets, but evenings and overnight still plays haybales and longneck classic country. And my real fave is an urban station, WVOL 1470AM, that's predominantly 60's soul, 70's R+B, black gospel on Sundays, and from 6PM Friday night thru church on Sunday morning, they play hardcore classic blues and R&B, the only station I can think of that will play Robert Johnson, Ray Charles, Johnny Guitar Watson, Little Walter, the three Kings, etc., and the other assorted scary guys with pleated pants and straight razors. For modern, non-playlist happening stuff, Radio Lightning, WRLT 100.1FM to go with the more Americana 89.5FM I listed above.
And of course, most all of them have a LISTEN LIVE button on their website, or can be had on I-Heart-Radio and similar apps.
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By the way, this is in no way a "Band Management" topic. I would guess it belongs in "Miscellaneous".
Johnny Guitar Watson?
In case you didn't know........
This is the one that set Frank Zappa off:
Sorry it all sounds the same.
In case you didn't know........
This is the one that set Frank Zappa off:
Sorry it all sounds the same.
Not all play blues all the time, but Michigan has a nice selection.
- Invalid Link Removed 88.3fm, Ann Arbor
- WCMU 89.5fm, Mt. Pleasant
- WCSX 94.7fm, Detroit
- WDBM 89fm
- Link Removed 101.9fm, Detroit
- WEMU 89.1fm, Ypsilanti
- WGVU 88.5fm, Allendale
- WHFR 89.3fm, Dearborn
- WMMQ 94.9fm, "Capitol City Blues Cruise", Sunday 9pm-12midnight Eastern Time, Listen via the Internet
- WNMC 90.7fm, Traverse City
- WOLV 97.7fm, Houghton
- WRHC 106.7fm
- WRKR 107.7fm, Kalamazoo, Tune in to the largest and longest running blues radio show in Michigan, Sunday Nights 7pm-12
- Link Removed 103.7fm, Muskegon
- WYCE 88.1fm, West Michigan
KRVM 91.9 in Eugene, Oregon. Listener-sponsored, all music, no ads. Oldest FM station in the Pacific Northwest, going since 1946.
“Breakfast With the Blues” every morning, and usually all night long, though without a DJ. It’s also online at krvm.org, where you can listen to shows in real time and for two weeks after they’re broadcast.
“Breakfast With the Blues” every morning, and usually all night long, though without a DJ. It’s also online at krvm.org, where you can listen to shows in real time and for two weeks after they’re broadcast.
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You can find the vast and varied blues if you look, but no, not any dedicated stations I know of except XM.
I was lucky to have WTMP growing up in Tampa, an AM station which was all black music, and all Blues between midnight and morning every day. I love the stuff.
There have been a couple of revival periods for the blues when it was very popular. 1960s and 190s, roughly. Time for another.
I was lucky to have WTMP growing up in Tampa, an AM station which was all black music, and all Blues between midnight and morning every day. I love the stuff.
There have been a couple of revival periods for the blues when it was very popular. 1960s and 190s, roughly. Time for another.
