Wednesday MidDay Medley
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
WMM Spins More New & MidCoastal Releases + She Said + Betse Ellis + Mara Williams + Joelle St. Pierre
- “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
from: Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / Dec. 20, 1979
[WMM’s Theme]
- REVISER – “THE FLAMES”
from: “THE FLAMES” – Single / REVISER / March 1, 2026
[“THE FLAMES” is the first single from REVISER’s new album “DOLOROSO” released digitally on all streaming platforms own March 1, 2026. Released on Vinyl via Bandcamp on May 1, 2026. “THE FLAMES” is a post-punk / goth-rock anthem., presented as a clarion call in these dark times. The song is energetic, driving, and intense, with insistent bass and drum machines, guitars that weave around each other, buzzing keyboards, and lyrics sung intensely that question whether the listener will be joining this call to justice with them. The song calls to mind “In Shreds” by The Chameleons or “Dark Entries” by Bauhaus, and lets plenty of REVISER’s own smoldering snarl and fiery energy carry this torch forward. REVISER is: Dawn Don on backing vocals, Dedric Moore on standard guitar, and Krysztof Nemeth on lead vocals & baritone guitar. As part of the Kosmic City collective of regional post-punk, goth, darkwave acts, REVISER spent 2025 successfully cementing itself as a black beacon of dark musical energy. // 2026 sees REVISER release their new album “DOLOROSO”; 8 songs as a digital and vinyl release, showcasing what the band has become over it’s journey to now. Sometimes dark and brooding, sometimes romantic and longing, REVISER’s sound on collects the classic vibes of 80’s post-punk, goth-rock, and darkwave into something both familiar and foreign, a sound that is dark, deep, and danceable. Calling to mind legendary acts such as Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, The Chameleons, and Echo & the Bunnymen, REVISER sounds complimentary to such contemporaries as Actors, House of Harm, Drab Majesty, and Traitrs. Considering this moment in time, REVISER emphasizes standing strong with our communities to support inclusivity and equality and is absolutely against Fascism, Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Transphobia. // REVISER released their singles “DEAD EYES” on October 16, 2025, “CELESTINE” on February 28, 2025, “DARKSIDERS” on October 18, 2024, and “ASSASINS” and “BURN IT OUT” on March 15, 2024. These previously five singles, individually released, have all been remixed and remastered for their new album DOLOROSO, and include Dawn’s vocals on them, now. REVISER is a continuation of the musical collaboration from Static Phantoms, Religion of Heartbreak (with Mikal Shapiro) and Monta At Odds.] [REVISER opened for Lene Lovich at recordBar, on November 5, 2025. More info: http://www.reviser.bandcamp.com / http://www.instagram.com / http://www.kosmiccity.com]
[Reviser plays a Kosmic City Goth Night at miniBar, 3810 Broadway Boulevard, KCMO, Monday, April 20 at 7:00pm with Feyleux, and Stranger Gallery.[
- Baby Augi – “keep going”
from: “keep going” – Single / Baby Augi / February 6, 2026
[Baby Augi is a 23-year-old multi-genre singer-songwriter from Kansas City, Missouri. Since February 2022 Baby Augi has released on 12-track album one EP and 25 singles. Known for his diverse musical style, he creates tracks that range from chill and sad vibes to uplifting and romantic moods. He has gained recognition for his work, including winning the 2024 Mysfit Award for “Best New Artist” and having his music featured on KKFI 90.1. 90.9 The Bridge, and “Warrior Radio.” Baby Augi actively shares his music on platforms like YouTube, BandLab, and Bandcamp, showcasing his talent across genres such as hip-hop, pop, and rap. More info at: https://linktr.ee/BabyAugi%5D
10:08 – Pledge Break #1
We interrupt our scheduled programming, KKFI is currently in day 10 of our 12-day On Air Winter Fund Drive. This is where we need YOU to be involved! We are breaking into our prepared programming, to encourage YOU to make a donation in support 90.1 FM KKFI YOUR favorite community radio station! Call us at 888-931-0901 or online at http://www.kkfi.org to DONATE!
Our special Winter Fund Drive co-hosts:
Betse Ellis. Originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas, Betse received her Bachelors of Arts in Music and a Bachelors of Arts in English, from the University of Missouri – Kansas City. For nearly 50 years Betse has been playing the violin and fiddle professionally and also working as a teacher of music. Betse was a founding member of the acclaimed internationally known band, The Wilders who released 10 albums. Betse has released two acclaimed solo records, and records & performs with the bands Little Miss Dynamite, and The Starhaven Rounders and with her husband, multi-instrumentalist Clarke Wyatt, as the internationally known, Betse & Clarke.
Betse Ellis, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Mará Rose Williams is The Kansas City Star’s Senior Columnist, she is the former assistant managing editor for race and equity issues. She has served as a member of the Star’s Editorial Board and she is an award-winning columnist. She has written on all things education for The Star since 1998, including issues of inequity in education, teen suicide, universal pre-K, college costs & racism on university campuses. She was a writer on The Star’s 2020 “Truth in Black and White” project, and the recipient of the 2021 Eleanor McClatchy Award for exemplary leadership skills and transformative journalism. Mará is the creator, co-host and co-producer of The Kansas City Star’s radio series, VOICES OF KANSAS CITY, produced on collaboration with 90.1 FM KKFI
Mara Rose Williams thanks for being our guest on WMM
Also with us is Joelle St. Pierre, a friend of the show, a friend of Mark’s since the early 1990s when they worked together at Cafe Lulu. Joelle is a super volunteer for 90.1 FM KKFI, helping with KKFI’s special events, the Crossroads Music Festival, answering phones for our On-Air-Fund Drives, being a “Listener Evaluator” for KKFI’s Program Evaluation Initiative. Joelle works full time for an Insurance Company but also finds time to volunteer for Midwest Music Foundation, Folk Alliance International, and several other charity organizations. Joelle helped me build two school gardens in KCK with both having 18-raised beds, and also helped water gardens for several years. Poet Kahlil Gibran notes that “Music is the language of the Spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife”.
Joelle St. Pierre, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
10:17 – WMM Spins More New & MidCoastal Releases
- Lava Dreams – “Chemistry”
from: “Chemistry” – Single / Lava Dreams / February 18, 2026
[Written by Lava Dreams and produced by Spencer Hoad. Lava Dreams (she/they) is a queer, multidisciplinary artist, performer, and songwriter based in Kansas City, Missouri – who’s been writing music for as long as they can remember. / Flourishing dreamy vocals, vulnerable lyrics, and visceral rhythms- hooking listeners through catchy melodies and electric performances – Lava Dreams is quickly becoming a striking figure in the Alternative Pop scene. / Lava Dreams released the single “Thirsty” on September 12, 2025, “Your Warrior” on August 9, 2024, “Driver” on May 24, 2024, “R.I.P. The Old Me” non July 28, 2023, “Thrill Ride” on July 1, 2022, “Galaxies” on July 9, 2021, and “The Amazing Wave” on January 8, 2021. Her 2020 project “GOOD ENERGY + FOCUS,” was praised by 909 The Bridge as one of the best EPs of that year. / Lava Dreams is dedicated to writing songs that lift the spirit and connect to the soul. Lava Dreams released the single. You can listen to Lava Dreams everywhere you stream music. Lava Dreams began writing lyrics and melodies as a young child. Growing up, she learned to play her first guitar chords from her father – who played around the house and in local bars. After playing guitar and singing in several Kansas City bands as a teenager, she set out to become a solo artist in 2018. Lava Dreams (Julia Hamilton) is also a film maker who received her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Film from Avila University. More info at: LavaDreamsMusic.com] [Lava Dreams played Apocalypse Meow 18, Saturday, November 1, at recordBar, with: Steddy P, Betse & Clarke (Electric), and Nathan Corsi & My Atomic Daydream.]
- Jessica Paige – “Oh Mister”
from: Oh Mister – EP / Independent / March 6, 2026
[Jessica Paige is a master storyteller, translating personal experience into music that is sophisticated, diverse in its influences, and instantly relatable. Her commanding voice has been described as equal parts Norah Jones and Janis Joplin, an uncommon union of sultry warmth & raw power. Jessica recently recorded her 2nd album at the legendary Bear Creek Studio. Jessica released her single “Kissing In The Rain” on April 27, 2022 Jessica released her breakthrough album SWEET NOTHINGS on September 18, 2015. Jessica also performs with Kadesh Flow. She’s opened for Corinne Bailey Rae, Hembree, Yes You Are, and Nicole Atkins. “She’s a must see with her strong stage presence and sultry vocals.” -The Heartland Today “The record showcases Paige’s gift for crafting lovely, indelible melodies and for her expressive, soulful voice, which shifts easily among several styles”- KC Star, 3-time American Idol semi-finalist. Official Showcase Artist – Folk Alliance International. Voted Best KC Vocalist (The Pitch 2018). The Best KC Music- KCUR 89.3. Info at http://www.jesspaige.com]
[Jessica Paige plays an Album Release Party on Sunday, March 8, at 7:00pm at The Greenwood Social Hall at 1750 Belleview Ave, KCMO.]
- Wills Van Doorn – “Sometimes / Rarely”
from:“Sometimes / Rarely” – Single / Enigmatic Brunch Records / February 17, 2026
[Second single from Wills Van Doorn upcoming solo album release ENDURO. Wills Van Doorn is a solo artist and a frequent collaborator of Kansas City musicians. He has played with Supermoto, The Creepy Jingles and Brent Windler’s band. He has honed his sound over the years until creating something of his own, he released the EP, RUN WITH YOU on December 11, 2020, and his debut album ROSEDALE SPEEDWAY on October 20, 2023, and he released a 4-song EP titled NIGHT OWL and OTHER SONGS on June 24, 2025. Will is getting set to release his upcoming new album ENDURO. Van Doorn has also been at work producing and engineering the upcoming Miki P solo record, and engineering the upcoming Swallowtails record. He recently relocated to Portland Oregon at the end of 2025. http://www.willsvandoorn.bandcamp.com]
- the eradicats – “I Ate a Sandwich”
from: “I Ate a Sandwich” – Single / Celery Wolf Records / February 27, 2026
[the eradicats released their singles, “Be My Baby” on August 15, 2025, “Smead” on July 18. 2025, “89 Batman” on May 13, 2025. the eradicats released their EP, best in show on October 2, 2024. Words by Kristi Who and Josh Thomas. Music by Josh Thomas, Chris Smead, Justin Brooks, and Kristi Who, Artwork by Kristi Who. // What if Pixies were funny? Black Francis specifically, Kim Deal is hilarious and the coolest person ever. What if They Might Be Giants grew up listening to punk? The eradicats answer these questions, and maybe even a few others, on their debut EP “Best in Show”.]
10:26 – Underwriting
10:27 – Pledge Break #2
WMM Winter Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mara Williams, & Joelle St.Pierre
90.1 FM KKFI’s non-profit organization and governing body is the MidCoast Radio Project. MidCoastal is where we are, on the coasts of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers with a music community that spans the Kansas City Metro region and west to Lawrence and Topeka and south to Olathe and east to Columbia and North to St Joseph.
You’re the reason we’re able to stay alive and on the airwaves for all of these past 38 years.
Last year In 2025 Mark conducted over 175 interviews with 159 special guests:
Krystle Warren, elska, Michelle Bacon, Mike Dillon, Peregrine Honig, Malek Azrael, Joshua Luke, Izzy Vivas, Julie Bennet Hume, Doug Hitchcock, Diana Watts, Kevin King, Daniel Gum, Chris Garibaldi, Mark Henning, Ross Brown, Miquel Antonio, Daniel Cole, Paul Seiz, Cody Ryan Stapleton, Matt Muckenthaler, Nathan Reusch, Zach Lamun, Les Izmore, Charlie Colborne, Billy Belzer, T.A. Rell, Just Angel, Dylan Pease, Andy Wooden, Betse Ellis, Rachel Christia, Mikal Shapiro, Seth Davis, Evan Verploegh, Shanté Clair, Benjamin Baker, SEYKO, Cole Bales, Cody Calhoun, Noah Cassity, Kole Waters, Alex May, Stephonne, Danielle Anderson, Zach Hodson, Valerie Schurman, Joe Frogge, Fally Afani, Til Willis, Heather Pontonio, Jose Faus, Elizabeth Bettendorf Bowman, Chico Sierra, Zo E., Jaclyn Danger, Simon Huntley, J. Ashley Miller, Grace Broadhead, Jason Turk, Sandra Draper, Enrique Chi, Julia Othmer, James T. Lundie, Alber, Jennie Ferguson, Scott Mize, Matt Kesler, Shaun Crowley, Paul Jesse, Alex Wong, Jen Kiper, David Luther, Sergio Anthony Gonzalez, Jeremiah James Gonzalez, Katlyn Conroy, Chris Catterall, Cheyenne Jackson, Kate McCandless, Moksha Sommer, Jemal Wade Hines, Chris Haghirian, James McGee, Meighan Peifer, Michael McQuary, Joey Arias, Lonnie Fisher, Tara Fisher, Adee Dancy aka Sisterbot, Hadiza., Suzannah Johannes, Keelon Van, Alyssa Murray, Ernest Melton, Mará Williams, J.M. Banks, Beth Watts Nelson, Spencer Thompson, Amanda Davis, Derek Trautwein, Dedric Moore, Rachel Lovelace, Kai McGarry, Alicia McGarry, Sandra Draper, Steve Tulipana, Day Shepherd, Tirzah DeMeire, Keyon Monté, Lee Sampson, Joel Stratton, Jim Hubbell, TheBabeGabe, TyFaison, Mitzi McKee, Don Simon, Morgan Holcomb, Bill Sundahl, Rick Truman, Nick Carswell, Brody Lowe, Fritz Hutchison, Mark Ronning, Iona DeWalt, Nan Turner, Amy Steinberg, Pete Kuhn, Brandon Day, Flare Tha Rebel, Margo May, Jared Bond, Tim York, Rita Hanch, Brock Johnson, Howard Iceberg, Chad Brothers, Julie Bates, Andrew Morris, Bess Wallerstein-Huff, Christopher Ruiz, Wills Nan Doorn, Sondra Freeman, Steddy P, David George, Scotty Sharp, Ben Wendt, Brock Wilbur, Nick Spacek, Gabe Rivera, Sara Swenson, Tommy Capps, Dirk Liebert, Graham Stone, Barry Lee, Chuck Haddix, Judy Mills, and Bill Brownlee.
In 2025 there were over 1675 MidCoastal (KC area) releases in Albums, EPs, & Singles…(that we know of). On WMM we culled these releases for our specail mix of New & MidCoastal releases. In 2025 we’ve broadcast nearly 900 different tracks on WMM over our 100,000 watts of 90.1 FM Community Radio Airwaves.
Since 2009 WMM has presented an end of year special The 120 Best Recording of the years, a 4-part, 4 week series. All of our Best of Lists and all of our weekly playlists are available at: Our “Best of Lists” can be found at: http://www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org
10:35 – WMM Spins More New & MidCoastal Releases
One of Mark’s earliest interviews on 90.1 FM KKFI was with Krystle Warren. Krystle graduated from Paseo Arts Academy in 2001 and began her musical career in collaborating with area jazz and pop musicians. After living in San Francisco and NYC, Krystle was signed to a French label, Because Music, and moved to Paris to release “Circles” in 2009. Krystle played French and British television programs, including Later with Jools Holland, garnering critical acclaim and traveling all over the world with Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Norah Jones, and Joan As Police Woman.
Kate McGarrigle was born February 6, 1946 – was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle.She is the mother of singers Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright from her marriage to American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, which ended in divorce. Kate McGarrigle died on January 18, 2010.
A “Celebration of Kate McGarrigle” was held on May 12 and 13, 2011, at New York City’s Town Hall. Among the participating artists honoring her at these concerts were Martha Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright, Anna McGarrigle, Emmylou Harris, Lisa Hannigan, Norah Jones, Antony Hegarty, Jimmy Fallon, Krystle Warren, Justin Vivian Bond, Teddy Thompson, Jenni Muldaur, writer Michael Ondaatje and longtime friends and McGarrigle sidemen Chaim Tannenbaum and Joel Zifkin. The celebration was curated by Joe Boyd and filmed by Lian Lunson. Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle was released in June 2013; Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle served as the film’s soundtrack.
Krystle Warren was asked to audition by Joe Boyd who had previously worked with her for a Nick Drake Tribute. When Krystle walked into the room, sitting behind a table was Rufus Wainwright, Emmylou Harris, Nick Cave and Neil Tennant (of The Pet Shop Boys). Krystle looked at the table and sort of freaked out. She asked if it would be okay for her to turn around from them to sing. She just couldn’t look at their faces. These were some of her musical heroes all staring at her.
She turned around, with her back to the table, and sang the song Kate had written that Krystle would sing in the show. When Krystle finished singing, she turned to face the table to find that Rufus Wainwright had left the room. Krystle immediately felt that she had failed. Leaving the room she began criticizing herself. Krystle said “I fucked it up, Rufus left the room I was so bad.” Joe Boyd who was present in the room said looked at Krystle and said,, “Oh no, you’re wrong kiddo, Rufus left the room because when he heard your voice singing his mother’s song, he lost it and started crying.
Krystle got the gig, and then Rufus hired her to go on tour with him, opening for him in concert, and singing back-up for him on stage during his show.
10:37
- Krystle Warren – “I Don’t Know”
from: Sing Me The Songs Celebrating The Works of Kate McGarrigle / Nonesuch / June 21, 2013
[Features highlights from three concerts in honor of the late Kate McGarrigle. Proceeds from the concerts provided seed money for the Kate McGarrigle Foundation a non-profit organization dedicated to raising money in the fight against sarcoma and also to preserving her legacy through the arts. Net proceeds from the sale of Sing Me the Songs also will be donated to the Foundation. The double-disc set was produced by Joe Boyd, who curated the concerts, and features performances by Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Anna McGarrigle, Emmylou Harris, Antony, Norah Jones, and Teddy Thompson, among others. The New York concerts were filmed for a feature documentary entitled Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle, directed by Lian Lunson and produced by Luson and Teddy Wainwright. Candid interviews with McGarrigle’s family and friends are paired with rousing performances of her music.] [Originally from KC, Krystle learned to play the guitar by listening to Rubber Soul & Revolver from The Beatles. Krystle graduated from Paseo Arts Academy in 2001 and began her musical career in collaborating with area jazz and pop musicians. After living in San Francisco and NYC, Krystle was signed to a French label, Because Music, and moved to Paris to release “Circles” in 2009. Krystle played French and British television programs, including Later with Jools Holland, garnering critical acclaim and traveling all over the world with Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Norah Jones, and Joan As Police Woman. Krystle created, Parlour Door Music, to release “Love Songs: A Time You May Embrace” a recording from a 13-day session in Brooklyn, where she recorded 24 songs live with 28 musicians including her band, The Faculty, alongside choirs, horn and string sections. Krystle followed up Love Songs with her 2017 album Three The Hard Way, Produced by Krystle Warren and Ben Kane (D’Angelo, Emily King, PJ Morton). Recorded, engineered, and mixed by Ben Kane. Written & performed by Krystle Warren. Mixed at The Garden, Brooklyn. Mastered & cut by Alex DeTurk at Masterdisk. Last year in Krystle Warren premiered this song and her other new songs from this album at the Middle of the Map Fest in a packed room at Californos in Westport and later at The Polsky Theatre for the Performing Arts Series of Johnsons County Community College. For this record Krystle decided to play every instrument and vocals & back up vocals, “playing bass, drums, lap steel, piano, guitar, and vocals directly to analog tape. She and Ben Kane recorded in Villetaneuse, France, a small town on the outskirts of Paris in a vintage 70s era studio that offered just the right, rich sound to suggest the musical foundation for the record, and to do justice to the duo’s carefully balanced arrangements.” On WMM in 2021 Krystle shared inspirations for this record, early gospel recordings, that crossed over into Jazz from Pharoah Sanders, Edwin Hawkins, and The Swan Silvertones.]
[Owen/Cox joins forces with internationally renowned singer/songwriter Krystle Warren for an evening of intimate and powerful music and dance. This world premiere will feature songs selected from Warren’s expansive catalog, including previously unreleased material. Krystle Warren will be joined by a stellar ensemble of musicians and dancers for this unforgettable performance. Friday &Saturday April 10 & 11 at 8:00pmand Sunday April 12, at 2:00pm at City Stage Theatre – Union Station.
[Jennifer Owen, Brad Cox and Krystle Warren will join us on Wednesday MidDay Medley on April 8, 2026.]
- Dimension Bill Edwards – “No Internet Dinosaur”
from: “No Internet Dinosaur” – Single / Gordophonic Records / March 5, 2026
[Dimension Bill Edwards released their album SUSTENANCE / Gordophonic Records / February 10, 2022. Dimension Bill Edwards released their single,“Surrealberry Hill” on Fat Tuesday, February 16, 2021. The single was inspired by band members move from the West 39th street area to Strawberry Hill in Kansas City, Kansas. The spoken word portion of the song is Matt reading from the Egyptian Book of The Dead. The release coincided with an amazing “Float House” that Melissa created for Mardi Gras in Pandemic times. Dimension Bill Edwards is a band that kind of organically formed through live performances at the Walnut Valley Folk Festival and the last set of the festival “Heavy Petting ZO0” held in the Pecan Grove an the band mameber’s association with the band KC Bearfighters. Dimension Bill Edwards is: Matt Weinman on lyrics, vocals & guitar; Melissa Weinman on lyrics, vocals & dance moves; Grant Buell on keyboards & accordion; Mallory Edson on violin; Phil Craven on bass & recording engineer; (John Bersuch on drums for “Surrealberry Hill”) ; Ike Golets on drums for future recordings and live performances. Matt and Melissa met John Bersuch when he moved in next door to them in Strawberry Hill on New Years Eve 2019. Grant Buell and Melissa Weinman are also in the band Good Time Charley. Phil Craven and Mallory Edson and Ike Goletz are also in the band, Whiskey for the Lady. Band members found a wooden sign that read” Dimension Bill Edwards? behinds Cupini’s on West 43rd Street. No one know what the sign was from or what it meant, but they decided to use this for the name of their band. More info at: http://www.dimensionbilledwards.bandcamp.com]
[Dimension Bill Edwards play a Single Release Party TOMORROW on Thursday, March 7, at 7:00pm at Greenwood Social Hall. 1750 Belleview Ave., KCMO with Rachel & Griffin.]
- Sky Smeed – “Nine to Five” (Live)
from: “Nine to Five (Live)” – Single / Sky Smeed / January 14, 2026
[Sky Smeed released his singles: “Bumper Sticker” (Live) on February 19, 2026; “What A Wonderful World” on June 12, 2024; “Why Do I Do It” on September 25, 2023; “Honeymoon Phase” on February 8, 2023; “Chicken of the Trees” on January 3, 2023 ; “True Love” on November 12, 2000 ; North Shore Trail on August 10, 2018; “If your Taught You Learn to Be Mean” on September 20, 2017; (Sky Smeed told us that he wrote this song while watching the horrible things that happened in Charlottesville, WV a few weeks ago. It’s influenced by a bunch of things for certain. Sky Smeed was born and raised outside of Chanute, Kansas, in an old, one-room schoolhouse his parents bought and turned into a home in the early 1970s. Last year, he sold the country home he built by hand and migrated to Lawrence, Kansas, a place that has provided a non-stop supply of creativity, community and culture, and began settling in to an old fixer-upper on the north side of the Kaw River). To date, Smeed has self-released five full-length albums: Flying High (2002), The Front Steps (2004), Mill River (2006), Sky Smeed (2012) and Drive All Night (2015). His sixth album, Lunker Bass (released February 1, 2017), was recorded and produced at The Ninth Ward Pickin’ Parlor in Lawrence by none other than award-winning folk duo Truckstop Honeymoon (Mike & Katie West).]
[Sky Smeed plays the Boulevard Beer Hall, 2534 Madision Ave, KCMO just across from the brewing facilty on the Boulevard Brewing Company’s campus, on Wednesday, March 4, at 6:00pm.]
[Sky Smeed will be celebrating the release of his 10th album at Greenwood Social Hall, 1750 Belleview Ave., KCMO on Saturday, April 4, 2026, Doors 6 p.m. Showtime at 7:00pm.]
10:49 – Pledge Break #3
WMM Winter Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mara Williams, & Joelle St.Pierre
Where do listeners go to learn more about: Environmental issues, Immigration, Labor rights, Renters Rights, LGBTQIA issue, Urban Issues, Women’s Issues, Native American Issues, Understanding Isreal Palestine, Educational Issues, School Boards and Local Politics, our area Prison Population, Economic Issues, The Kansas City Visual & Literary Arts , The Performing Arts, Stadium Campaigns, National Headlines? Where do listeners go to hear: Jazz, Blues, Reggae, Classical, Hip Hop, Folk, Women’s Music, Indie Rock, Pop, Electronica, Punk…the answer is KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio. KKFI host 88 locally produce radio shows each creating weekly content to serve multiple communities of diversity across our listening audience.
We’re living in an age when an entire Political Party, a President, his entire cabinet, the U.S. Congress & Senate, The Supreme Court, Kansas & Missouri State governments are eliminating healthcare & legal protections for women, equality, civil rights, jobs, minorities, people living with disabilities, children, rolling back equality for Transgender, Non-Binary & Queer friends. With the recent narrow passage of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill – ICE now has an estimated budget of $150 billion between now and 2029—an annual average of $37.5 billion, which is higher than the military expenditure of all but 15 countries.
Things aren’t so good for pubic broadcasting. The president formally requested that Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in federal subsidies for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which lawmakers had already approved. Congress rescinded federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public radio stations such as KKFI, KCUR, Classical KC, and 90.9 The Bridge have lost thousands in additional grants that help to sustain non-commercial broadcasters.
Music and the arts permeate almost every aspect of public media–from shows dedicated to music discovery and local artists to live on-air performances and concert calendars, public media provides access to music genres and artists that in many cases are ignored by commercial media.
Without federal funding from the CPB and CPB’s management of these music rights, public radio stations face a diminished capacity to deliver the quality and variety of music you rely on, both on the radio and through our streaming platforms. The loss of CPB’s role in securing music licenses is truly an existential threat for noncommercial public media.
KC’s noncommercial stations provide critical pipelines for new, local artists & music to be discovered, with many artists attributing their success to their start on public radio. We also bolster local arts economies by forging partnerships with local arts organizations and performance venues, creating opportunities for the community to engage with them.
10:57
- She Said – “Time”
from: What! / May 10, 2025
[Jennie Ferguson on vocals & guitar, Scott Mize on guitar, Doug Hitchcock on drums, and Matt Kesler, on bass. Matt Kesler and Scott Mize used to be in a band called Sylvan Grove. Lyrics by Jennie Ferguson, music by Jennie Ferguson and She Said. Produced by She Said. Recorded and Engineered by Paul Malinowski at Massive Sound in Shawnee, Kansas. Mixing by Paul Malinowski and She Said. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. Jennie Ferguson and Scott Mize used to play in a band called Shotgun Solution. This was after the time of Jennie’s all-girl psych/pop band PMS. Doug Hitchcock has played with Matt Kesler in the Midtown Jazz Quartet. Doug has played with Freedie Johston, and the band Near Death Experience. Matt Kesler also plays in the famous bands The Pedajets and The Doo Dads.]
[She Said play miniBar 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 7:00pm, with Cher UK, Lorna K, and The Scriveners]
11:00 – Station ID
11:00 – Interview w/ Jennie Ferguson, Scott Mize, Matt Kesler of She Said and Hank Pendergraft KCKCC recording engineer student and musician.
She Said is a Kansas City super group – made up of veteran musicians Jennie Ferguson (PMS, Shotgun Solution), Scott Mize (Sylvan Grove, Pedaljets), Matt Kesler (Pedaljets, St. George & The Dragons), and Doug Hitchcock (Freedie Johnston, Hari Kari Trio of Doom), She Said delivers original Midwest rock with decades of experience and loads of soul.
Jennie Ferguson, Scott Mize, Matt Kesler, and Hank Pendergraft thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.
She Said released their debut album, What! on May 10, 2025, and was in the Top Five of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2025.
She Said join us to premiere their new single, “You Remind Me,” recorded and engineered by Hank Pendergraft.
She Said play miniBar 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 7:00pm, with Cher UK, Lorna K, and The Scriveners.
More information at: http://www.shesaid3.bandcamp.com
A time warp of styles and substance, this supergroup of veteran musicians takes what it wants from the Rock-n-Roll canon and spits out a riotous sound. With nods to The Pretenders, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks, Nancy Sinatra and a cosmic micro-dose of The B-52s, She Said confidently walks their talk into a new era of Midwestern power pop.
“They want to make the world a better place and their music is the perfect medicine for the times we are living through.” – Mark Manning MidDay Medley 90.1FM KKFI Kansas City Community Radio
She Said – Clad in classic western filigree and vintage Telecasters, She Said delivers the kind of punchy midcoast Rock and Roll that satisfies both the meat-and-potato music lover and the Americana cool kid. Each band member brings a unique flavor to the table with collective musical experiences steeped in punk, funk, jazz, country, and folk alongside off-beat sonic ventures. Less of a fusion and more of a collection of tastes, their range of influences lends itself to an infectious mixtape full of their own original tunes.
For the past 8 years, She Said bandmates have aligned creative paths to discover their own stylistic territory, as evident in their upcoming full-length album “She Said What!” Eschewing midwest nice for emotional grit, Ferguson does not pull punches with her driving guitar and honest lyrical delivery layered on a platter of Kesler’s vocal harmonies and pop punk basslines. Mize expertly lands the rock, blues and country licks while Hitchcock shakes up the backbone with classic beats that could land themselves in any decade.
About the band’s new single, “You Remind Me” Matt Kesler writes: A friend of the band, Jeff Pendergraft (of the band Big Iron) mentioned that his son, Hank Pendergraft was studying Audio Engineering at the Kansas City Community Collage and needed to record a band for his senior project. We jumped on the opportunity to help our young friend and record in one of the best facilities in the area. We went in with an idea and came out with “You Remind Me”. We recorded the song in one session then went back for several mixing sessions. Hank Pendergraft proved his understanding of the recording equipment and the software. He got an A+.
More information at: http://www.shesaid3.bandcamp.com
11:08 – Pledge Break #4
WMM Winter Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mara Williams, & Joelle St.Pierre
On Saturday, February 28, 2026 KKFI Celebrated 38 years on the air!
On May 13, 2026 – WMM will celebrate 22 Years on the radio.
As of this week WMM has done 1137 weeks, equal to 2274 hours of radio, over 18,000 hours of preparation, 3000 interviews, over 3000 guests, and nearly 25,000 songs, from thousands of musical artists. We have made it our mission to mix musical genres, playing with themes, diversity, equality, free speech, connecting artists and venues and listeners and communities. Wednesday MidDay Medley has proudly endeavored to help tell the story of our growing Kansas City area music community, “The Midcoast Sound,” as we like to call it. We have dedicated a majority of our programming to New & MidCoastal Releases.
WMM has presented new formats in radio, with our “A Story In A Song” series, our shows featuring: Apocalypse Meow, Juneteenth, Power to The People Fest, Crossroads Music Fest, Folk Alliance International, Manor Fest, The Outer Reaches Festival, Boulevardia. KC Fringe Festival, Waldo Folk Series, Shuttlecock Music, The Folly Theatre, Owen Cox Dance Group, Bach Aria Soloists, KC Pride, our annual tribute shows to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., David Bowie, Iris Dement, Pioneers of Punk, LGBTQIA Themes, Black Lives Matter and interviews with Lily Tomlin, Laurie Anderson, Tommy Ramone, Sweet Honey in The Rock, Joey Arias, Cheyenne Jackson, Iris Dement, Flamy Grant, Members of Fanny, Regina Spektor, Regina Carter, Tom Miller, Nick Cave, Holly Near, Sam Harris, our annual 4-week special: WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of the Year.
We are inspired by our friend Anne Winter, who left us in 2009, and reminded us how we’re all connected. At Anne’s funeral we realized that we are connected to hundreds of other people who Anne had touched with her gentle, wise, guidance and had nudged into taking a job, going out on a stage, organizing an event, doing a radio show. We were all connected, she had loved us all and supported us, and some of us made a pact to do just a little bit of what Anne did, if we all did a little we could continue her work to help build our community, that is how we keep Anne alive in our heart.
And through collaboration, and shining a light, like Abigail Hope Henderson, who we lost in 2013, but not before she ignited a movement to create the Midwest Music Foundation supporting heath care needs and mental health care for the music community. I’m inspired by the diverse , intelligent, motivated, listeners, looking for place on the dial, where they can connect to the stories & music & voice of our community.
90.1 offers 100 different radio programs. 88 of these programs are locally, produced, hosted, engineered and written by over 100 different people, who create content, and personally handcraft each show, each week. There are 64 local music shows and 24 locally produced News, Public Affairs, Arts & Talk shows.
You will not find this kind of representative diversity anywhere else on your radio dial. Or from any singular source on your computer. It is very special. It needs to be nourished and kept alive in a world of corporate, nationally owned, commercial or religious broadcasting.
Not only do we bring the most diverse and unfiltered news and information, but our musical playlists are deep, and comprehensive. In one week you can hear over 2000 different songs played, in Blues, Jazz, Folk, Hip Hop, Reggae, Classical, World, Americana, Southern Soul, Fusion, Soul, Rock, New Wave, Electronic, Native, Local, Old Timey, Rockabilly, Women’s, Children’s, Gospel, and Experimental.
With all of this, you hear the voices from the hundreds of KKFI volunteers, and thousands of guests from the community, who share their stories, broadcast live from our non-commercial, midtown studios, at 39th & Main, in the center of our metro, across two states, a collective of communities, and thousands of listeners. What is this worth to you?
11:16
- She Said – “You Remind Me” [BROADCAST PREMIERE]
from: “You Remind Me” – Single / She Said / March 4, 2026
[Recorded, engineered and mixed by Hank Pendergraft. Jennie Ferguson on vocals & guitar, Scott Mize on guitar, Doug Hitchcock on drums, and Matt Kesler, on bass. Matt Kesler and Scott Mize used to be in a band called Sylvan Grove. Lyrics by Jennie Ferguson, music by Jennie Ferguson and She Said. A friend of the band, Jeff Pendergraft (of the band Big Iron) mentioned that his son, Hank Pendergraft was studying Audio Engineering at the Kansas City Community Collage and needed to record a band for his senior project. We jumped on the opportunity to help our young friend and record in one of the best facilities in the area. We went in with an idea and came out with “You Remind Me”. We recorded the song in one session then went back for several mixing sessions. Hank Pendergraft proved his understanding of the recording equipment and the software. He got an A+.]
[She Said play miniBar 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 7:00pm, with Cher UK, Lorna K, and The Scriveners. ]
11:20 – More Interview w/ Jennie Ferguson, Scott Mize, Matt Kesler, and Hank Pendergraft.
She Said is a Kansas City super group – made up of veteran musicians Jennie Ferguson (PMS, Shotgun Solution), Scott Mize (Sylvan Grove, Pedaljets), Matt Kesler (Pedaljets, St. George & The Dragons), and Doug Hitchcock (Freedie Johnston, Hari Kari Trio of Doom), She Said delivers original Midwest rock with decades of experience and loads of soul.
She Said join us to premiere their new single, “You Remind Me,” recorded and engineered by Hank Pendergraft who also joins us.
Jennie Ferguson, Scott Mize, Matt Kesler, and Doug Hitchcock and Hank Pendergraft thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.
“You Remind Me” – She Said recorded the song in one session then went back for several mixing sessions. Hank Pendergraft proved his understanding of the recording equipment and the software. He got an A+.
She Said released their debut album, What! on May 10, 2025, and was in the Top Five of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2025. She Said delivers original Midwest rock with decades of experience and loads of soul. She Said play miniBar 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 7:00pm, with Cher UK, Lorna K, and The Scriveners. More information at: http://www.shesaid3.bandcamp.com
She Said has loads of chemistry and it’s no wonder – mapping their longtime musical friendships and forays would take a series of Venn diagrams: From front woman Jennie Ferguson’s psych-pop girl band background with PMS and her days with guitarist Scott Mize in Shotgun Solution, to Mize’s jangly guitar project Sylvan Grove with bassist Matt Kesler into their legendary alt-punk band The Pedaljets. Drummer Doug Hitchcock plays with Kesler in the MidTown Jazz Quartet. He also has a rich musical history of his own. Hitchcock has played with Near Death Experience, They Might Be Giants labelmate Freedie Johnston, The Drummer’s Collective NYC, and the Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom known for filling the Knitting Factory in New York City with their dubbed out echoplex experiments.
As a KC supergroup, She Said masterfully holds their own in a midsize club or opening up for a national touring act. Their loyal fanbase brings the party wherever they play and with their new album in hand, they are ready to showcase how a band can wield both spirit and craft, in rooms across the Show-Me State and beyond. There’s nothing more entertaining than watching seasoned pros get their rock off. Yeah, that’s what she said.
Jennie Ferguson, Scott Mize, Matt Kesler, and Hankl Pendergraft thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.
She Said play miniBar 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 7:00pm, with Cher UK, Lorna K, and The Scriveners.
More information at: http://www.shesaid3.bandcamp.com
11:28– Underwriting
11:29 – Pledge Break #5
WMM Winter Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mara Williams, & Joelle St.Pierre
We offer Live in studio performances from: Howard Iceberg & The Matchsellers and Chad Brothers, Marmoppes, Beth Watts Nelson, ALBER, True Lions, Lonnie Fisher, Mitzi McKee, Calvin Arsenia, Ivory Blue, Stephonne, Julia Othmer, The Swallowtails, Danny Santell, Krystle Warren, MusicbySkippy, Lone Stranger, Just Angel & T.A. Rell,
We make shows featuring: The Folly Theater, Extemporaneous Music & Arts Society, Lotus Pool Records, KC Rep, Outer Reaches Fest, Owen/Cox Dance Group, No Divide KC, recordBar, Lawrence Arts Center, Manor Records, The Rino, KC Blues Society, KC Star, Lawrence Music Alliance, MixMaster Music Conference, Kosmic City Records, Midwest Music Foundation, Artists Thrive!, KC Gift, Juneteenth, Power to The People Fest, The Record Machine, Whim Theater, Lemonade Park, Crossroads Music Festival, The Ship, The Black Box Theatre, Amplify Lawrence, Quindaro Ruins, Queer Narratives Fest, Art in the Loop, “I’m So Glad” documentary film about KC Gospel Music, KC Fringe Fest, Make Music Day, Boulevardia, Arts in The Park, UMKC Conservatory of Music, The Crossroads Hotel, High Dive Records, Greenwood Social Hall, KC Folk Fest, Manor Fest, Center Cut Records, KKFI Band Auction, Charlotte Street Foundation, Women’s History Month!, University of Missouri, Lawrence Public Library, I Heart Local Music, Black History Month, Bach Aria Soloists, Folk Alliance International, Martin Luther King Jr., Tribute to David Bowie, Tribute to Iris DeMent, the music of Palestine and Gaza
11:37 – WMM Spins MidCoastal Trans Artists
Last week in the Kansas City Star Mará Rose Williams wrote an opinion piece about Kansas Senate Bill 244, which Republican supermajorities in the Kansas Legislature voted last week to enact into law, overriding Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto, went into effect this week, prompting the national political action committee Trans Liberty PAC to issue a formal evacuation alert for transgender residents of Kansas.
The Kansas state government has invalidated the driver’s licenses and birth certificates of transgender residents who changed the gender on those documents, in accordance with a law that took effect on Thursday, February 26, 2026. – The move affects thousands of people.
Specifically, the new law invalidates transgender residents’ state identification documents, including drivers licenses, that include gender identification other than what they were issued at birth. The new law also requires people in government-owned buildings to use restrooms and other multi-occupancy private spaces that correspond with their sex assigned at birth.
“Kansas is the 21st state to restrict transgender people’s access to restrooms, but it’s the first to enact criminal enforcement, a private bounty mechanism, and retroactive ID invalidation,” Trans Liberty said in a statement on Thursday.
The PAC used national population data to estimate that 20,000 to 50,000 transgender people live in Kansas.
Affected residents must pay for their new driver’s licenses. The law also requires transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in buildings owned or leased by government entities that match their sex assigned at birth.
- Jocelyn Nixon – “fight for your say”
from: “fight for your say”- Single / Supe Brill Records / March 4, 2026 UNRELEASED
[Last year Jocelyn Olivia Nixon released the single, “YOU AIN’T RIGHT! YOU MUST BE WRONG!” on May 2, 2025. Jocelyn Olivia Nixon is lead singer of the band The Creepy Jungles. The Creepy Jingles are getting ready to release a new alum called WASHED UP coming this spring. Jocelyn told Nick Spacek of The Pitch, “that the songs she presents to her bandmates in The Jingles’ songs are poppier stuff, typically, while solo songs are more folky, mellow, weird, and lyrical. Solo work also gives her the opportunity to work with others outside the group. As Nixon explains, “It’s basically a tongue-in-cheek song making fun of hard right conservatives and social cliques who think only their way is ‘right.’” She said, “I felt like I needed something where I can be a bit more vulnerable and naked, I suppose,” the musician says. “I think because Jingles do rock n roll pop songs well, I think I’m kinda boxed in as an artist and singer. This is my way of saying I have many sides to myself as an individual and as an artist, and I can forge my own path and defy expectations.” Jocelyn Nixon’s next single, “Real Deal,” is due later this summer . // The Creepy Jingles released a series of 4 new singles in 2024 including “When Things Go Wrong” on February 23, 2024. // The Creepy Jingles are a Kansas City based, rock and roll band that both honors and defies convention. Led by singer / song-writer Jocelyn Olivia Nixon, a transgender wordsmith who charms with razor wit and dazzles with her lyrical acrobatics. The Creepy Jingles released their album, TAKE ME AT MY WORDPLAY on March 25, 2022 through High Dive Records. Paired up with lyrics centering on themes of identity, strained relationships, social media madness, meme magic, pandemic paranoia, paid off political pundits, backyard bullies and barking up the wrong tree. Everything and the kitchen sink or swim. No stoner left unturned. The Creepy Jingles released their Debut EP on High Dive Records on May 3, 2019. The release was in the top ten of WMM’s 119 Best Recordings of 2019.]
- Beverly Glenn-Copeland – “Shenandoah”
from: Laughter in The Summer / Transgressive Records / February 6, 2026
[Beverly Glenn-Copeland on vocals, Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland on vocals Alex Samaras on vocals & piano, Naomi McCarroll-Butler on clarinet and whistles. // From his bandcamp page: From the moment we are born, we begin the long walk home. Elizabeth and Beverly and Glenn-Copeland started down the path together nearly half a century ago, and have been trailing it since, hand in hand and song by song. Together, they’ve made a life sharing their unselfish hearts—ones too large for earthly configuration—through art and community, encouraging us all to take our own dance down the road with elemental love and grace. // Now, as Glenn lives with a version of Dementia known as LATE, their walk has taken on a different weight. Out of this season comes Laughter In Summer, an album the couple made together—realizing, before long, that it was a love letter to one another: a tender ledger of memories, shared devotion, grief and joy. We, as listeners, are privileged to enter the orbit of the Glenn-Copelands’ love. It is a generative force: a spine-builder, a river, a source of nourishment and vital life. Spending any time with Laughter In Summer can rouse us from slumber, reawakening instincts dulled by atomization and nihilism—and all that this love counters. // Laughter In Summer marks a return to the collaborative spirit that first bound Elizabeth and Glenn together all those decades ago. “I think the universe was conspiring to get us together for a long time,” Elizabeth says now. She was nineteen when she first saw him—Toronto, Jarvis Street, in a small restaurant. Onstage stood a figure with an enigmatic presence, dressed in a sweatsuit, playing piano and singing as though for no one but himself. For Elizabeth, nothing existed but the sound of that voice: plum-rich, tender, and assured. // After that night, she did not see or hear of Glenn again for a decade. She was pregnant with her daughter, Faith when a friend stopped her on the street and entreated, “Elizabeth, have you heard of Beverly Glenn-Copeland?!” She hadn’t. Into her hands the friend pressed one of Glenn’s homemade cassettes. On it were two songs: ‘Sailing On the Winds of Time’ and ‘Hold On’. Elizabeth played the latter for her unborn child, singing along as she carried Faith inside. // When Elizabeth had saved enough to record her own album in the nineties, ‘My Mother’s Eyes”, she longed to cover ‘Hold On’. She reached out to Glenn personally for his permission, and in that exchange, their friendship began. Theirs soon grew into a partnership rooted in music and spirituality. Elizabeth invited Glenn into the theater shows she produced, sometimes as collaborator, sometimes as co-producer. They shared stages, work, and vision. The seeds of Laughter In Summer—of creating music as a shared lifeline—were planted here, long before the album itself would exist. // Their love story truly began in the spring of 2007. Elizabeth, a single mother, sent a ferocious prayer to the universe: Please send me my mate. That same night she dreamt of Glenn, standing on a hill, moonlight behind him. She woke and called their mutual friend Maggie Hollis—who sang on Glenn’s ‘La Vita’—and told her of the dream. Maggie said Glenn was going through a divorce, and let her know, “Elizabeth, you would be perfect for him.” // Later that spring, Elizabeth attended Maggie’s wedding, knowing Glenn would be there. Afterward she called him. He was eating oatmeal with his oversized spoon, as he often did. Elizabeth told him about her dream: how he was reaching for her, gilded by the moonlight. On the other end of the line, she heard the spoon fall to the floor. Glenn would later say that it was his mother, who had recently passed, who brought Elizabeth to him. By the end that summer2007, they were in love. Their romance only emboldened their shared vocation: to make art in service of community, especially for children, so that the next generation might carry their message forward. In 2010, they left Toronto for the East Coast, drawn by lower costs and the call of the ocean and forests. There they founded KPH Theater Productions, a children’s theater school that flourished until 2016, when the local economy collapsed. Closing it was a difficult dream for the couple to relinquish. For years it had given them a grounded way to bring people together, to show how the arts could be a tool for belonging. // For too long, the story of Beverly Glenn-Copeland has overlooked the importance of local theater in his work, and, more fundamentally it has overlooked Elizabeth. The narrative built around Glenn has unwittingly echoed misogynistic forms of lionization, where the woman’s influence is diminished in favor of a sole male genius. But what of the woman who produced the shows that gave Glenn stages to stand on, arranged his music, raised children, built theater programs for other people’s children, paid the bills, carried him through the hardships of obscurity and the disorientation of belated fame? What of the woman who now, as Glenn lives with cognitive impairment, walks him home? “Behind every great man, a woman,” the saying goes. Glenn is keen to correct it: “In front of every great woman, a man.” // Now, Elizabeth has rightly taken her place as producer of Glenn’s work, shaping Laughter In Summer. The album’s title comes from a song born almost accidentally. Glenn, as his cognitive impairment advanced, began composing a series of instrumentals he called Songs With No Words, meant for listeners to write their own lyrics. One day he played one such piece for Elizabeth. Sitting by a lake, listening to loons and gazing at the sky, words rose up in her: laughter in summer, how I remember. “It was a very painful time,” she recalls, “because I was so aware of just how much of my sweetheart I was losing.” My life, my joy, on Earth, here, with you, she sang. The words came as a gift, as if from the loons themselves. // In 2024, before a Montreal performance, they were invited to spend a few days recording alongside producer and engineer Howard Bilerman (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Vic Chesnutt, and Wolf Parade) at Hotel2Tango. There was no plan to make a record. They simply wanted to capture the songs they had been singing on tour, joined by a choir of Canadian voices gathered by their music director Alex Samaras. None of the singers had rehearsed with Glenn and Elizabeth. The first take of the first song, ‘Let Us Dance: Movement Two’, became the version on the album. Every other track you hear was recorded in a single take. // Other songs on the album reach further back. ‘Children’s Anthem’ dates from the couple’s early years together, written for a teachers’ workshop on bullying. Elsewhere, writing on their own ancestral lines, ‘Middle Island Lament’ recalls their years running the theater school on the Acadian coast, rooted in local history of famine, quarantine, and farewell. ‘Harbor’, written for Elizabeth’s birthday, reappears too, a song Glenn relearned by improvisation after memory loss, backstage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, with Elizabeth’s hand in his. // As Glenn’s executive functioning diminishes, his musical being—“and I would say his heart self,” Elizabeth adds—only grows stronger. This, she believes, is the dividend of fifty years of Buddhist practice. But their love has been braided with grief. “One of the things both Glenn and I have contended with in this walk, walking him home, is the depth of our love for each other, and how it’s reflected in the depth of grief that we feel. As much as I’m losing parts of him, he’s said to me, ‘Honey, I’m also losing parts of you, because I can’t remember certain things anymore,’ and it breaks my heart.” // They refuse to look away from the sorrow. At least once a week, they sit together and name what is being lost. “Because when you deny an emotion,” Elizabeth says, “it becomes frozen within you.” The making of Laughter In Summer became another way of being present with each other—songs not just as compositions but as testaments. // “From the moment we are born, we are walking towards our deaths,” Elizabeth says. “And that’s okay. In order for there to be birth, there must be death.” Glenn tells her that when he goes, he will be able to be with her even more than now. For Elizabeth, the thought is both comfort and pain. But what sustains them both is Glenn’s refusal to stop giving. “Sometimes he’ll hold my hands and say, ‘I have so much more to give. I’ve got so much to give these young people.’” // As his wife and his caretaker, Elizabeth wants the world to show him its love for Glenn. She wants him to see how the world sees him; how it loves him, how it needs him. // And so, they keep walking. Let us join them, and dance down that road. // In 2020 Beverly Glenn-Copeland released Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland through Transgressive Records on Sept. 25, 2020. “There are three challenges in my life. The first is being black in a white culture. The second is being transgendered in a hetero-normative culture. The third is being an artist in a business culture” – Glenn-Copeland // Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland – A career retrospective release featuring music released over the last 50 years. “La Vita” was first released on Primal Prayer album under the moniker Phynix in 2004. Produced by John Herberman. Mixed by Composers Music Production. Additional vocals on La Vita by Maggie Dace Hollis. Electric Bass on This Side of Grace by Scott Alexander. Recorded at Composers Music Production studio in Toronto, ON. All tracks re-mastered by Guy Davie at Electric Mastering. Artwork of The Raven by Evelyn Wolff. Graphic design and layout by Traianos Pakioufakis. // Born into a family all of whom were very musical, essentially studied the classical piano repertoire from ‘cradlehood,’ listening to his father playing the piano four to five hours a day. He went on to study classical music and then after a few years of concertizing he suddenly felt called to write music that would weave all the different musical cultures he had come to love. // Beverly Glenn-Copeland is a singer and songwriter who was born in Philadelphia, but has spent most of his life and career in Canada. He is a trans man. Glenn-Copeland began publicly identifying as trans in 2002. // In 1961, Glenn-Copeland became one of the first black students to study at McGill University in Montreal. // Glenn-Copeland started his career as a folk singer incorporating jazz, classical, and blues elements. He also performed on albums by Ken Friesen, Bruce Cockburn, Gene Murtynec, Bob Disalle, and Kathryn Moses, and was a writer on Sesame Street. He spent twenty-five years entertaining children as a regular actor on Canadian children’s television show Mr. Dressup. // His 1986 electronic album, Keyboard Fantasies, recorded using equipment including a Yamaha DX7 and a Roland TR-707, was rediscovered and given further attention in the 2010s. Before his gender transition was made public, the album was selected as one of the 70 greatest recordings by women by The Stranger. Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story, a documentary directed by Posy Dixon, was released in 2019. // Planned 2020 international tours to Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European destinations were re-scheduled to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A fundraising campaign was then started to help Glenn-Copeland and his wife after the loss of their house that resulted from these changes; the campaign raised over $90,000.00.]
- Betse Ellis – “Question To Lay Your Burden Down”
from: High Moon Order / Free Dirt / June 14, 2013
[Betse Ellis with: Jason Beers, Jonathan Kraft, Josh Mobley, Mark Smeltzer, Michael Stover, Mike West. Recorded at 9th Ward Pickin’ Parlor, Lawrence, KS. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mike West. Produced by Mike West and Betse Ellis. 2nd solo release from renowned fiddler, Betse Ellis. Betse Ellis is originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Betse received her Bachelors of Arts in Music and a Bachelors of Arts in English, from the University of Missouri – Kansas City. For nearly 40 years Betse has been playing the violin and fiddle professionally and also working as a teacher of music. Betse was a founding member of the acclaimed internationally known band, The Wilders who released 10 albums. Betse is adept at the difficult technique of singing while playing the fiddle. Betse performs material, drawn from traditional American fiddle tunes, spirituals, original tunes, and her “personal old-time music”, influenced by avant-garde artists like Talking Heads, punk pioneers The Clash, and 19th century art music composer Gabriel-Mari. Betse has released two acclaimed solo records, and records & performs with the bands Little Miss Dynamite, and The Starhaven Rounders and with her husband, multi-instrumentalist Clarke Wyatt, as tBetse & Clarke.]
[Starhaven Rounders play the Dinner Matinee show at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave, KCMO in the Historic West Bottoms on Friday, March 6 at 6:00pm.]
11:45 – Pledge Break #6
WMM Winter Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mara Williams, & Joelle St.Pierre
On February 28, 1988 folks from the Kansas City Community launched onto our airwaves KKFI 90.1 FM with hopes that through community radio we could help build our community, make it a better place, for our future, for those that follow and take our place. Today 38 years later 90.1 FM offers 100 radio programs, and 88 of these programs are locally produced, locally sourced, locally researched, locally presented by passionate and dedicated members of our Kansas City Community. Bucking all trends of commercially owned media, at KKFI, Diversity and Inclusion are part of our mission. Telling the stories of people who are under-represented is our mission. In a world where national corporations have purchased almost all local TV & Radio stations, KKFI has fought hard to remain free, locally loyal, a voice for those not represented in the corporately owned & cloned stations, or the rightwing talk, church owned christian stations, that proliferate the frequencies, through all of this, KKFI has worked hard to keep a little slice of the public airwaves alive for all of the people in our collective communities.
With shows locally produced about Native People, LGBTQIA People, Women, Working People, Black People, Ecological People, People in Prison, Stories of Middle Eastern and Latinx, KC Tenants, Understanding Israel Palestine, Economics For The People, Local elected leaders, Creatives, Artists, Poets, Musicians, Teachers, Theatre People, Dancers, Writers, Environmentalists, Historians, Activists, Survivors, KKFI’s News, Public Affairs, Arts & Culture programs go the distance with every show to represent and report of what is going on in our world here in Kansas City and the surrounding metro in our 80 mile radius of signal, and even farther on line digitally.
KKFI offers music shows produced by steadfast representatives from the diverse Music Community of Kansas City: Jazz shows 7 days a week hosted by professional Jazz Musicians; Reggae Shows throughout the week hosted by Reggae Royalty, Folk and Americana shows all week long hosted by folk musicians with decades of performances; Blues shows hosted by women & men who dearly love and live in KC’s enduring and nationally recognized blues community. Music shows that celebrate Independent, Local, Alternative, Soul and R&B, Punk, Hip Hop, Electronic, Vinyl only, Glam Rock, New Wave, Rockabilly, Tejano, Classical, K-Pop, LIVE!, Gospel, New!, World, Experimental, Old-Timey, House, Country, Heavy Metal, and so much more. Every show is produced, engineered and hosted by a real live person on the other end of the telephone.
90.1 FM is a miracle in broadcasting because hundreds of volunteers and active members keep it alive with their passion for the possibilities of radio, our most accessible media, available online, but also over the airwaves from our 100,000 watt tower that we own as a station and non-profit membership based organization.
Please help us survive. Reports show that 1 to 10 percent of listeners actually give back and donate in support of community radio. With your donation, YOU are the funder of something 100 other people will enjoy (for free) because of your donation. You are helping to build our community.
Big THANK YOU to my special co-hosts: Mara Williams, Betse Ellis and Joelle St. Pierre.
I’m Mark Manning. Thanks for listening!
11:54 – WMM Spins More New & MidCoastal Releases!
- Say That Again – “I’m Alright”
from: “I’m Alright”- Single / Say That Again / March 6, 2026
[Say That Again were formed in early 2020 with Will Kuenne on lead vocals & rhythm guitar, Trecen Peeler on bass, Vinnie Cascone on drums, and Carlos Nunez on lead guitar. Their music is a fun blend of Alternative/Indie Rock and Bedroom Pop that’ll get your toes tappinc g. Say That Again released their last album Get Over it on Feb. 23, 2024. Say That Again released their debut EP “Flying Cars” in Dec.cc of 2021 and just released their first full-length album, “Get Over It” on Feb. 23, 2024. Info: linktr.ee/SayThatAgainKC]
[Say That Again play The RINO, 314 Armour Rd, North Kansas City on Friday, March 6 at 7:00p, with Amble Haunt, and Malek Azraek & The Vibez]
- Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
NEXT WEEK, on March 11, 2026 on Wednesday MidDay Medley
- Diane Scott and Jade Osborne of Artist Inc and Mid America Arts Alliance join us to talk about ARTISTS THRIVE! a unique arts conference happening in Kansas City March 24, 25, and 26. //
- Steve Tulipana, Dedric Moore, Brenton Cook, and Nathan Reusch about the Outer Reaches Fest Friday & Saturday March 13 and 14 at recordBar and miniBar with 13 bands and incredible visuals
- Calvin Arsenia and Cera Impala join us to talk Cera Impala show at Greenwood Social Hall on Sunday, March 15 at 7:00pm.
You can find our playlists at:
http://www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org & http://www.kkfi.org
http://www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
http://www.instagram.wednesday_midday_medley
Thank you to KKFI Staff: Executive Director – Bess Wallerstein Huff, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers, Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, and Shaina Littler – Office Manager Book Keeper
This radio station is more than the individual hosts of each individual radio show. It is a collective spirit of hundreds of people, setting aside ego, to work for the greater good of community building and the goal of keeping our airwaves, non-commercial, and open! Thank you to programmers who create content for over 85 locally produced radio shows & volunteers who made extra effort to keep our station alive.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information.
Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org
Wednesday MidDay Medley in on the web:
http://www.kkfi.org,
http://www.WednesdayMidDayMedley.org,
http://www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
Show #1137
Wednesday MidDay Medley 