Wednesday MidDay Medley
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

Mará Rose Williams + Malek Azreal + Yvette Walker + Eldon Painter

10:00 – WMM Plays More New & MidCoastal Releases

1. “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
   from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979
   [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]

2. Neko Case – “Wreck (Radio Edit)”
   from: Neon Grey Midnight Green / Anti / September 26, 2025
   [Neon Grey Midnight Green is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Neko Case, released by record label Anti- on September 26, 2025. Her first entirely self-produced album, it marks her follow-up to Hell-On. She has described it as being “for and about musicians, a love letter and a testimony.” // From October 2025 to January 2026, Case will be touring North America with John Grant and Des Demonas in support of the album. // Neko Richelle Case was born September 8, 1970. She is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case’s singing voice has been described by contemporaries and critics as a “flamethrower”, “a powerhouse which seems like it might level buildings,” “a 120-mph fastball,” and a “vocal tornado”. Critics also note her idiosyncratic, “cryptic,” “imagistic” lyrics, and credit her as a significant figure in the early 21st-century American revival of the tenor guitar. Case’s body of work has spanned and drawn on a range of traditions including country, folk, art rock, indie rock, and pop and is frequently described as defying or avoiding easy generic classification. // Born in Alexandria, Virginia, Case is the only child of James Bamford Case. Case’s maternal family surname was originally Shevchenko; her great-aunt was the professional wrestler Ella Waldek. Her father, a Vietnam veteran serving in the United States Air Force, was based in Virginia at the time of her birth. Case’s parents, who were teenagers when they had her, are of Ukrainian ancestry. Her parents divorced when Case began school. In her memoir, Case indicated that she was told that her mother died of cancer when she was in the second grade, but only two years later, she was told that this was not correct. After that, her mother flitted in and out of her life, and eventually Case cut ties with her mother for good. As she writes in the book, she had a revelation: “Perhaps her mother had never been sick at all.” // Case’s family relocated several times during her childhood due to her stepfather’s work as an archaeologist. She lived in Western Massachusetts, Vermont, Oregon and Washington. She considers Tacoma, Washington to be her hometown. // Case left home and was legally emancipated at age 15. By the age of 18 she was performing as a drummer for the Del Logs and the Propanes, playing in venues including a punk club called the Community World Theater. // In 1994, Case moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, to attend the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, completing her studies 1998. While in Vancouver, she played drums in several local bands, including the Del Logs, the Propanes, the Weasels, Cub, and Maow. These bands were, for the most part, local punk groups. Case said of the vibrant Vancouver punk rock scene at that time, “A lot of women wanted to play music because they were inspired, because it was an incredibly good time for music in the Northwest. There was a lot of clubs, a lot of bands, a lot of people coming through, a lot of all-ages stuff—it was a very exciting time to live there.” // In 1998, she left Canada for Seattle, Washington. Before going, Case recorded vocals for a few songs that ended up on Mass Romantic, the New Pornographers’ first album. Her lead vocals on songs like “Letter from an Occupant” are straightforward, full-volume power-pop performances, shedding any country elements. Released on November 28, 2000, Mass Romantic became a surprise success. Although the band was originally conceived as a side project for its members, the New Pornographers remain a prominent presence in the indie rock world, having released their ninth album in 2023. // In addition to recording with the New Pornographers, Case collaborates with other Canadian musicians, including the Sadies and Carolyn Mark, and has recorded material by several noted Canadian songwriters, in particular on her 2001 EP Canadian Amp. As a result, she is also considered a significant figure in Canadian music—both CBC Radio 3 and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada have referred to Case as an “honourary Canadian”. In 2018 Case performed at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. // Case embraced country music on her 1997 album, The Virginian. The album contained original compositions as well as covers of songs by Ernest Tubb, Loretta Lynn and the 1974 Queen song “Misfire”. When the album was released, critics compared Case to honky-tonk singers like Lynn and Patsy Cline, and to rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson, particularly in her vocal timbre. // On February 22, 2000, Case released her second solo album, Furnace Room Lullaby. The album introduced the country noir elements that have defined Case’s subsequent solo career. That tone was evident even from the cover photo, featuring Case sprawled out corpse-like on a concrete floor. // Case sometimes tours with Canadian singer and songwriter Carolyn Mark as the Corn Sisters. One of their performances, at Seattle’s Hattie’s Hat restaurant in Ballard, was recorded and released as an album, The Other Women, on November 28, 2000. // In October 1999, around the time Furnace Room Lullaby was released, Case left Seattle for Chicago because she felt that Seattle was no longer hospitable to its local artists.// Case’s first work in Chicago was an eight-song EP that she recorded in her kitchen. Canadian Amp, her first recording without Her Boyfriends, was released on her own Lady Pilot label in 2001. She wrote two of the tracks, with the remaining six being covers, including Neil Young’s “Dreaming Man” and Hank Williams’ “Alone and Forsaken”. Four of the covers were written by Canadian artists. The EP was initially available only at Case’s live shows and directly from Mint Records’ website, but it eventually saw wider release. // Case also recorded her third full-length album, Blacklisted, while living in Chicago. // In April 2003, Case was voted the “Sexiest Babe of Indie Rock” in a Playboy.com internet poll, receiving 32% of the vote. Playboy asked her to pose nude for the magazine, but she declined their offer. She told Entertainment Weekly that…”I didn’t want to be the girl who posed in Playboy and then—by the way—made some music. I would be really fucking irritated if after a show somebody came up to me and handed me some naked picture of myself and wanted me to sign it instead of my CD.” // Case recorded and toured for several years as Neko Case & Her Boyfriends before performing solely under her name. Albums released as Neko Case & Her Boyfriends include The Virginian (1997) and Furnace Room Lullaby (2000). She primarily performed her own material, but also performed and recorded cover versions of songs by artists such as My Morning Jacket, Harry Nilsson, Loretta Lynn, Tom Waits, Nick Lowe, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Scott Walker, Randy Newman, Queen, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Sparks and Hank Williams. // The 2010 New Pornographers album Together features Case as lead vocalist on “Crash Years” and “My Shepherd.” The 2014 album Brill Bruisers features Case as lead vocalist on “Champions of Red Wine” and “Marching Orders.” The 2017 album Whiteout Conditions features Case as lead vocalist on “Play Money” and “This is the World of the Theater.” // In 2016, Neko Case, k.d. lang, and Laura Veirs announced the case/lang/veirs project, with an album released in June 2016. // Case recorded her third full-length album, Blacklisted, in Tucson, Arizona. It was the first full-length album credited to Case alone, without Her Boyfriends, and was released on Bloodshot Records on August 20, 2002. Some believe the title Blacklisted alludes to Case being banned for life from the Grand Ole Opry because she took her shirt off during a performance on August 4, 2001, at one of their outdoors “Opry Plaza” concerts, though Case herself has denied this. Asked about the incident in 2004, Case said “I had heatstroke. People would love it to be a ‘fuck you’ punk thing. But it was actually a physical ailment thing.” // Case’s face in 2009 Most of the album’s fourteen songs are originals; the exceptions being covers of “Running Out of Fools”, previously a hit for Aretha Franklin, and “Look for Me (I’ll Be Around)” previously performed by Sarah Vaughan. Blacklisted finds Case even deeper in a “country noir” mood, and was described by critics as lush, bleak, and atmospheric. Case cited filmmaker David Lynch, composer Angelo Badalamenti, and Neil Young’s soundtrack to the film Dead Man as influences. “I hope I can comfort people a bit—maybe show people that making music is fun and accessible to them as well. I’m not out to become Faith Hill, I never want to play an arena, and I never want to be on the MTV Video Music Awards, much less make a video with me in it. I would like to reach a larger audience and see the state of music change in favor of musicians and music fans in my lifetime. I care very much about that.” // In April 2004, Case played several shows with longtime collaborators the Sadies in Chicago and Toronto. These shows were recorded and released as a live album, The Tigers Have Spoken, by Anti Records in October 2004. // Fox Confessor Brings the Flood was released on March 7, 2006. The album was recorded primarily in Tucson, over the course of two years as Case worked on the live The Tigers Have Spoken and continued to play with the New Pornographers. Critics hailed the record not only for Case’s trademark vocals but also her use of stark imagery and non-standard song structures. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood wound up on many “Best of 2006” lists, such as No.1 on the Amazon.com music editors’ picks and No. 2 on NPR’s All Songs Considered. The album debuted at No. 54 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It contains Case’s most autobiographical song, “Hold On, Hold On”. Case said: “the song is actually about me. It’s not metaphorical about other people. It’s not little pieces of my life made into a story about someone else or someone fictitious.” // “Hold On, Hold On” has since been covered by Marianne Faithfull on her 2009 album Easy Come, Easy Go. It was used over an episode of The Killing (Season 1 Episode 6) before the final credits, and in the 2015 film One More Time. “John Saw That Number” was used in the snowboarding movie “City. Park City”. // Case’s next album, Middle Cyclone, was released on March 3, 2009. In advance of a U.S. and European tour, Case appeared as a musical guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Later in 2009 she also appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Amazon.com rated Middle Cyclone the number one album of 2009. Middle Cyclone debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts in its first week of release, making it Case’s first album ever to reach the top ten in the United States. // At the time of its release, no other record from an independent record company had debuted at a higher position in 2009. She toured extensively to promote Middle Cyclone with dates in North America, Europe, and Australia, as well as a performance at Lollapalooza 2009 in Grant Park, Chicago. // The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You. // In June 2013, Case announced a new album, The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You, which was released on September 3. // In early March, 2018, Case released a teaser for an album titled Hell-On, her first solo work in almost five years. The teaser featured Case lying down singing a song of the same name while snakes move around her. The album was released on June 1, 2018. // On November 13, 2015, Case released a compilation vinyl box set containing eight of her solo albums. The set contains her first six studio albums, including the first vinyl pressing of The Virginian, as well as a live album. // On April 19, 2022, Case released Wild Creatures, described as “digital-only, career retrospective”. The album was released on CD, double vinyl, and MP3. It has 22 tracks from Case’s discography, plus a new song, “Oh, Shadowless”.]

[Neko Case plays The Uptown Theatre, 3700 Broadway Blvd., KCMO, on Saturday, November 31 with Destroyer her New Pornographers bandmate, Dan Bejar’s other band. This show was rescheduled fron January 24, 2026 and part of a 56-city tour that started on October 1, 2025 in Woodstock New York and lasts until January 31, 2026.]

3. Nan & The One Nite Stands – “Primetime”
   from: Primetime – EP / Nan Turner / September 4, 2026
   [5-track EP. Written by Nan Turner. Additional Vox by Tracy Flowers. Recorded + mixed + produced by Chase Horsemanat Element Studios, Kansas City, KS. Mastered by Ian Dobyns. Picture of Nan by Laci Kay. Additional studio support by Frida the Dog and Georgia. Created while also producing a musical about Tonya Harding. The singer-songwriter-drummer-actress-dancer’s music has been described as “Lucy Ricardo of Indie Rock” and “Tone Loc meets the Velvet Underground.” As Nan + The One Nite Stands, Nan released the single”Primetime” on September 5, 2025. Nan released the single “Sick” on March 7, 2025. Nan released the 4 song EP HAWKIN’ IT on May 14, 2024. Nan released HIGH-CALIBER on February 19, 2021. Nan Turner released the single, “Desert Nites”, on May 22, 2020. Nan released her EP, CHAMPS AND LOSERS, VERSION 2, on July 12, 2019. Nan Turner was one half of the critically acclaimed band Schwervon! with Matt Roth (Major Matt Mason USA) on electric guitar and Nan on drums. The band started in the Lower East Side of New York City in 1999 and toured internationally for over a decade, Schwervon! released 7 full length albums, 2 EPs, and 5 singles. Nan went to college with Soon-Yi Previn
   More Info at: www.nanturner.bandcamp.com ]

[Nan Turner & The One Nite Stands play The Brick, 1727 McGee, KCMO on Friday, November 13, at 8:00pm with Teazers, and Hair Person (from Omaha).]

10:07 – Fund Drive Break #1 – We Have History!

We’re interrupting our regularly scheduled programming, for just a few minutes, to let our listeners know that we are currently in day 10, of our 12-day, On-Air / Fall Fund Drive. We are breaking into our prepared programming, to encourage YOU to please call us at 888-931-0901 or www.kkfi.org to make a donation in support 90.1 FM KKFI.

Joining me in the studio, we have some very special co-hosts:

Mará Rose Williams is The Kansas City Star’s Senior Opinion Columnist. She previously was assistant managing editor for race & equity issues, a member of the Star’s Editorial Board and 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 and racism on university campuses. In 2008, she received the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowship and traveled to Kenya to teach journalistic writing in the aftermath of a tribal massacre and raids on newspapers. 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 served as host and producer for three installments of the nationally award winning Voices of Kansas City series she created in collaboration with 90.1 FM KKFI. In June Mará was inducted into Missouri Newspaper Hall of Fame by The Missouri Press Association.

Mara Rose Williams thanks for being our guest on WMM

Malek Azrael is a 26 year old Kansas City-based singer, songwriter, and producer whose music effortlessly blends elements of Indie Rock and R&B Pop. Born and raised in the heart of the Midwest, Malek’s music is a reflection of his upbringing and his experiences, which he translates into honest, heartfelt lyrics and infectious melodies. Malek released his first album, WAVES on October 15, 2021, which first featured members of his live band “The Vibez” drummer Josh Luke, bassist Quinn Cosgrove, and guitarist Calvin Haverkamp. Upon the release of the debut project, they have played live concerts at Boulevardia Festival, Ameri’Kana, 18th & Vine Gumbo Fest, RecordBar, The Truman, Grinders, and Knuckleheads. Malek & The Vibez released the EP, FEELS LIKE… on February 28, 2025. This year Malek released LIVE AT GREENWOOD (MALEK AZRAEL & THE VIBEZ with MIKE DILLON on May 15, 2026, and the singles: “Only You”, “YOU”, “ANNOY MY FRIENDS”, and “DON’T WANNA BE ALONE” on October 2, 2026. Malek Azrael has worked for Boys Grow, was part of Making Movies non-profit organization Art As Mentorship, and currently works for the Zhou B Art Center, at 1801 E 18th Street, KCMO, where he was instrumental in producing their Rock is Black, and Pop is Black concerts and well as their new Spirit & Song series. More info: www.zhoubartcenterkc.com

Malek Azrael thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Yvette Walker is the Vice President and Editorial Page Editor covering the Opinion section for The Kansas City Star. She graduated with degrees from University of Missouri School of Journalism, and Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism. Yvetter is currently studying at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. She joined McClatchy in 2023. She has extensive experience as a senior editor for multiple news outlets. She has been a senior editor for five award-winning news outlets. She was part of the Star’s team that won the 2024 Scripps Howard Distinguished Service to the First Amendment. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2020 and was a college dean of journalism at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She has been instrumental in promoting media ethics through conferences and educational initiatives. Journalism, for Yvette, is a form of service that helps people understand the world and holds institutions accountable.

Yvette Walker thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

We Have a History! – 90.1 FM KKFI Kansas City Community Radio is Non-Commercial! We don’t have commercials. We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, membership based organization. To full fill our budget – three times a year, we interrupt our regular programming, to ask our listeners, to help us continue our unique, 24-7 programming.

For 38 years 90.1 FM KKFI has been on the air. The spirit of this station is kept alive by hundreds of volunteers who passionately donate their time and abilities to keep the transmission of our 100,000-watt-signal alive. But none of this is possible without YOU our listeners, who donate financially.

We are operated by a not-for-profit organization, The MidCoast Radio Project, incorporated over 50 years ago. We are a non-profit, with a dedicated paid staff of four incredible individuals, and hundreds of volunteers, who donate thousands of hours every year, producing radio shows, training new hosts & producers, developing new radio shows, serving our vast community landscape with music and news, information and stories that reflect the many communities we serve.

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 90.1 FM KKFI offers 100 radio programs, and 85 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 corpora-tions have purchased almost all local TV & Radio stations, KKFI has fought hard to remain free, locally loyal, a voice for those not repented 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.

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. Not necessarily the reach of our 100,000 watt signal but definitely the reach of our community.

KKFI’s Mission Statement: KKFI is the Kansas City area’s independent, noncommercial community radio station. We seek to stimulate, educate and entertain our audience, to reflect the diversity of the local and world community, and to provide a channel for individuals and groups, issues and music that have been overlooked, suppressed or under-represented by other media.

KKFI’s Philosophy Statement: KKFI is committed to diversity in programming and discourse and seeks to create a climate of mutual respect and collaboration among volunteers and staff.

We have History. We have weathered the storms. We have purchased our tower and the land around our tower. We have recently upgraded and re-wired our tower and brought it up to date technologically. We have recently purchased a new transmitter for our tower. We are one of the longest running locally owned, Kansas City based 100,000 watt radio stations. Other than our Board and Executive Director, our KKFI Programmers want no part of A.I. We will not ever play music created by A.I. We are not artificial. We are people powered and people owned.

10:16 – WMM Plays More New & MidCoastal Releases

4. The Freedom Affair – “If You Don’t Want Me”
   from: “If You Don’t Want Me” – Single / Sunflower Soul Records / May 15, 2024
   [Shon Ruffin on vocals, Paula Saunders on vocals, Seyko Groves on vocals, Cole Bales on guitar, Branden Moser on bass & Acoustic Guitar, Chris Hazelton on Hammond B3 Organ, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, Piano, Bass , Vocals; Dave Brick on drums; Pete Carroll on trumpet & flugelhorn; Brett Jackson on tenor sax, baritone sax, tambourine; Pat Conway on Congas, Nick Howell on Tamborine. Recorded & Mixed by Chris Hazelton. Mastered by JJ Golden. // The Freedom Affair released the self titled third album, The Freedom Affair on may 9, 2025. The album was #1 on WMMs 120 Best Recordings of 2025. Recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis, TN. Recording Engineer: Boo Mitchell. Tape Operator: Wesley Graham. Produced by: Chris Hazelton, Dave Brick, and The Freedom Affair. Mixed by: Vince Chiarito. Mastered by: JJ Golden at Golden Mastering. Horn Arrangements by: Hazelton, Carroll, Jackson, and Bales. Design and Layout: Tracy Lenihan // The Freedom Affair has planted deep roots in soul music from their start, but after nearly a decade together, the group’s self-titled sophomore album focuses their sound squarely where Muscle Shoals meets Memphis Soul. It’s a masterstroke of impassioned message-music exploring ageless themes of inequity, love, and togetherness. // A fateful February 2023 encounter with Grammy Award-winning recording engineer Boo Mitchell (Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars, Al Green) at Royal Studios created a spark that sent the band back to Kansas City with new musical conviction. By November, the band had returned to record all-new Southern Soul-inspired songs in the legendary Memphis studio. // The ever-powerful female trio fronting the band–Paula Saunders, Seyko Groves, and Shon Ruffin–has been the hallmark of The Freedom Affair’s sound and identity, and their collective vocal prowess is on full display ranging from tough to tender, touching on heartache and hope. The experience at Royal studios convinced the band that there isn’t a better room to record horns. The “one take” horns of Pete Carroll on trumpet and Brett Jackson on saxophone prove their years together as a unit have paid off with their precision and lines written to meet the vibe perfectly. With rhythm section personnel remaining the same from their debut album Freedom is Love, a shift in instrumentation moves Chris Hazelton from bass to his primary instrument of the Hammond B3 organ along with various keyboards. Branden Moser swaps in the bass, which also happens to be his primary instrument, from his former rhythm guitar. Cole Bales contin-ues to dig into timeless riffs on lead guitar, and Dave Brick maintains the backbone with the heavy boom-bap on drums. This album has cemented The Freedom Affair’s sound: enduring melodies with rich arrangements, backed by a gritty pulse. // Royal was the perfect site for this album, and the band took full advantage of the studio’s history by incorporating studio tools and relics throughout the process. With only four days to fully track the ten-song album, the band insisted on using the same Ampex 1” tape recorder that produced all the Hi Record hits from 1974 and prior to preserve authenticity. It was the first time the machine had been used for an album since 1974. The limitations and quirks of using vintage, analog gear made way for magic moments that shape the album’s charm. The record calls fresh attention to classic Southern Soul with all the coziness and warmth you’d expect from listening to Al Green or Ann Peebles, captured in the very same room. Mixed by Vince Chiarito (Hive Mind, Jalen Ngonda, Charles Bradley) and mastered by JJ Golden (Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, The James Hunter Six, Antibalas), this album is a truly an all-killer, no-filler lesson in soul music.]

[The Freedom Affair played Yeehaw, Friday, October 23 at The Uptown hosted by Caleb Hearon and Katie Crutchfield aka Waxahatchee. Kevin Morby played a few songs with The Freedom Affair. The event raised $140,000.00 for KC Tenants]

5. Making Movies – “This is a Photograph [feat.Kevin Morby]”
   from: “This is a Photograph [feat.Kevin Morby]” / 3/2 Records / August 21, 2026
   [Making Movies New Album Una Vida, to be released October 30, 2026. Lead Single “This Is a Photograph (bajo el sol de Panamá)” Features Kevin Morby. The Latin Grammy-nominated band’s first album since 2022’s XOPA arrives Its lead single, a Spanish-language reimagining of Morby’s title track, written in the days after a family funeral. // The release reimagines Morby’s beloved song through a deeply personal, Spanish-language interpretation inspired by family, memory, and Panamá’s cultural legacy, and arrives with a visualizer directed by William J. Stribling. // The Spanish-language reimagining turns Morby’s beloved song toward frontman Enrique Chi’s own family album — memory, inheritance, and the Panamá he was born into. It arrives with a visualizer directed by William J. Stribling, The recording began in the wake of a family loss. As Making Movies leader Enrique Chi reflected on photographs of his family after the funeral of his grandfather, Morby’s song became a constant companion. // “When we buried my grandfather, I sat on his front porch in Santiago, Panamá looking at photos of my family. Kevin’s song ran through my head as songs often do when they are connected to the moment I am experiencing and I started thinking about translating it. I soon realized his boxing metaphor was of the historic fight between Sugar Ray and legendary Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán. It felt meant to be.” // Rather than offering a literal translation, “This Is a Photograph (bajo el sol de Panamá)” transforms the original into something entirely its own. Sung in Spanish and featuring Kevin Morby on guitar and vocals alongside the band, the song widens the original’s themes of memory, identity, and place, binding its emotional core to Enrique Chi’s family. // The accompanying visualizer, shot by William J. Stribling, expands on the song’s reflection on the passage of time – how it can weigh on us and wear us down. Featuring a photo by acclaimed documentary photographer Scout Tufankjian alongside Stribling’s images, the visualizer captures that tension through intimate, cinematic imagery, underscoring a deeper message of resilience: no matter how heavy time can feel, we have to keep fighting through it and persevering. // As Making Movies continues work on new music, with a follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2022 album XOPA, the release of “This Is a Photograph (bajo el sol de Panamá)” offers another glimpse into the band’s enduring commitment to storytelling that transcends borders, languages, and generations. // “This Is a Photograph (bajo el sol de Panamá)” is the first song released from Una Vida, the band’s first album since 2022’s XOPA. The record was produced by Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Ben Yonas, whose credits include Mos Def, Ledisi, and Mickey Hart. // Making Movies is the Latin Grammy–nominated group led by Enrique Chi, born in Santiago, Panamá, and raised in the American Midwest, forging a sound guided by tradition, yet unmistakably its own. // The band has been described by Rolling Stone as “an eclectic blend of rumbero percussion, delicate organs, and grungy fuzz,” while NPR calls the project “perhaps one of the most unique groups around today.” // Their sound is anchored in the rich rhythmic traditions of Panamá and delivered with the force of a psychedelic rock show. Chi weaves the mejorana, a traditional hand-made instrument rarely heard outside of Panamá, into each performance. // Making Movies’ is collaborative across genres, working with artists from Rubén Blades to Kevin Morby, and David Hidalgo (Los Lobos) to Hurray for the Riff Raff. Most notably, Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) has served as a guiding force for the band, functioning as a spiritual band member, producer, and mentor.]

[Making Movies play The Folly Theater, 300 West 12th St, KCMO on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 8:00pm]

6. Geese – “Cobra”
   from: Getting Killed / Partisan Records / September 26, 2025
   [Getting Killed is the 4th studio album by Geese. It was released by Partisan Records as the full-length follow-up to their 2023 album 3D Country, as well as frontman Cameron Winter’s 2024 solo album Heavy Metal. It was preceded by the singles “Taxes”, “Trinidad” and “100 Horses”. // Getting Killed was produced alongside Kenny Beats. It was recorded over a 10-day period and has been described as “shambolic in structure but passionately performed”, with the band “[balancing] a disarming tenderness with an intensified anger”. The album’s lead single, “Taxes”, was released on July 8, 2025. The song’s music video has been described as containing “a hallucinatory rush of moshing, screaming, and violence that feels akin to an exorcism”. // On June 23, 2025, the band announced a North American headlining tour in support of the album. The tour is scheduled to begin in South Burlington, Vermont on October 10, and conclude in Brooklyn, New York on November 21. // On July 24, Cameron Winter leaked the album’s opening track, “Trinidad”, via a now-removed link shared on his Instagram page. The song was officially released 5 days later, on July 29. // All lyrics are written by Cameron Winter; all music is composed by Winter, Max Bassin, Dominic DiGesu, and Emily Green. // In the summer of 2021, Geese emerged from out of nowhere, sparking a hype cycle unlike anything that had been seen for a young American rock band in recent memory. Suddenly a band that had previously planned to release some music, break up, and go away to college was touring the world. They made their TV debut on Colbert, were profiled by the NY Times, Stereogum Band To Watch, Consequence Artist Of The Month, Paste Best Of What’s Next, Rolling Stone called them “indie rock prodigies,” and they toured with Jack White and Spoon. // And during this entire process, that very same band everyone was getting to know ceased to exist. On a practical level, Geese are still the group we were introduced to in 2021: vocalist Cameron Winter, guitarist Gus Green, guitarist Foster Hudson, bassist Dom DiGesu, and drummer Max Bassin. But on June 23, 2023 Geese returned with their third album, ‘3D Country’ fusing recognizable sounds with warped meditations on daily life in a world sliding out of view, Geese repurposing fragments of classic rock into a sound that is stranger and wholly their own. Right out the gates, the album kicks off with serpentine grooves underneath the armageddon visions of “2122,” before quickly ceding to the title track’s gospel-flecked chorus.“Undoer” is a slowburn simmer constantly building to something apocalyptic; “Crusades” travels back to Medieval times but chugs along on a “Heroes”-esque groove before strings swoop in around it. Later, Green and Hudson’s guitars bend and fry while Hudson also jumps in on vocals for an inhuman wail on “Mysterious Love,” and the whole album ends with the sideways piano elegy of “St. Elmo,” playing out like a saloon song viewed through a funhouse mirror. // More info: www.geeseband.com]

[Geese play The Midland Theater 1228 Main St. KCMO, on Friday, October 30 at 8:00pm][Not to be confused with Goose who play The Midland on Tuesday, November 3 and Wednesday, November 4.]

10:26 – Underwriting

10:27 – Pledge Break #2 – We Are Inspired and We Are Building Community

WMM On Air / Fall Fund Drive Team: Mara Williams, Malek Azrael, Yvette Walker

Donating to 90.1 FM KKFI is BUILDING your community.

KKFI is an Inspiration! – 100,000 watts of broadcasting power, 38 years, 24-7, 88 locally produced radio shows, 150 programmers/hosts/producers, and 350 volunteers. KKFI is community centered, representative, self governing, non-commercial, educational, independent, inclusive. The Kansas City Area Community Speaks through our Airwaves.

On May 13, 2026 – WMM recently celebrated 22 years on the radio. – As of this week WMM has done 1171 weeks, equal to 2342 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 our WMM programming to New & MidCoastal Releases.

We are inspired by the Fearless Women who created radio on 90.1 FM long before us: our friend April Fletcher who plays bass professionally in Los Angeles, and hosted Mix Well Before Serving on 90.1 in 1988 on KKFI’s first year of broadcast, and two years ago returned after 37 years to host and produce WMM.

We are inspired by our friend Anne Winter, who left us in 2009. Anne helped to build KKFI being one of the very first programmers who recorded their shows in Tom Crane’s basement on reel to reel tape. Anne hosted Kansas City’s first ever Punk Rock Show – Little Orphan Annie. She served on the board. She helped recruit Robert Moore to serve as KKFI’s manager briefly in the mid 1990s. Anne also organized Culture Under Fire a two week festival of live bands, teen poetry, performance art, guest speakers, zine workshops, art exhibitions, community building. Anne reminded us how we’re all connected. Anne also owned and operated Recycled Sounds, an influential record store in Kansas city from 1986 to 2005 at Westport Road and Main Street. The store that gave birth to Sister Anne’s.

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.

We are inspired 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. Abigail was a frequent guest on the radio show. She told us that she felt like this was “our” radio show. Inspiring Mark to re-think the entire objective of Wednesday MidDay Medley with the mission to help tell the story of Kansas City’s music “community.”

We are 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.

Today we celebrate the pure idea of community radio, free form radio, radio that tells the story of the people who live here, the artists, the writers, the teachers, the performers.

Together we are building our community. We celebrate 1171 weeks of WMM, the show that has brought us together, at this time, on this frequency, in these community airwaves.
Thanks for listening. www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org

10:36

7. Rudy Love & The Encore – “Move Slow”
   from: 11 / Midtopia / July 11, 2025
   [Rudy Love & The Encore is comprised of Rudy Love Jr. (vocals & keys), Marrque
   Nunley (drums), Rachelle Love (percussion), Mariel Jacoda (vocals), Sherdeill (DJ) Breathett (bass), and Willy Simms (guitar). // The band members have played together for most of their lives, and formally introduced the band Rudy Love & The Encore early last year. Rudy Love Jr.’s late father, renowned musician Rudy Love Sr., was a musical mentor to the band members. The band’s name is in honor of Love Sr., based on the idea that this grouping of musicians is Rudy Love Sr.’s legacy — his encore. // In 2023, the band released their debut EP, The Beauty of Burdens, followed quickly by two more singles, “Broken Angel” and “Grey.” They have been busy since the band’s inception, performing and collaborating with Elise Trouw, performing at Black & Loud Fest in Seattle, opening for notable acts like Teddy Swims and The B-52’s, and playing multiple tours across the nation.They traded the hyper-competitive hustle of the Los Angeles show business scene, and are now working together from their hometown of Wichita, Kan. to build a dream they all hold — to make music with people they love, and to share it with the world.][Rudy Love & The Encore played the Mix Master Music Fest, Sept. 19 & Crossroads Music Fest Sept. 6, 2025.]

[Rudy Love & The Encore play the Spirit & Song series at Zhou B Art Center KC, at 1801 East 18th Street KCMO on Saturday, November 7, 2026, Doors at 6:00pm. Performance 7:00pm to 9:00pm.]

8. Malek Azrael – “Annoy My Friends (Radio Edit)”
   from: “Annoy My Friends” – Single / MAZ.EL RECORDS / October 2, 2026
   [On July 17, 2026 Malek Azrael released the single “Annoy My Friends.” On February 27, 2026 Malek released “You”.Malek wrote to me about this new single, saying,”This record means a lot to me. “YOU” lives in that pop/indie pop space with smooth R&B vocals and textures, blending traditional pop sensibility with the singer songwriter honesty I always try to bring. It’s about that unexpected moment of falling in love and choosing to be fully open — even when it feels a little scary. Very warm, very intentional.” // On March 1, 2025 Malek Azrael released the EP, FEELS LIKE. It was part of WMM’s 120 Best recordings of 2025. On February 28, 2025, Malek Azrael released the single “Room 4U”. // On March 1, 2024 Malek Azrael released his single, “in ur mind.” On October 15, 2021 Malek Azrael released his 10-track album “Waves” which first featured members of his live band “The Vibez”. Since then, they have grown their fanbase in KC and surrounding areas through live concerts land appearances at Boulevardia Festival, Ameri’Kana, and the 18th and Vine Gumbo Fest, and shows at RecordBar, The Truman, Grinders, and Knuckleheads and collaborated with larger acts such as Making Movies, The Greeting Committee, and D Smoke debut. Male Azrael lives in KCMO. He has worked for Boys Grow, and Art As Mentorship (Making Movies non-profit organization). He sometimes plays with Making Movies and played the Ameri-Kana Fest. Malek Azrael played KKFI’s 18th Annual Crossroads Music Fest, on Aug. 27, at The Black Box, in West Bottoms. Malek & The Vibez played Boulevardia Festival at Crown Center, on June 16, 2024.]

[Malek Azrael played 22nd Annual Crossroads Music Fest, Sept. 12, 2026]

9. Ivory Blue – “Dreams”
   from: “Dreams” – Single / IVORY BLUE / October 30, 2026
   [Kansas City Singer-Songwriter IVORY BLUE Explores the Mystery of Sleep on New Single “Dreams”. A haunting alt-pop anthem about dreams, grief, and the fight to break through! Independent artist IVORY BLUE returns with a new single that asks a simple, unsettling question: do our dreams follow us into the deep, or do we follow them. What IVORY BLUE says about the song: “Dreams isn’t just a song about sleep. It also talks about the struggle of being an artist and finding your own truth in the mess of trauma built by a turbulent past”. // Ivory Blue released her single “Come On Over Rover” September 25, 2026. Ivory Blue released her single “Feelin’ Like A Star” on July 17, 2026. Ivory Blue released her New 10-song full length album ECHO on May 22, 2026. Her third full length album. IVORY BLUE released the singles: “History” on April 3, 2026.,“afterglow” on February 20, 2026; “Forevermore” on November 28, 2025; and “Echo” on September 5, 2025. // Kansas City based artist, IVORY BLUE has a tendency of breaking through barriers that keeps her from saying what needs to be said, regardless of style. Bringing us hard hitting rock inspired ear candy like “Starlit Love Child” and “Control”, the idea of genre is only a tool IVORY uses to express her ability to communicate through music. // IVORY BLUE released the singles “Mirrors” on August 1, 2025; “Heartbeat” on March 28, 2025; “Rhythm of the Radio” on January 31, 2025 // “Exiled” on November 29, 2024; “Olé!” on October 4, 2024, Breathing Underwater” on August 9, 2024, “Bad Dreams”on June 7, 2024, “Batter Up” on April 22, 2024, “Flashback” on March 15, 2024, “Howl” on Feb. 16, 2024. // IVORY BLUE released their 2nd full length album, STARLIT LOVE CHILD, on Nov. 17, 2023. The 10-track album was in the top five of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2023, and in the “Best of” lists at 90.9 The Bridge and stations around the world. // On Oct. 27, 2023 IVORY BLUE released the single “Ghost of Life.” This single followed IVORY’s previous releases,”In A World Like This” from Sept. 22, 2023, ”The Best of Life” from Aug. 4, 2023 and “Control” from May 26, 2023. IVORY released the single “All Outta Love” on Feb. 24, 2023. // IVORY BLUE released the single “Starlit Love Child” on Oct. 28, 2022, “Red Light” on July 29, 2022. // IVORY BLUE released their full length debut album COMPOUND LOVE on Feb. 25, 2022. COMPOUND LOVE was in the Top 10 of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2022. For COMPOUND LOVE, IVORY BLUE served as songwriter, producer, vocalist and played all instruments with the exception of: Lester Estelle on drums, Klaartje Van Lue on piano, Craig Kew on bass, Lennon Bone on drums, and Marco Pascolini on pedal steel guitar. // IVORY BLUE released the single “Good Changes” on Oct 26, 2021. Ivory Blue released the singles: “Heavy,” “Bad Weather,” “It Must Have Been Me,” “Compound Love,” and “The Start” on December 14, 2021. // IVORY BLUE’s debut EP, Ready Get Set was released in June 2015. While the EP helped spread the word and give IVORY BLUE attention from regional radio and TV stations, a big break would come in 2017 when Ivory was among 1800 artists/bands that competed in neXt2Rock. Ivory won local & regional challenges and advanced to nationals in Los Angeles to win the top prize. // IVORY BLUE has played with The Band That Fell to Earth, Boulevardia, Crossroads Music Festival, Middle of the Map Fest, Westport Roots Festival, KCPT Screening of “Real Boy” at KC Public Library, and Kauffman Stadium. // Ivory Blue was born in 1986 in Peoria Illinois, as Devin James Miclettet. Ivory’s birth mother put them up for adoption at the age of four. Ivory speaks about how it was difficult to find trust in people offering their home to someone denied it for so long, Ivory lived with eight different families, before running away at 15. // Ivory has talked with us about how in their life they have turned to music to express pain. Ivory spent most of their childhood looking for a family. In 2010 Klaartje Van Lue saw Ivory performing in a YouTube video and contacted them, flying Ivory to Kansas City, and adopting Ivory into the Van Lue family. In 2011, Ivory settled in the Kansas City, MO area. During the past 10 years Ivory came out as “Non-Binary Transgender”, and then later as Trans-Female. // As a multi-instrumentalist, Ivory began refining their performance style, using digital looping pedals to stack harmonies and guitar parts live on stage, giving their solo shows the feel of a full band. Info at: www.ivorybluemusic.com]

10:46 – Fall Fund Drive Break #3 – So Many Special Guests!

WMM Fall Fund Drive Team: Mara Williams, Malek Azrael, Yvette Walker

So far this year in 2026 Mark conducted over 100 interviews with 154 guests:

Michelle Bacon, Chris Hudson, Dwight Frizzell, David Basse, D Rashaan Gilmore, Calvin Arsenia, Cera Impala, FlareThaRebel, Shaun Crowley, Sara Swenson, Nathan Reusch, Charlie Burt, Mike Bland, Brad Smith, Mará Rose Williams, Sandra Draper, Betse Ellis, Joelle St. Pierre, Jennie Ferguson, Scott Mize, Matt Kesler, Hank Pendergraft, Diane Scott, Jade Osborne, Dedric Moore, Steve Tulipana, Christena Graves, IVORY BLUE, Dandelion Lakewood, Rosie O’Brien, Sam Wright, Spencer Goertz-Giffen, Braden Young, Brent Kinder, Ed Wallerstein, Ian Byrne, Kian Byrne, Norm Dahlor, A.M. Merker, Colm Chomicky, Jennifer Owen, Brad Cox, Krystle Warren, Michael B. Tipton, Kasey Rausch, Marcus Rattler, Hailes, Scott Moreau, Becky Barta, Taylor Bapp, Lava Dreams, Julie Bennett Hume, Amelia Rose, Alan Wasserman, Janice Wasserman, Jesse Bartmess, Krysztof Nemeth, Ned Stacie, Francois, Peter Pain, Rachel Christia, Vi Tran, Darin Challacombe, Madeline Marak, Lori Buntin, Margaret Cho, Brodie Rush, Cody Calhoun, Liam Sumnich, Nate Hubert, Tim Jenkins, David Brighton, Jocelyn Olivia Nixon, Stephonne, Will Kuenne, Vinnie Cascone, Carlos Nunez, Jonathan Van Ness, Warren Williams, Julia Othmer, James Lundie, Ames King, Noah Bartelt, Katie Schieferecke, Luke Rowe, Miki P, Rachel Lovelace, Brooke Tuley, John Lawrence Johnson, Jamogi, Danny Fischer, Audrey Crabtree, Chris Garibaldi, Scott Free, Nick Carroll, Kimmie Queen, Theresa Scott, Nicki White, Danielle Anderson, Katheryn Krouse, Bowie Krouse, Lee Walter Redding, Angela Ward, James Ward, Joel Kraft, BOSCO, Just Angel, Clarence Copridge, Abe Abaleanie Brown, Matthew Hayden, Stephen Roper, Austin Marks, Al Hawkins, Fritz Hutchison, Derek Trautwein, Amanda Davis, Andrew Woody, Brian Hurtgen, Joseph Peaks, Ken Lovern, Xavier Martin, Maddie Lai, Bill Sundahl, Mike McCoy, Erin Eades, Silver Wesley, Tim Miller, Heather Carver, William Horner, Marilyn Maye, Michelle Shocked, Zachary Van Benthusen, Jane Prewitt Watkins, Patty Prewitt, Cortland Gibson, Elaine (Lainey) Chang, Colin Halliburton, Jesse Kates, Mack McKinney, Kate McCandless, Fanny Mandelberger, T.A. Rell, Gie Santana, Jon Hypocrace Lewis, Eboni Fondren, Alec Nicholas, Shawn Saving, Francis Connor, Darren Defrain, Eddie Moore, Claire Adams, Malek Azrael, Yvette Walker, Dan Talmadge,

Last year In 2025 Mark conducted 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.

10:55

10. Eldon Painter – “111”
    from: Fantasia / Blue Dream Records / September 12, 2026
    [Dan Talmadge performs and records under the moniker, Eldon Painter. This Kansas City based musician formerly played in the bands: Minden, Kyle Craft, Soft Reeds, and Capybara. Eldon relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2012 when the band Minden moved there as a group. Eldon was there through 2020 doing all things music. He returned back to Kansas City at the end of 2020. In 2024 Eldon began work on a new set of songs that would become FANTASIA. The album was recorded in his home in Kansas City and at the Honeymoon Suite in Los Angeles with multi-instrumentalist/producer Riley Geare. Eldon Painter played his first show at the recordBar in 2025. More info at: www.eldonpainter.bandcamp.com] [Check out on YouTube:
    https://youtu.be/2bMIz5pqwB4%5D

[Eldon Painter plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO, on Saturday, October 31, at 8:00pm with Hoaxes, and Scammers.]

10:59 – Station ID

10:59 – Interview with Dan Talmadge aka Eldon Painter

Dan Talmadge performs and records under the moniker, Eldon Painter. And he joins us LIVE in our 90.1 FM Studio to talk about Eldon Painter’s new debut album is called FANTASIA, that was released on September 12, 2026 on Blue Dream Records (Eldon’s label). This Kansas City based musician formerly played in the bands: Minden, Kyle Craft, Soft Reeds, and Capybara. Eldon relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2012 when the band Minden moved there as a group. Eldon was there through 2020 doing all things music. He returned back to Kansas City at the end of 2020. In 2024 Eldon began work on a new set of songs that would become FANTASIA. The album was recorded in his home in Kansas City and at the Honeymoon Suite in Los Angeles with multi-instrumentalist/producer Riley Geare. Eldon Painter played his first show at the recordBar in 2025.

Eldon Painter plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO, on Saturday, October 31, at 8:00pm with Hoaxes, and Scammers. More info at: www.eldonpainter.bandcamp.com

Eldon Painter thanks for being with us onWednesday MidDay Medley

Dan Talmadge performs and records under the moniker, Eldon Painter.

Eldon Painter’s new debut album is called FANTASIA, that was released on September 12, 2026 on Blue Dream Records (Eldon’s label).

This Kansas City based musician formerly played in the bands: Minden, Kyle Craft, Soft Reeds, and Capybara.

Eldon relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2012 when Minden moved there as a group.

Eldon was there through 2020 doing all things music.

Eldon Painter plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO, on Saturday, October 31, at 8:00pm with Hoaxes, and Scammers. More info at: www.eldonpainter.bandcamp.com

Eldon Painter thanks for being with us onWednesday MidDay Medley

11:08 – Eldon Painter

11. Eldon Painter – “Badu T-Shirt”
    from: Fantasia / Blue Dream Records / September 12, 2026
    [Dan Talmadge performs and records under the moniker, Eldon Painter. This Kansas City based musician formerly played in the bands: Minden, Kyle Craft, Soft Reeds, and Capybara. Eldon relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2012 when the band Minden moved there as a group. Eldon was there through 2020 doing all things music. He returned back to Kansas City at the end of 2020. In 2024 Eldon began work on a new set of songs that would become FANTASIA. The album was recorded in his home in Kansas City and at the Honeymoon Suite in Los Angeles with multi-instrumentalist/producer Riley Geare. Eldon Painter played his first show at the recordBar in 2025. More info at: www.eldonpainter.bandcamp.com]

[Eldon Painter plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO, on Saturday, October 31, at 8:00pm with Hoaxes, and Scammers.]

11:11 – Fund Drive Break #4 – New Music Discovery

WMM Fall Fund Drive Team: Mara Williams, Malek Azrael, Yvette Walker

Timothy Finn in KC Star named WMM “The Best Place to Hear Local Music on the Radio.” and the Best Place to hear area musicians talk about their music.

Wednesday MidDay Medley was the first radio show to ever play the recordings of:
Calvin Arsenia, Stephonne, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, Krystle Warren, The Black Creatures, The Shy Boys, The ACB’s, Miss Boating, Rev Gusto, Mommas Boy, The Salvation Choir, The Creepy Jingles, Marmoppes, Ivory Blue, Miki P., Kai McGarry, Rude Cousin. We were the first to interview these artists live on the radio and bring their music to a wider audience.

Music – We play more area musicians, new releases, and tell their stories

In 2026 we have had Live Performances from: Calvin Arsenia, IVORY BLUE, Erin Eades, Dandelion Lakewood, Gullywasher, Rosie O’Brien & Taylor Bapp, Lee Walter Redding, Just Angel & Clarence Copridge, oldnothing, Maddie Lai, Mike McCoy, Just Angel, & T.A. Rell,

In 2025 there were over 1675 MidCoastal (KC area) releases in Albums, EPs, & Singles...(that we know of).

In 2026 – So Far – there have been 831 MidCoastal (KC area) releases in Albums, EPs, & Singles...(that we know of).

On WMM we culled these releases for our special 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 our End-of-Year Specials: 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: www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org

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, Marilyn Maye, Cheyenne Jackson, Margaret Cho, Iris Dement, Greg Brown, Scott McCaughey, Michelle Shocked, Ubaka Hill, Flamy Grant, Members of Fanny, Regina Spektor, Regina Carter, Jonathan Van Ness, Tim Miller, Cris Williamson, Nick Cave, Holly Near, Sam Harris, our annual 4-week special: WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of the Year.

WMM has been inspired by the KC music community. The KC music community is fueled by a collaborative & generous heart that is beating in the artists we’ve met doing this show.

11:19 – Underwriting

11:20 – More Interview with Dan Talmadge / Eldon Painter

Dan Talmadge performs and records under the moniker, Eldon Painter. And he joins us LIVE in our 90.1 FM Studio to talk about Eldon Painter’s new debut album is called FANTASIA, that was released on September 12, 2026 on Blue Dream Records (Eldon’s label). This Kansas City based musician formerly played in the bands: Minden, Kyle Craft, Soft Reeds, and Capybara. Eldon relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2012 when the band Minden moved there as a group. Eldon was there through 2020 doing all things music. He returned back to Kansas City at the end of 2020. In 2024 Eldon began work on a new set of songs that would become FANTASIA. The album was recorded in his home in Kansas City and at the Honeymoon Suite in Los Angeles with multi-instrumentalist/producer Riley Geare. Eldon Painter played his first show at the recordBar in 2025.

Eldon relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2012 when Minden moved there as a group.

Eldon was there through 2020 doing all things music.

He returned back to Kansas City at the end of 2020.

In 2024 Eldon began work on a new set of songs that would become FANTASIA.

The album was recorded in his home in Kansas City and at the Honeymoon Suite in Los Angeles with multi-instrumentalist/producer Riley Geare.

Eldon Painter played his first show at the recordBar in 2025.

Eldon Painter thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Eldon Painter plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO, on Saturday, October 31, at 8:00pm with Hoaxes, and Scammers.

More info at: www.eldonpainter.bandcamp.com

11:28 – Eldon Painter

12. Eldon Painter – “Fantasia”
    from: Fantasia / Blue Dream Records / September 12, 2026
    [Dan Talmadge performs and records under the moniker, Eldon Painter. This Kansas City based musician formerly played in the bands: Minden, Kyle Craft, Soft Reeds, and Capybara. Eldon relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2012 when the band Minden moved there as a group. Eldon was there through 2020 doing all things music. He returned back to Kansas City at the end of 2020. In 2024 Eldon began work on a new set of songs that would become FANTASIA. The album was recorded in his home in Kansas City and at the Honeymoon Suite in Los Angeles with multi-instrumentalist/producer Riley Geare. Eldon Painter played his first show at the recordBar in 2025. More info at: www.eldonpainter.bandcamp.com]

[Eldon Painter plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO, on Saturday, October 31, at 8:00pm with Hoaxes, and Scammers.]

11:32 – Fund Drive Break #5 – Themes, Events, Venues

WMM on-Air / Fall Fund Drive Team: Mara Williams, Malek Azrael, Yvette Walker

Wednesday MidDay Medley offers incredible mix of: Themes, Events, Bands, Venues

Featured on Wednesday MidDay Medley: MLK Tribute, Iris Dement Tribute, David Bowie Tribute, The Band That Fell To Earth KC, Folk Alliance International in New Orleans, New Protest Songs, Grammy Winners, Manor Records Foundation, Greenwood Social Hall, The Uptown Theater, Enigmatic Brunch Records, She Said, Kansas City Synthesizer Collective, The Record Machine, Black History with 20+ Black Artists & Bands from KC, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City Community Collage, Outer Reaches Fest, Artist INC, Artists Thrive, Kosmic City, The RINO, Sass-a-Brass Band, The Elders, Owen Cox Dance Collective, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Quality Hill Playhouse, BCR celebrates 50 Years!, Lawrence Pride, WOMEN OF THE REBELLION, recordBar, Heartland Song Network, Missouri Arts Council, Vine Street Brewing, NED’s Friend-Hole Cabaret LIVE, The Warwick Theater, REVISER, The Emerald, Manor Fest 8, All That Class and Jazz, KC Folk Fest, Kansas City Artists Coalition, An Evening of Pink Floyd, The Folly Theater, David Brighton’s SPACE ODDITY, Say That Again, Sound Mandala, The Forcefields, The Unicorn Theatre, Sara Bellum and the Brainwaves, The Swallowtails, Shuttlecock Music, PERSPECTIVES at Lavender Studio, miniBar, Replay Lounge, Lemonade Park, The Ship, Equal Minded Cafe, KC Fringe Fest, Bird Comedy Theater, Whim Space, Lotuspool Records, The Suneaters, Pamper The Madman, The Philistines, The Musical Universe of Rev. Dwight Frizzell, AMERI’KANA Music & Arts Festival, Magic of Grandmas, Comprehensive Arts Institute, The Blue Room, The Morton Amphitheater, The Brick, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Flew the Coop Fest, Unbossed and Unbothered with D. Rashaan Gilmore, BlaqOut KC, Light Up the Lawn of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary for Art, Waldo Folk, Zhou B Art Center – Zhou Spirit and Song, Rural Grit Happy Hour, Oddly Correct Block Party, Hotel Leo, Knuckleheads, Molly Picture Club, Found A Job, Tribute to Dolly Parton, Hillsider’s, The Creepy Jingles, True Lions, Charlotte Street, The Spooky Shxt Show, YesWay Live, John William “Blind” Boone, The Boone Theater, encode, 22nd Annual Crossroads Music Fest, 30 Annual Kansas City Film Fest, Spike Hellis, Tribute to Mama Bear – Ruth Whitlock Ward, 9th annual Apocalypse Meow, The Roseline, She Speaks in Tongues, The Sexy Accident, No Choice but Action: Kansas Postpunk 1978-1994, Black Site Records, Truck Stop Love, Ned’s Fright-Hole Cabaret,

For 22 years we’ve shined a light on artists, music labels, recording studios, & venues.

11:40 – WMM Celebrates New & MidCoastal Releases

13. The War and Treaty – “You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore”
    from: The Story of Michael and Tanya / Atlantic / June 19, 2026
    [This is the 6th album from this amazing duo. We first met The War and Treaty right before their Official Showcase at Folk Alliance International Conference on Friday, February 16, 2018. We first played them on February 7, 2018. The War and Treaty released their full length debut album, “Healing Tide” on August 10, 2018. Michael Trotter Jr & Tanya Blount-Trotter are from Albion, Michigan. For Michael Trotter Jr., the journey began in 2004, when he arrived in Iraq, an untested soldier stricken by fear and self-doubt. His captain made it his personal mission to see to Trotter’s survival. The unit was encamped in one of Saddam Hussein’s private palaces, and in a forgotten corner in its basement, they found a black upright piano that once belonged to the dictator himself. When Trotter shared the fact he could sing, he was encouraged to teach himself to play piano on that confiscated keyboard. “I wrote my first song after that captain was killed,” Trotter recalls. “I sang it for his memorial in Iraq.” Soon after it became his mission to sing at the memorial services for those that had fallen. For the next three years, he sang songs that brought solace and comfort to the members of his unit. His efforts eventually garnered wider recognition as well. He came in first place in “Military Idol,” the army’s version of “American Idol,” during a competition held in Baumholder, Germany. Following his discharge, he was featured on the Hope Channel program “My Story, My Song.” Then he met Tanya Blount. Blount’s musically influences include Mahalia Jackson, Sister Odette and Aretha Franklin. The two fell in love, got married and used the experiences they had gained to create a new musical collaboration. The couple then secured the services of musicians whose skills add a distinctive sound to The War and Treaty’s blend of roots music, blue grass, folk, gospel and soul. Their 2017 EP Down to the River was released July 21, 2017. Recorded in Albion, Michigan, Down to the River boasts a sound that’s both stirring and sensual, driven by joy, determination and an unceasing upward gaze. The music is visceral but never morose, flush with emotion but void of despair… a style that touches on a variety of genres, but never finds itself confined to anyone. The arrangements are uncluttered– harmonies, basslines, guitar and mandolin licks, settle drum patterns and keyboards create an immensely moving soundscape — but the sentiments and emotions are fully realized and soar with a steady, chilling assurance. “The recording process wasn’t like anything I ever experienced,” Tanya recalls. “This EP has allowed me to breathe musically. I feel like all I have wanted to express for the past ten years has come forth with what we’ve done. The combination of heart, soul and the overwhelming amount of love that Michael and I have for one another comes across in this record.“ “I was sitting on the banks of the Euphrates River in Baghdad dreaming about one day being able to play and sing professionally for people all around the world,” Michael reflects. “As we recorded our music, I constantly had flashbacks of those desert dreams. I thought to myself that this is actually the perfect ending to usher in a new beginning in my life.” ]

[The War and Treaty return to play Knuckleheads, 2715 Rochester st. KCMO on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:30pm with Blank Page and Jordan Babbs.]

14. Hannah Jadagu – “Describe”
    from: DESCRIBE / Sub Pop Records / October 4, 2025
    [On Describe, Hannah Jadagu learns the hard way that distance is relative. After 2023 debut album Aperture garnered glowing praise from outlets like The New York Times and NPR, Jadagu’s promising career took her away from her blossoming relationship in New York. “I was feeling love and gratitude, but also guilt about being away for my job,” she recalled. “Being a musician requires sacrificing time–And one thing about me, I’m a quality time girlie.” Her expansive second album sees her grappling with that separation, finding connections that extend beyond the physical and strengthening her own voice in the process. Describe reverberates with that tension, between wanting connection and craving space. Its lyrics, as on her debut, ache with an emotional specificity that can only be pulled from lived experience. // But that distance also pushed Jadagu to explore new dimensions of her sound. “I’m super into artists that are able to mix analog with modern,” she said, and moving to California for the summer gave her the opportunity to meet new collaborators and experiment with analog synthesizers and drum machines. And while the warm hum of her guitar was her primary instrument for Aperture, she began to feel that her muscle memory of the instrument was holding her back. “It was freeing to be able to sit at a synth and drone on one note while I explored my vocals,” she said. ”I found that to be a bit more freeing than playing on a guitar.” Working with her co-producer Sora at his studio in Altadena and remotely on a few songs with Aperture co-producer and collaborator Max Baby out of Paris, Jadagu carved out a sound on Describe that is both distinctively hers and a total departure from the distorted guitar melodies of her debut. // Fresh out of high school, Hannah Jadagu released her debut EP, What Is Going On?, a collection of intimate bedroom pop tracks recorded entirely on an iPhone 7, which was, at the time, Jadagu’s most accessible mode of production. An off-the-cuff approach to music making and instinctive ability to write unforgettable hooks belied the intensity of Jadagu’s subject matter. In a short run time, What Is Going On? confronts some of the nation’s most urgent struggles all through Jadagu’s compassionate perspective. “I want my songs to be both super intimate and still universally relatable,” Jadagu says. “With the EP, so many people told me that the songs resonated with them on a personal level, and that’s what I’m always hoping for.” // Resonate it did; What Is Going On? was Jadagu’s first Sub Pop release, but she’d been putting out music on SoundCloud for years, garnering a small online fanbase as she settled into an aesthetic, and recognition from a broader audience was overdue. “It really took off when I became a percussionist in my middle school’s band,” she says. “Writing songs started as a hobby and quickly became a passion to the point that I spent all my free time recording.” // On May 19th, 2023 Jadagu premiered Aperture, her first LP and most ambitious work to date. Aperture was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2023. Written in the years between graduating from high school in Mesquite, TX and her sophomore year of college in New York, Aperture finds Jadagu in a state of transition. “Where I grew up, everyone is Christian; even if you don’t go to church, you’re still practicing in some form,” Jadagu says, laughing. “Moving out of my small hometown has made me reflect on how embedded Christianity is in the culture down there, and though I’ve been questioning my relationship to the church since high school, it’s definitely a theme on this album, but so is family.” // As a kid, Jadagu followed her older sister – a major source of inspiration who she refers to as “the blueprint” – to a local children’s chorus, where she received choral training. “I hated it,” Jadagu admits. “But it taught me how to harmonize, how to discover my tone, how to recognize and write melody.” The aching single “Admit It” is dedicated to Jadagu’s sister, whose boundless love and impeccable taste has been a constant for Jadagu ever since she was a kid. At home, the siblings were raised on mom’s Young Money mixtapes and the Black Eyed Peas (to whom she credits her love of vocoder) but it was in the sanctity of her sister’s car that Jadagu discovered indie artists who would go on to inspire her work. // Hannah Jadagu played the Bottleneck in Lawrence Kansas on Friday, September 29, 2023]

[Hannah Jadagu plays T-Mobile Center, 1407 Grand Blvd. KCMO on Saturday, October 31 with SOMBR, and Last Dinner Party.]

11:48 – Pledge Break #6 – DIVERSITY

WMM On-Air / Fall Fund Drive Team: Mará Williams, Malek Azrael, Yvette Walker

KKFI Offers Incredible Diversity – 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.

Now, more than ever, Independent, Community Media is important for our world. We are here to listen to you, to share your concerns, and offer resources and information. Along with our National Public Affairs shows like Democracy Now and Alternative Radio we offer more locally produced public affairs programs than anywhere else on the dial.

We offer programs for Women, the LGBTQIA Community, Native Americans, Black Public Affairs, Labor & Worker’s Unions, Middle Eastern Music & Information, Latino Programming, prison & justice system, environmental programming, Visual & Performing Arts, KC Tenants, Economics for the People, Understanding Israel Palestine.

At KKFI there is no automated robot playing the same 40 songs in a “rotation,” based on a formula, created by a singular programmer of the robot. KKFI is the opposite of a robot.

There is almost always a human on the end of the phone line when you call 816-931-KKFI.

90.1 offers 100 different radio programs. 88 of these programs are locally, produced, hosted, engineered and written by over 150 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.

There are 140 hours each week of locally produced handcrafted programs.

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 play-lists are deep and comprehensive. In one week you can hear 2000 different songs played, in Blues, Jazz, Folk, Hip Hop, Reggae, Classical, Soul, World, Americana, Gospel, Southern Soul, Rock, New Wave, Electronic, Native, Local, Old Timey, Rockabilly, & 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?

You are helping to build our community.

For Mará Williams, Malek Azrael, Yvette Walker, and Dan Talmadge I’m Mark Manning. Thanks for listening! Thank you to everyone for donating!

15. Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
    rom: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]

NEXT WEEK, on November 4, filmmaker John McCrite discusses his new documentary “Still Here” about the legendary KC Drag Queen Melinda Ryder. We’ll also talk with Seth Davis a music scholar and instrumentalist and co-founder of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society abut his new album. AND Sondra Freeman returns to talk about The 19th annual Apocalypse Meow on Saturday, November 7, Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 7:00pm, at recordBar, featuring live music from: ROMAN NUMERALS, JAMOGI & THE JAMMERS, PHAZE II, and STUBBLEFIELD. Apocalypse Meow is MMF’s main fund-raiser for Abby’s Fund For Musicians’ Health Care, providing local musicians and music workers with essential health care resources. In addition the RockDocs will be on site to offer flu shots and COVID boosters provided by the KC Indian Center, as well as discuss screenings, wellness programs, health conditions and concerns, and arrange follow-ups. Also live raffles t of items donated by local businesses at AM19, and an online auction. www.midwestmusicfound.org

You can find our playlists at: www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org & www.kkfi.org
www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
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 Office Manager Book Keeper – Shaina Littler.

THANK YOU to everyone who donated to KKFI’s Fall Fund Drive during WMM we had a total of 39 people donate a total of $4703.50!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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.instagram.com/wednesday_midday_medley
http://www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
https://www.soundcloud.com/wednesdaymiddaymedley
http://www.bandcamp.com/wednesdaymiddaymedley

On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or
STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org

Show #1171

Wednesday MidDay Medley
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Betse Ellis + Eddie Moore + Mará Rose Williams + Claire Adams

10:00 – WMM Plays More New & MidCoastal Releases

1. “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
   from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979
   [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]

2. @ – “Earthly Love”
   From: Autosmile / 4AD / October 16, 2026
   [Multi-instrumentalist songwriters Victoria Rose and Stone Filipczak have a pact, a devotion to each other and to the music of @. In their solo existence, Victoria works as a beekeeper and Stone as a self-taught computer programmer, but when they get together, they become a singular, avant-garde song force. Over time, the two began collaborating long distance, and soon developed the @ formula – half Victoria songs, half Stone songs, with each filling in the cracks of the others compositions and Stone handling overall production. On their new album Autosmile, the band’s first with 4AD, @ have harnessed their unique process to reimagine the psychedelic folk tradition as an undeniably contemporary art form, carefully balancing beauty and pain and shifting between black hole heaviness and patient understanding, never abandoning a sense of wonder. // Both Victoria and Stone are incisive, classic songwriters, and their occasionally baroque arrangements and production touches give the songs a rough-hewn yet virtuosic quality. This inventiveness, applied to songs that hold up against classic psych folk records, sets @ apart, somehow looking backwards and forwards all at once. There is a consistent darkness to the moods of Autosmile, but @ is also an inherently playful enterprise, unexpected prog flourishes lurking behind incisive indie rock song craft. // Autosmile follows @’s 2021 debut album Mind Palace Music — displaying the duo’s penchant for confessional lyrics and affinity for blending digital and analog elements, the album was an organic success story via word-of-mouth praise and well-deserved press recognition. In 2024, @ released their subsequent EP Are You There God? It’s Me, @, where they diverted from their usual acoustic instrumentation to soul-searching on a sonic side quest into more electronic music. In the time since, the band has become an in-demand live act with support shows alongside Snail Mail, Cameron Winter, and Black Country New Road.]

3. Frogpond – “Talk To Me”
   from: Count To Ten / Columbia Records – Tristar Music / August 9, 1996
   [For this record: Heidi Phillips on vocals & guitar, Justine Volpe on bass, Kristie Stremel on guitar & backing vocals, Megan Hamilton on drums. All songs written by Frogpond & Heidi Phillips. Produced by A. P. Alexakis, engineered, and mixed by – Brian Sperber with assistance from Brad Kopplin and Brian Daly. Recorded at Smart Studios. Mixed at Chicago Trax Recording Studio. Phonographic Copyright ℗ at Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Copyright © – Sony Music Entertainment Inc. // On November 19, 2021 Frogpond reunited and released TimeThief on Black Site Records their first album in over twenty years. For that record the newly reformed Frogpond was: singer/guitarist and founder Heidi Phillips, long-time bassist, Justine Volpe, with Kristin Conkright on rhythm guitar, and Michelle Bacon on drums. // Frogpond digitally reissued their 1996 vinyl and cassette release, COUNT TO TEN on March 12, 2021, 25 years after its original release on August 9, 1996 on Columbia Records. Frogpond was formed in Warrensburg, Missouri. The band existed from 1994-2000, primarily performing in Kansas City and Lawrence, Kansas. COUNT TO TEN was the band’s 12-track national debut full length released with songs written by Heidi Phillips, with Heidi Phillips on vocals & guitar, Justine Volpe on bass, Megan Hamilton on drums, Kristie Stremel on guitar and backing vocals. Art Alexakis (of the band Everclear) served as producer and contributed backing vocals. // In 1999 Frogpond released the 13-track second album, SAFE RIDE HOME on C2 Records – Columbia, on CD and vinyl with songs written by Heidi Phillips, and with Heidi Phillips on vocals & guitar, Justine Volpe on bass & backing vocals, and Billy Johnson on drums. The album was recorded by Doug McBride at Gravity Studios in Chicago who also served as producer and contributed electric piano and piano. // In 1994 Frogpond self released their 8-song cassette release 2%that was produced, engineered, and mixed at Red House Recording, in Lawrence, Kansas, October 1994]

[Frogpond plays two COUNT TO TEN 30th Anniversary Shows, Friday, October 23, at 7:00pm and Saturday, October 24, at 7:00pm at YesWay Live, 1519 Oak Street, KCMO. Celebrating 30 years of Frogpond’s debut album “Count To Ten” these limited performances include two sets from Frogpond, performing the seminal 1996 album in its entirety for the first time, along with a mix of unique songs each night. Capacity is limited to 100 tickets per night. More info at: www.yeswaylive.com]

10:07 – Fund Drive Break #1

We’re interrupting our regularly scheduled programming for just a few minutes to let our listeners know that we are currently in day 3 of our On-Air / Fall Fund Drive. We are breaking into our prepared programming, to encourage YOU to please call us at 888-931-0901 or www.kkfi.org to make a donation in support 90.1 FM KKFI.

Joining me in the studio, we have some very special co-hosts:

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 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 multiple releases with her husband, multi-instrumentalist Clarke Wyatt, as the internationally known, Betse & Clark. The duo has toured extensively. Betse has also played and recorded with the bands: Little Miss Dynamite, The Starhaven Rounders, Beau Bledsoe, Earnest James Zydeco, Jeff Harshbarger, The Band That Fell To Earth, Howard Iceberg, Bob Walkenhorst, Rural Grit All Stars, Brooke Tuley, Blue Museum and many others.

Betse Ellis thanks for being our guest on WMM

Mará Rose Williams is The Kansas City Star’s Senior Opinion Columnist. She previously was assistant managing editor for race & equity issues, a member of the Star’s Editorial Board and 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 and 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 Rose Williams was the creator and host and producer of Voices of Kansas City an award winning special series created by the KC Star with KKFI.

Mara Rose Williams thanks for being our guest on WMM

Eddie Moore is the recipient of the 2016 Charlotte Street Generative Performance Award. Raised in Houston Texas, he began his musical journey at Texas Southern University where he later earned a Bachelors in Arts and immersed himself in the Houston music scene. Eddie relocated to KC to study under Bobby Watson at the University of Missouri-KC where he received a M.A in Jazz Studies. He was 2017’s Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art “Artist in Residence” in collaboration with Rashid Johnson. In 2018 his work with The Outer Circle was nominated for an Indie Music Award for “007”. His music has been featured commercially for Sprint, Netflix’s “Queer Eye”, and Morgan Cooper’s short film “Room Tone”. Moore has shared the stage and recordings with Bobby Watson, Logan Richardson, Maurice Brown, Boys II Men, Brian Blade and the Fellowship, John Baptiste, Erykah Badu, Mosdef, Bilal, Ledisi, Chantae Cann, Krystal Warren, Matt Otto, Brandon Draper, Andre Hayward, Tivon Pennicott, Various Blonde, Dominique Sanders, 77 Jefferson, Marcus Lewis Big Band.

Eddie Moore thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

90.1 FM KKFI Kansas City Community Radio is Non-Commercial! We don’t have commercials. We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, membership based organization. To fullfill our budget – three times a year, we interrupt our regular programming, to ask our listeners, to help us continue our unique, 24-7 programming.

For 38 years 90.1 FM KKFI has been on the air. The spirit of this station is kept alive by hundreds of volunteers who passionately donate their time and abilities to keep the transmission of our 100,000-watt-signal alive. But none of this is possible without YOU our listeners, who donate financially.

We are a operated by a not-for-profit organization, The MidCoast Radio Project, incorporated over 50 years ago. We are a non-profit, with a dedicated paid staff of four incredible individuals, and hundreds of volunteers, who donate thousands of hours every year, producing radio shows, training new hosts & producers, developing new radio shows, serving our vast community landscape with music and news, information and stories that reflect the many communities we serve.

We do all of this because of YOU and it is because of our incredible listeners, who take a moment and call 888-931-0901 and donate, that we are able to continue. You keep us alive! Our volunteers are waiting to hear from YOU right now.

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 90.1 FM KKFI offers 100 radio programs, and 85 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 repented 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.

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. Not necessarily the reach of our 100,000 watt signal but definitely the reach of our community.

KKFI’s Mission Statement: KKFI is the Kansas City area’s independent, noncommercial community radio station. We seek to stimulate, educate and entertain our audience, to reflect the diversity of the local and world community, and to provide a channel for individuals and groups, issues and music that have been overlooked, suppressed or under-represented by other media.

KKFI’s Philosophy Statement: KKFI is committed to diversity in programming and discourse and seeks to create a climate of mutual respect and collaboration among volunteers and staff.

We have History. We have weathered the storms. We have purchased our tower and the land around our tower. We have recently upgraded and re-wired our tower and brought it up-to-date technologically. We have recently purchased a new transmitter for our tower. We are one of the longest running locally owned, Kansas City based 100,000 watt radio station.

10:16 – WMM Plays More New & MidCoastal Releases

4. Snocaps – “Heathcliff”
   from: Snocaps / Anti / October 31, 2025
   [Snocaps is the debut full-length album from American indie rock band Snocaps, consisting of Katie and Allison Crutchfield, joined by multi-instrumentalist MJ Lenderman and producer Brad Cook. The album was surprise-released on October 31, 2025. The album was named one of the “11 New Albums You Should Listen To Now” by Pitchfork upon its release. // The Snocaps project marks the first time the Crutchfield twins had recorded music together since the split of their previous band, PS Eliot. It also marks Allison Crutchfield’s first new music in seven years, following the release of the fourth Swearin’ album Fall Into the Sun in 2018. In a post to her Substack newsletter, Katie Crutchfield noted that she and Alison had initially broached the idea of a new project in 2023, prior to the release of the Waxahatchee album Tigers Blood. She wrote that the sisters were interested in “making something akin to what we made when we were younger” with “no ambitions and no plan, purely for our own enjoyment, for the experience of making something we ourselves wanted to hear.” The album was recorded with Cook and Lenderman over the course of a week, with Katie describing the experience as “realigning with the earliest, purest versions of our music-making selves”. // All tracks are written by Katie Crutchfield and Alison Crutchfield.]

[Half of Snocaps is Katie Crutchfield who performs as Waxahatchee who headlines YEEHAW! With Caleb Hearon on Friday, October 23, at 7:00pm Doors, 8:00pm Show at The Uptown Theatre 3700 Broadway, KCMO.]

5. Lava Dreams – “Chemistry”
   from: “Chemistry – Single / Lava Dreams / February 19, 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. / Their performances have taken them to stages across Kansas City, including Boulevardia, Kansas City Pride, Queer Dyke Night, Outer Reaches, and Manor Fest./ 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. Explore their music at LavaDreamsMusic.com]

[Lava Dreams plays Spirit & Song series at Zhou B Art Center KC, at 1801 East 18th Street KCMO on Friday, October 23, 2026, Doors at 6:00pm. Performance 7:00pm to 9:00pm.]

6. The Avalanches – “Under Yr Power”
   from: No Bad Memories / Modular / October 16, 2026
   [One of four singles from No Bad Memories, the upcoming fourth studio album from Australian electronic group the Avalanchess. // According to a press release, No Bad Memories is “inspired by the simultaneously magical and insidious ways that advertising and name-brand technology wraps itself around our memories. An ambivalent ode to the nostalgic pull of commercial ingles, proprietary start-up sounds, and long-forgotten audio logos. Revisiting imagery and jingles from childhood and realizing how profoundly they have stuck. Taking these sound sources from within the heart of this kinda corporate framework and flipping the fragments into our own kind of joyous pop music… Eventually we arrived at this world of No Bad Memories”. // The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They have released three studio albums, Since I Left You (2000), Wildflower (2016), and We Will Always Love You (2020). The group is scheduled to release their fourth album No Bad Memories (2026) on October 16. They perform a hybrid live show that also incorporates elements of DJing. The group currently consists of co-founding members Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi, as well as multi-instrumentalist Andy Szekeres. // The band is an exponent of the plunderphonics genre, and their first album, Since I Left You, has been recognised by many critics as the most important example of the genre. // Three future Avalanches members formed Alarm 115 in Melbourne in 1994 as a noise punk outfit inspired by Drive Like Jehu, The Fall, and Ultra Bide. The line-up was Robbie Chater on keyboards, Tony Di Blasi on keyboards, bass and backing vocals, and Darren Seltmann on vocals (ex-Ripe). By 1995, Manabu Etoh joined on drums. The group bought instruments, recording gear and numerous old vinyl records by the crate at second-hand shops. When Etoh was deported and Alarm 115 disbanded, these records became the core of a new project. Chater was a film student at RMIT University and had access to a recording studio, which he and Seltmann used to turn the records into a 30-song demo tape labelled Pan Amateurs. In 1997 a new group consisting of Chater, Di Blasi, Seltmann, and Gordon McQuilten on keyboards was assembled to play the tracks live. Chater, Di Blasi and McQuilten had all been school mates in Maryborough. Starting in July, their first four shows were played under different names: Swinging Monkey Cocks, Quentin’s Brittle Bones, and Whoops Downs Syndrome. The group became “The Avalanches” at their fifth gig, borrowing the new band name from an American surf rock band, which recorded only one album, Ski Surfin’ with the Avalanches, in 1963.]

7. The Womack Sisters – “If You Want Me”
   from: The Womack Sisters / Daptone Records / August 14, 2026
   [The Womack Sisters are indeed the nieces of Bobby Womack, as well as the granddaughters of the legendary Sam Cooke. They are part of a musical lineage that has significantly influenced soul and R&B music. The Womack Sisters: Kucha, Zeimani, and BG Womack, were singing before they could walk. The Sisters grew up on the road. Their schools were stages & studios all over the world, where they sang behind their parents, Zekkariyas & Zeriiya (fka Womack & Womack), alongside their four siblings. Nowhere was home for long. No matter where they lived they were always surrounded by music and family. // Their 2026 debut album,The Womack Sisters, is the musical culmination of the Sisters’ long and winding journey to find them-selves. Over an intensely soulful collection of tunes that harkens back to when pop music had substance, vibe and purpose, each of their distinct voices have their moments in the spotlight. // www. thewomacksisters.com.]

10:26 – Underwriting

10:27 – Pledge Break #2

WMM on-Air / Fall Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mara Williams, Eddie Moore

We are inspired by KKFI. Donating to 90.1 FM KKFI is BUILDING your community.

For 38 Years our Kansas City Area Community Speaks through our Airwaves. You’re the reason we’re able to stay alive and on the airwaves for all of these past 38 years.

On May 13, 2026 – WMM recently celebrated 22 years on the radio. As of this week WMM has done 1170 weeks, equal to 2340 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 our WMM programming to New & MidCoastal Releases.

We are inspired by the Fearless Women who created radio on 90.1 FM long before us: our friend April Fletcher who plays bass professionally in Los Angeles, and hosted Mix Well Before Serving on 90.1 in 1988 on KKFI’s first year of broadcast, and two years ago returned after 35 years to host and produce WMM.

We are inspired by our friend Anne Winter, who left us in 2009. Anne helped to build KKFI being one of the very first programmers who recorded their shows in Tom Crane‘s basement on reel to reel tape. Anne hosted Kansas City’s first ever Punk Rock Show: Little Orphan Annie. She served on the KKFI board. She helped recruit Robert Moore to serve as KKFI’s manager, briefly in the mid 1990s. Anne also organized Culture Under Fire a two week festival of live bands, teen poetry, performance art, guest speakers, zine workshops, art exhibitions, and community building. Anne reminded us how we’re all connected. Anne also owned and operated Recycled Sounds, an influential record store in Kansas city from 1986 to 2005 at Westport Road and Main Street.

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.

We are inspired 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. Abigail was a frequent guest on the radio show. She told us that she felt like this was “our” radio show. Inspiring Mark to re-think the entire objective of Wednesday MidDay Medley with the mission to help tell the story of Kansas City’s music “community.”

We are 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.

Today we celebrate the pure idea of community radio, free form radio, radio that tells the story of the people who live here, the artists, the writers, the teachers, the performers.

Together we are building our community. We celebrate 1170 weeks of WMM, the show that has brought us together, at this time, on this frequency, in these community airwaves.
Thanks for listening.

In 2025 there were over 1675 MidCoastal (KC area) releases in Albums, EPs, & Singles…(that we know of).

In 2026 so far there have been 828 MidCoastal (KC area) releases in Albums, EPs, & Singles…(that we know of).

On WMM we culled these releases for our special 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 our End-of-Year Specials: 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: www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org

10:35 – Re/Gen

Re/Gen: The Revitalization of KC Jazz –
An introduction to new/up and coming Jazz Artists

YesWay Live, 1519 Oak St., KCMO Sunday, October 25, at 5:00pm to 9:30pm

Jazz is a music of its time period, it has always reflected the present, and through time this has been an important part of the culture. “Re/Gen” is the regeneration of Kansas City’s historic jazz culture through modern artists. The infusion of Hip-hop, R&B, Soul, Funk, and Jazz will be performed live in between sets from the DJ Skeme. The interchange between digital and visual art will resonate with the current state of popular music. To further merge the music with culture, we have brought in River MaKenzi for floral work and stage design. River’s work creates an immersive environment that breaks the wall between audience and performer for a truly authentic experience.

Run of show: The show will feature compositions led by tenured jazz keyboardist, Eddie Moore, accompanied by a rotating cast featuring some of KC’s most forward thinking and upcoming jazz artists. Including Paxton Harvey Elektrik Band (bass), Nick Hmeljak’s Open Channel (trumpet), and Daul Lee’s Atelier (keyboards). As the night continues, invited artists will join the team on stage for “friends sets” to reinforce the interchange between the artists and the audience. Together, the exchanges will dovetail musically to embody the cornerstone of Kansas City’s identity.

Daul Lee – “Dilemma”
Paxton Harvey – “Evil Forest”
Jaylen Way – “Light”
(Cut for time: Nick Hmeljak, Open Channel – “I Don’t Feel Quite Myself”

10:36

8. Daul Lee – “Dilema”
   from: “Dilema” / Daul Lee’s Atelier / To be released in November, 2026
   [Daul Lee is a 22 year old composer and pianist from Wichita, Kansas, known for his contributions to jazz music. He has premiered notable arrangements, including works by Oliver Nelson, and has collaborated with the award-winning Jazz Ensemble I at the University of Kansas.]

[Daul Lee plays Re/Gen: The Revitalization of KC Jazz – An introduction to new/up and coming Jazz Artists at YesWay Live, 1519 Oak St., KCMO, Sunday October 25, at 5:00pm to 9:30pm.]

9. Paxton Harvey – “Evil Forest”
   from: “Evil Forest” – Single / Paxton Harvey / June 12, 2026
   [Paxton Harvey’s debut single, featuring electrifying synth from Eddie Moore with brutal grooves from The Paxton Harvey Elektrik Band. This track perfectly captures the improvisatory nature of the band and their masterful manipulation of energy. Eddie Moore on Synth, John Fraka on guitar, Paxton Harvey on bass, Jade Harvey on drums, Rengineered by Yarrow Harvey. Produced by Eddie Moore]

[Paxton Harvey plays Re/Gen: The Revitalization of KC Jazz – An introduction to new/up and coming Jazz Artists at YesWay Live, 1519 Oak St., KCMO, Sunday October 25, at 5:00pm to 9:30pm.]

10. Jaylen Ward – “Light”
    from: “Light” – Single / Jaylen Ward / To be released in November, 2026
    [Jaylen Ward is a Drummer, composer, producer, and audio engineer with roots in South KC. During his time in College, he has been awarded the Down Beat National Award for Best Jazz Trio (2025) and Audio Engineering (2024). Throughout his career, he has performed with artists such as Logan Richardson, Tia Fuller, Harold “Spike” Bonhart of the Four Tops, Lonnie McFadden, Tivon Pennicott, Sean Jones, Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few, Ben Vangelder, Adam Larson, Peter Schlamb, Eddie Moore, Dominique Sanders, Lynn Seaton, and many more. He performs regularly with The James Ward Band and many other artists in Kansas City, along with his own project since 2021. In 2025, Jaylen participated in two cultural exchanges in Chile and China. While in Chile, Jaylen performed at the International Festival of Jazz of Valparaiso, collaborating with several world-renowned South American musicians. In China, Jaylen performed and was a Jazz Faculty member with Bobby Watson of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, James Ward, and Charles Williams. Jaylen toured Shanghai University, Beijing University, and Zhengzhou University.

[Jaylen Ward plays Re/Gen: The Revitalization of KC Jazz – An introduction to new/up and coming Jazz Artists at YesWay Live, 1519 Oak St., KCMO, Sunday October 25, at 5:00pm to 9:30pm.]

10:49 – Fall Fund Drive Break #3

WMM Fall Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mara Williams, Eddie Moore

So far this year in 2026 Mark conducted Over 100 interviews with 153 guests:

Michelle Bacon, Chris Hudson, Dwight Frizzell, David Basse, D Rashaan Gilmore, Calvin Arsenia, Cera Impala, FlareThaRebel, Shaun Crowley, Sara Swenson, Nathan Reusch, Charlie Burt, Mike Bland, Brad Smith, Mará Rose Williams, Sandra Draper, Betse Ellis, Joelle St. Pierre, Jennie Ferguson, Scott Mize, Matt Kesler, Hank Pendergraft, Diane Scott, Jade Osborne, Dedric Moore, Steve Tulipana, Christena Graves, IVORY BLUE, Dandelion Lakewood, Rosie O’Brien, Sam Wright, Spencer Goertz-Giffen, Braden Young, Brent Kinder, Ed Wallerstein, Ian Byrne, Kian Byrne, Norm Dahlor, A.M. Merker, Colm Chomicky, Jennifer Owen, Brad Cox, Krystle Warren, Michael B. Tipton, Kasey Rausch, Marcus Rattler, Hailes, Scott Moreau, Becky Barta, Taylor Bapp, Lava Dreams, Julie Bennett Hume, Amelia Rose, Alan Wasserman, Janice Wasserman, Jesse Bartmess, Krysztof Nemeth, Ned Stacie, Francois, Peter Pain, Rachel Christia, Vi Tran, Darin Challacombe, Madeline Marak, Lori Buntin, Margaret Cho, Brodie Rush, Cody Calhoun, Liam Sumnich, Nate Hubert, Tim Jenkins, David Brighton, Jocelyn Olivia Nixon, Stephonne, Will Kuenne, Vinnie Cascone, Carlos Nunez, Jonathan Van Ness, Warren Williams, Julia Othmer, James Lundie, Ames King, Noah Bartelt, Katie Schieferecke, Luke Rowe, Miki P, Rachel Lovelace, Brooke Tuley, IVORY BLUE, John Lawrence Johnson, Jamogi, Danny Fischer, Audrey Crabtree, Chris Garibaldi, Scott Free, Nick Carroll, Kimmie Queen, Theresa Scott, Nicki White, Danielle Anderson, Katheryn Krouse, Bowie Krouse, Lee Walter Redding, Angela Ward, James Ward, Joel Kraft, BOSCO, Just Angel, Clarence Copridge, Abe Abaleanie Brown, Matthew Hayden, Stephen Roper, Austin Marks, Al Hawkins, Fritz Hutchison, Derek Trautwein, Amanda Davis, Andrew Woody, Brian Hurtgen, Joseph Peaks, Ken Lovern, Xavier Martin, Maddie Lai, Bill Sundahl, Mike McCoy, Erin Eades, Silver Wesley, Tim Miller, Heather Carver, William Horner, Marilyn Maye, Michelle Shocked, Zachary Van Benthusen, Jane Prewitt Watkins, Patty Prewitt, Cortland Gibson, Elaine (Lainey) Chang, Colin Halliburton, Jesse Kates, Mack McKinney, Kate McCandless, Fanny Mandelberger, T.A. Rell, Gie Santana, Jon Hypocrace Lewis, Eboni Fondren, Alec Nicholas, Shawn Saving, Francis Connor, Darren Defrain, Eddie Moore, Claire Adams

Last year In 2025 Mark conducted 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.

10:56 – Station ID

11. Hedwig & The Angry Inch – “Wicked Little Town”
    from: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Hedwig & The Angry Inch / Hybrid / 2001
    [Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a 2001 American musical comedy-drama film written, adapted, and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, who also portrayed the title role, reprising his performance from the original production. Based on Mitchell’s and Stephen Trask’s stage musical of the same name, the film follows a fictional rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer who survives a botched sex change operation. Hedwig subsequently develops a relationship with a younger man, Tommy, becoming his mentor and musical collaborator, only to have Tommy steal her music and move on without her. The film follows Hedwig and her backing band, the Angry Inch, as they shadow Tommy’s tour, while exploring Hedwig’s past and complex gender identity. The musical has developed a devoted cult following. Despite largely positive reviews from critics and audiences, the film was a box office bomb, grossing only $3.6 million from an estimated $6 million budget. In 2001, the film won the Best Director and Audience Awards at the Sundance Film Festival as well as Best Directorial Debut from the National Board of Review, the Gotham Awards, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Mitchell received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor and the Premiere magazine Performance of the Year Award. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band fronted by a genderqueer East German singer, Hedwig Robinson. The book is by John Cameron Mitchell, and the music and lyrics are by Stephen Trask. The story draws on Mitchell’s life as the son of a U.S. Army Major General who once commanded the U.S. sector of occupied West Berlin. The character of Hedwig was inspired by a German divorced U.S. Army wife who was a Mitchell family babysitter and moonlighted as a prostitute at her Junction City, Kansas, trailer park home. The music is steeped in the androgynous 1970s glam rock style of David Bowie (who co-produced the Los Angeles production of the show), as well as the work of John Lennon and early punk performers Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. The musical opened Off-Broadway in 1998, and won the Obie Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical. The production ran for two years, and was remounted with various casts by the original creative team in other US cities. In 2000, the musical had a London West End production, and it has been produced throughout the world in hundreds of stage productions. In 2014, the show saw its first Broadway incarnation, opening that April at the Belasco Theatre and winning the year’s Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The production closed on September 13, 2015. A national tour of the show began at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre in October 2016 before closing at the Kennedy Center in July 2017. The character of Hedwig was originally a supporting character in the piece. She was loosely inspired by a German female babysitter/prostitute who worked for Mitchell’s family when he was a teenager in Junction City, Kansas. The character of Tommy, originally conceived as the main character, was based on Mitchell himself: both were gay, the sons of an army general, deeply Roman Catholic, and fascinated with mythology. Hedwig became the story’s protagonist when Trask encouraged Mitchell to showcase their earliest material in 1994 at NYC’s drag-punk club Squeezebox, where Trask headed the house band and Mitchell’s boyfriend, Jack Steeb, played bass. They agreed the piece should be developed through band gigs in clubs rather than in a theater setting in order to preserve a rock energy. Mitchell was deeply influenced by Squeezebox’s roster of drag performers who performed rock covers. The setlists of Hedwig’s first gigs included many covers with lyrics rewritten by Mitchell to tell Hedwig’s story: Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”; Television’s “See No Evil”; Wreckless Eric’s “Whole Wide World”; Yoko Ono’s “Death of Samantha”; Pere Ubu’s “Non-Alignment Pact”; Cher’s “Half Breed”; David Bowie’s “Boys Keep Swinging”; Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes”; and the Velvet Underground’s “Femme Fatale.” A German glam rendition of Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” once served as the musical’s finale. Mitchell’s second gig was as fill-in host at Squeezebox on a bill featuring singer Deborah Harry of Blondie. It was for this occasion that Mike Potter first designed Hedwig’s trademark wig, which was initially constructed from toilet paper rolls wrapped with synthetic blond hair. Mitchell, Trask, and the band Cheater (Jack Steeb, Chris Wielding, Dave McKinley, and Scott Bilbrey) continued to workshop material at venues such as Fez Nightclub and Westbeth Theater Center for four years before premiering the completed musical Off-Broadway in 1998. Mitchell has explained that Hedwig is not a trans woman, but a genderqueer character. “She’s more than a woman or a man,” he has said. “She’s a gender of one and that is accidentally so beautiful.”]

[John Cameron Mitchell will be appearing live at Screenland Armour, 408 Armour Rd., North Kansas City on Saturday, October 24 at 2;00pm for the Hedwig and the Angry Inch with Writer/Director/Star John Cameron Mitchell will be talking over the film doing a live commentary. – Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the critically acclaimed, award-winning rock movie musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch with an unforgettable event featuring Golden Globe–nominated star John Cameron Mitchell!]

11:00 – Station ID

11:00 – Interview with Claire Adams

Claire Adams joins us to share music from her new album CARACOLES.

Musically curious & multifaceted, Claire Adams is dedicated to collaborating, recording, and songwriting to hone her melodic instincts & vision. A bassist, guitarist, singer/

Adams has lent a discerning ear and versatility to a number of recording projects and also worked as a touring bassist and back-up vocalist for artists including Lilly Hiatt, Katy Guillen, Samantha Fish, Frogpond and Thelma & The Sleaze.

Claire Adams thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medle

Claire Adams plays B.B.’S LAWNSIDE BBQ 1205 E 85th St, KCMO on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 at 7:00pm.

Claire Adams plays THE 1909 CLUB, 25 Southeast 3rd St., Lee’s Summit, MO, on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 at 7:00pm.

Claire Adams plays EAST FORTY BREWING 1201 W Main Street, Blue Springs, MO, on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 7:00pm.

Claire Adams plays COMPASS POINT: HOME OF DIRTY GIRL ADVENTURES 800 North Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, 2:30pm to 6:00pm.

Claire Adams thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

More info at: www.claireadamsmusic.com

11:08 – Claire Adams

12. Claire Adams – “Big Blue Sky”
    from: Caracoles / Claire Adams / September 22, 2026
    [Claire Adams on vocals, bass, rhythm guitars, piano; Abraham Villaseñor on lead and rhythm guitars; Jean Pierre Chaurand on drums and percussion; Tzintuni Varela on vocals on The Sun Still Shines, Garden Green, Thief in the Night; W. Gregory on trumpet on Garden Green; Agnes Esparza on spoons and ruckus on Garden Green. Recorded at Sonocomio GDL and Weights + Measures KC with additional tracking at Rio Verde. Recording Engineers: Agnes Esparza, J.P. Ortega, Alex Lepe, Duane Trower, Claire Adams. Mixed and Mastered by Duane Trower at W+M // On May 2, 2025 Claire Adams released the 11-track album Passenger Seat, Recorded at Rio Verde in Guadalajara, Jalisco with Additional recording at Maniax Studios GDL and Weights + Measures KCMO. Mixed and Mastered by Duane Trower at Weights + Measures. Claire Adams on bass, rhythm guitar, vocals; Abraham Villaseñor on lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals; Jean Pierre Chaurand on drums; Christian Jiménez on keyboards; Carmen Aguilar on violin; Allysa Bell Jackson on viola; Mike Stover on pedal steel, Juan Carlos Chaurand on percussion; Stephanie Williams on percussion. // Claire Adams lives in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico but still gets back to Kansas City often to work on musical projects and see family and friends. // Musically curious and multifaceted, Claire Adams has spent more than a decade touring, recording and songwriting to hone her melodic instincts and vision. A bassist, guitarist, singer and songwriter, Adams has lent a discerning ear and versatility to a number of projects. // Picking up guitar as a teenager, Adams was immediately drawn to songwriting. Her penchant for wordplay and melody led her to Nashville to study, write and perform, sparking an interest in traveling, touring and working in collaborative environments. // Upon returning closer to home in 2010, Adams set up shop in Kansas City, Missouri, and Claire founded the eight-piece genre-jumping collective Claire and the Crowded Stage – a project that united her pop sensibilities with non-traditional instrumentation. This project teamed her up with guitarist Katy Guillen and drummer Stephanie Williams, leading them to form the nationally touring blues-rock trio Katy Guillen & the Girls in 2012, with Adams on bass and backing vocals. In recent years Adams has been performing solo, collaborating with the KC based string quartet Rewound, pianist Alyssa Murray, Steve Gardels. // On April 2, 2024 Claiere Adams released the EP Words of Love with Claire Adams on vocals, bass; Daniel Dissmore on trumpet; Fritz Hutchison on drums; Jackie Myers on piano; Trevor Turla on trombone; Abraham Villaseñor on guitar. // Recorded, mixed and mastered by Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab, KCMO. Additional recording by Odin Parada at Rec4 Studios, GDL. // Musically curious and multifaceted, Claire Adams is dedicated to collaborating, recording and songwriting to hone her melodic instincts and vision. A bassist, guitarist, singer and songwriter, Adams has lent a discerning ear and versatility to a number of projects. Claire founded the eight-piece genre-jumping collective Claire and the Crowded Stage – a project that united her pop sensibilities with non-traditional instrumentation. This project teamed her up with guitarist Katy Guillen and drummer Stephanie Williams, leading them to form the nationally touring blues-rock trio Katy Guillen & the Girls in 2012, with Adams on bass and backing vocals. In recent years Adams has been performing solo, collaborating with the KC based string quartet Rewound, and in a trio featuring pianist Alyssa Murray. // Claire Adams Alyssa Murray and Steve Gardels released the EP Easy Match on November 1, 2023. Easy Match contains 5 songs. // Claire Adams released “It’s All in Fun” – Single on June 30, 2023. Claire Adams told Michelle Bacon at The Bridge, “”I wrote the string arrangement in the summer of 2021 and we went in to record it this past spring,” Adams said. “I’ve had the happiness of working with Alyssa Bell (viola) and Carmen Dieker (violin) for several years now, mostly playing my songs as arranged by others and I wanted to give a try to arranging a song myself.” “I feel like having an understanding of everyone else’s styles and strengths gives me a sense of direction and focus on what can otherwise be a really abstract craft,” she said. On bass, she, Guillen and Williams comprised the acclaimed trio Katy Guillen & The Girls for seven years, while she has consistently been working with Murray in the years to follow. The four of them got to work with Duane Trower, who has recorded and engineered the majority of Adams‘ solo songs. // Claire Adams released “If It Isn’t Right (Alyssa Murray Remix)” on April 15, 2022 Claire Adams wrote to us saying, “Alyssa Murray made a super cool remix of one of the songs off the last album and I wanted to share it with you. The song is ‘If It Isn’t Right’ and also features the Rewound string trio and an arrangement by Peter Lawless. Alyssa really made it her own and gave it a whole new spin, she’s amazing!” Here are the full credits: Vocals: Claire Adams, Alyssa Murray, Fritz Hutchison. Synths and Beats: Alyssa Murray. Cello: Ezgi Karakus. Viola: Alyssa Bell. Violin: Carmen Dieker. String Arrangement: Peter Lawless. Mixed and Mastered by Duane Trower at Weights + Measures Soundlab. Cover Art by Cassie Allen. ‘If It Isn’t Right’ written by Claire Adams. This song was originally on Claire’s acclaimed album YOU KNOW I KNOW YOU originally released April 24, 2020. // Claire Adams released her album YOU KNOW I KNOW YOU April 24, 2020. Lost in the COVID 19 of 2020. The album was properly given a “release show” and put out on CD in 2021. 10 songs all written by Claire Adams. Recorded at The Blue House in Kansas City, MO. Additional tracking at MARZ Studios in Nederland, TX. Mixed & mastered at Weights + Measures Soundlab in KCMO. Written by Claire Adams, with Claire Adams on guitars, bass, and vocals; Alyssa Murray on keyboards & vocals; and Fritz Hutchison on drums & vocals. // Claire Adams released: Words of Love EP on Feb. 5, 2021 – Recorded and Produced by Claire Adams at Casa 34 in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Mixed and Mastered by Duane Trower at Weights + Measures in Kansas City, MO. Cover Photo by Hugo Parasol. ‘So This Is Love’ written by Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston. ‘Pocketful Of Rainbows’ written by Ben Weisman, ‘Till There Was You’ written by Meredith Wilson. “Words of Love” written by Claire Adams. ‘Calico Skies’ written by Paul McCartney. // Claire Adams released the EP Moras under the moniker, Mismo Sismo (same earthquake) on July 21, 2021. Claire Adams wrote and recorded this EP at home during the first months of the COVID-19 quarantine. The three songs are meant to be played all together but also stand alone. Mismo Sismo is a collaboration with photographer Hugo Parasol.// Claire played guitar on True Lions album THE FEMPIRE STRIKES BACK. In 2020 Clairplayed with the band Ondist for their three full length albums, No Coincidence on June 12, and Electricity on Aug. 14, and Mise en Place on Nov. 13, 2020 with songs recorded at Weights & Measures with Duane Trower with Sam Platt on drums, Eddie Moore on keyboards, DeAndre Manning on bass, Jamie Anderson on guitar, Claire Adams on vocals, and Jillian Riscoe on vocals. Claire also participated in Katy Guillen and The Girls Reunion shows in summer of 20. More info at: https://claireadams.bandcamp.com]

[Claire Adams plays B.B.’S LAWNSIDE BBQ 1205 E 85th St, KCMO on Fri, Oct. 23, 2026 at 7:00pm. ]

[Claire Adams plays THE 1909 CLUB, 25 Southeast 3rd St., Lee’s Summit, MO, Fri, Oct. 30, 7:00pm. ]

[Claire Adams plays EAST FORTY BREWING 1201 W Main, Blue Springs, MO, Sun, Nov. 8, 7:00pm]

[Claire Adams plays COMPASS POINT: HOME OF DIRTY GIRL ADVENTURES 800 North Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, 2:30pm to 6:00pm.]

11:11 – Fund Drive Break #4

WMM Fall Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mara Williams, Eddie Moore

Timothy Finn in KC Star named WMM “The Best Place to Hear Local Music on the Radio.” and the Best Place to hear area musicians talk about their music.

Wednesday MidDay Medley was the first radio show to ever play the recordings of: Calvin Arsenia, Stephonne, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, Krystle Warren, The Black Creatures, The Shy Boys, The ACB’s, Miss Boating, Rev Gusto, Mommas Boy, The Salvation Choir, The Creepy Jingles, Ivory Blue, Miki P., Kai McGarry, Rude Cousin. We were the first to interview these artists live on the radio and bring their music to a wider audience.

In 2026 we have had Live Performances from: Calvin Arsenia, Erin Eades, Dandelion Lakewood, Gullywasher, Rosie O’Brien & Taylor Bapp, Lee Walter Redding, Just Angel & Clarence Copridge, oldnothing, Maddie Lai, Just Angel, & T.A. Rell, and more.

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, Marilyn Maye, Cheyenne Jackson, Margaret Cho, Iris Dement, Greg Brown, Scott McCaughey, Michelle Shocked, Flamy Grant, Members of Fanny, Regina Spektor, Regina Carter, Jonathan Van Ness, Tim Miller, Cris Williamson, Nick Cave, Holly Near, Sam Harris, our annual 4-week special: WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of the Year.

WMM has been inspired by the KC music community. The KC music community is fueled by a collaborative & generous heart that is beating in the artists we’ve met doing this show.

11:19 – Underwriting

11:20 – More Interview with Claire Adams

Claire Adams joins us to share music from her new album CARACOLES.

Last year (2025) Claire played bass for two national tours with songwriter Lily Hiatt, and rock ‘n’ rollers Thelma & The Sleaze, and released the album ‘Passenger Seat’

This year (2026) Claire filled in with Katy Guillen & the Drive for some KC World Cup shows and a tour in Alaska.

Claire has a trio in Guadalajara with Abraham Villaseñor on guitar and Jean Pierre Chaurand on drums. We play original music and recorded the last album ‘Passenger Seat’ and the new one ‘Caracoles’ together.

‘Caracoles’ is the new full-length album, released Sept 22nd. I think of this album as music for times of transition, music for dancing in the kitchen, music for too much wine, music for crying til you laugh, for fall, for quiet drives, for the garden, for longing, for memory. It’s a work of joy and pain, looking into the past, present, and future. Dancing along the fine lines…

The title comes from the Spanish word for snail or spiral, and the idea of returning to a place in life that feels familiar, perhaps too familiar, the feeling of a cycle, a loop, a trap. But looking at this familiar place with the memory and knowledge of when you were there before… the loop breaks, the spiral opens. It can pull you down and in… it can guide you back out again.

Claire Adams thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medle

Claire Adams plays B.B.’S LAWNSIDE BBQ 1205 E 85th St, KCMO on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 at 7:00pm.

Claire Adams plays THE 1909 CLUB, 25 Southeast 3rd St., Lee’s Summit, MO, on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 at 7:00pm.

Claire Adams plays EAST FORTY BREWING 1201 W Main Street, Blue Springs, MO, on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 7:00pm.

Claire Adams plays COMPASS POINT: HOME OF DIRTY GIRL ADVENTURES 800 North Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, 2:30pm to 6:00pm.

Claire Adams thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

More info at: www.claireadamsmusic.com

13. Claire Adams – “The Sun Still Shines feat. Tzintzuni Varela”
    from: Caracoles / Claire Adams / September 22, 2026
    [Claire Adams on vocals, bass, rhythm guitars, piano; Abraham Villaseñor on lead and rhythm guitars; Jean Pierre Chaurand on drums and percussion; Tzintuni Varela on vocals on The Sun Still Shines, Garden Green, Thief in the Night; W. Gregory on trumpet on Garden Green; Agnes Esparza on spoons and ruckus on Garden Green. Recorded at Sonocomio GDL and Weights + Measures KC with additional tracking at Rio Verde. Recording Engineers: Agnes Esparza, J.P. Ortega, Alex Lepe, Duane Trower, Claire Adams. Mixed and Mastered by Duane Trower at W+M One of the first singles from Claire Adams new album, Caracoles to be released in October 2026. More info at: https://claireadams.bandcamp.com]

[Claire Adams plays B.B.’S LAWNSIDE BBQ 1205 E 85th St, KCMO on Fri, Oct. 23, 2026 at 7:00pm. ]

[Claire Adams plays THE 1909 CLUB, 25 Southeast 3rd St., Lee’s Summit, MO, Fri, Oct. 30, 7:00pm. ]

[Claire Adams plays EAST FORTY BREWING 1201 W Main, Blue Springs, MO, Sun, Nov. 8, 7:00pm]

[Claire Adams plays COMPASS POINT: HOME OF DIRTY GIRL ADVENTURES 800 North Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, 2:30pm to 6:00pm.]

11:31 – Fund Drive Break #5

WMM on-Air / Fall Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mara Williams, Eddie Moore

For 22 years we’ve shined a light on artists, music labels, recording studios, & venues.

Wednesday MidDay Medley offers incredible mix of: Themes, Events, Bands, Venues featured:

MLK Tribute, Iris Dement Tribute, David Bowie Tribute, The Band That Fell To Earth KC, Folk Alliance International in New Orleans, New Protest Songs, Grammy Winners, Manor Records Foundation, Greenwood Social Hall, The Uptown Theater, Enigmatic Brunch Records, She Said, Kansas City Synthesizer Collective, The Record Machine, Black History with 20+ Black Artists & Bands from KC, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City Community Collage, Outer Reaches Fest, Artist INC, Artists Thrive, Kosmic City, The RINO, Sass-a-Brass Band, The Elders, Owen Cox Dance Collective, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Quality Hill Playhouse, BCR celebrates 50 Years!, Lawrence Pride, WOMEN OF THE REBELLION, recordBar, Heartland Song Network, Missouri Arts Council, Vine Street Brewing, NED’s Friend-Hole Cabaret LIVE, The Warwick Theater, REVISER, The Emerald, Manor Fest 8, All That Class and Jazz, KC Folk Fest, Kansas City Artists Coalition, An Evening of Pink Floyd, The Folly Theater, David Brighton’s SPACE ODDITY, Say That Again, Sound Mandala, The Forcefields, The Unicorn Theatre, Sara Bellum and the Brainwaves, The Swallowtails, Shuttlecock Music, PERSPECTIVES at Lavender Studio, miniBar, Replay Lounge, Lemonade Park, The Ship, Equal Minded Cafe, KC Fringe Fest, Bird Comedy Theater, Whim Space, Lotuspool Records, The Suneaters, Pamper The Madman, The Philistines, The Musical Universe of Rev. Dwight Frizzell, AMERI’KANA Music & Arts Festival, Magic of Grandmas, Comprehensive Arts Institute, The Blue Room, The Morton Amphitheater, The Brick, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Flew the Coop Fest, Unbossed and Unbothered with D. Rashaan Gilmore, BlaqOut KC, Light Up the Lawn of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary for Art, Waldo Folk, Zhou B Art Center – Zhou Spirit and Song, Rural Grit Happy Hour, Oddly Correct Block Party, Hotel Leo, Knuckleheads, Molly Picture Club, Found A Job, Tribute to Dolly Parton, Hillsider’s, The Creepy Jingles, True Lions, Charlotte Street, The Spooky Shxt Show, YesWay Live, John William “Blind” Boone, The Boone Theater, encode, 22nd Annual Crossroads Music Fest, 30 Annual Kansas City Film Fest, Spike Hellis, Tribute to Mama Bear – Ruth Whitlock Ward, 9th annual Apocalypse Meow, The Roseline, She Speaks in Tongues, The Sexy Accident, No Choice but Action: Kansas Postpunk 1978-1994, Black Site Records, Truck Stop Love, Ned’s Fright-Hole Cabaret,

11:39 – WMM Celebrates New & MicCoastal Release

14. Jamogi – “Georgia Peach”
    from: J’DAY / Jam Tunes / June 12, 2026
    [J’Day is a celebration of growth, creativity, and self discovery. Three years in the making, the album represents the culmination of Jamogi’s journey through a wide range of genres, influences, and sonic landscapes. The result is a body of work that not only showcases his musical versatility but also reveals the many facets of his personality. // Produced alongside OceanLife Gianni, J’Day captures the energy, emotion, and moments that make life memorable. From the horn driven fanfare of “Go Big or Go Home” to the flirtatious blend of West Coast, Midwest, and Southern influences on “Back N’ Forth,” Jamogi demonstrates a clear understanding of both his sound and his audience. Tracks like “Do It to Me” transport listeners through different eras and musical inspirations, while songs such as “Storybook,” “Treasure,” and “Georgia Peach” reveal his romantic side through storytelling, heartfelt lyricism, and poetic imagery. // The album also features collaborations with a talented lineup of friends and fellow artists on tracks including “What’s It Gonna Be?” and “HOLLABACK,” adding even more personality and perspective to the project. // More than just a collection of songs, J’Day marks a defining moment in Jamogi’s artistic journey. It is a bold statement of who he is today and a testament to the creative vision he has spent years refining. Rich with personality, versatility, and heart, the project positions Jamogi for his next era and leaves listeners wondering where he’ll take them next. // Jamogi is also know as Byron Hyde a Kanas City based singer, songwriter, MC, producer, originally from Los Angeles, California.// Jamogi released the single “Georgia Peach (feat. Burgandy)” on September 5, 2025. Jamogi released Jamogi & The Jammers: Live at Flew The Coop Sessions (Flew The Coop Live) through Jam Tunes on April 11, 2025. // Jamogi released the single “Do It To Me” on March 28, 2025. // Jamogi released the single “Go Big or Go Home” on August 30, 2024, Jamogi released the single “Hot Block” on May 30, 2024. Jamogi released the EP, Star-Crossed Lover on March 3, 2023. Jamogi then released a “Star-Crossed Lover GALACTIC REMIX (feat. Watchman)” single on June 9, 2023.Jamogi previously released the AGE OF AQUARIUS EP on March 3, 2023, and the single “Celebration” on Dec. 9, 2022, and the single “Anymore” on May 6, 2022. // Jamogi played the ROCK IS BLACK—a celebration of Black artists in rock music, happening February 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM at the Zhou B Art Center, 1801 E 18th Street, KCMO. Rock is Black features: Malek Azrael & The Vibez, Jamogi and The Jammers, Stephonne, and Frankie Shorez & Mercy Fire. Kamogi and the Jammers played Boulevardia 2025]

[Jamogi & The Jammers play The 19th annual Apocalypse Meow on Saturday, November 7th, Doors at 6pm, Show at 7pm, at recordBar, featuring live music from: ROMAN NUMERALS, JAMOGI & THE JAMMERS, PHAZE II, and STUBBLEFIELD. Apocalypse Meow is MMF’s main fundraiser for Abby’s Fund For Musicians’ Health Care, which provides local musicians and music workers with essential health care resources. In addition the RockDocs will be on site to offer flu shots and COVID boosters provided by the KC Indian Center, as well as discuss screenings, wellness programs, health conditions and concerns, and arrange follow-ups. We’ll also have live raffles that feature an assortment of items donated by local businesses at AM19, and an online auction running the month of November.]

15. Corey Dies in the End – “Let’s Stay Together for the Cruise”
    from: “Boy With No Job” – Single / Lime Squeeze Records / February 17, 2023
    [Corey Dies in the End released, “Boy With No Job” on February 17, 2023. Corey Dies in the End released, “Buyers Remorse” on June 9, 2023. Corey Dies in the End is the solo musical project of Corey Vitt who has been playing in Kansas City and Lawrence bands since 2006 playing with Videodisk, Parents, Hidden Pictures, Rooms Without Windows, and Beautiful Bodies. With Corey Dies in the End on vocals, programming, & guitars and Matty Harris on mixing & mastering. / Corey Dies in the End released the single, “Stranger’s Faces” on September 2, 2022. / Corey Dies in the End released the single, “Goth Girl Summer” on May 20. 2022. / Corey Dies in the End released the single, “Air” on January 26, 2022. / Corey Dies in the End released the single, “Island” on Oct 6, 2021. info at: www.coreydiesintheend.bandcamp.com]

[Corey Dies in The End play Sound Bite Social at Warehouse on Broadway, 3951 Broadway Blvd., KCMO on Friday, October 23, at 7:00pm.]

16. Suzannah Johannes – “Rebecca”
    from: Kansas City: Hanz Bronze Boulevard / Suzannah Johannes / August 29, 2025
    [Lawrence based singer songwriter Suzannah Johannes about her new album, Kansas City: Hanz Bronze Boulevard, to be released on August 29, 2025. Raised on a farm outside of Powhattan, Kansas, Suzannah was surrounded by music from an early age but didn’t begin teaching herself guitar and singing until after college, thanks to her friend, Hanz Bronze. In 2007, she won the KJHK Farmers Ball and used the prize money to record at Black Lodge Studio Four tracks from those sessions became a debut EP, released by Range Life Records in 2008. After becoming a mother in 2014 and balancing full-time work, music took a back seat—but with new self-released material on the way, she’s finding balance and momentum creating and playing music in Lawrence and Kansas City. Over the past 19 years, she has performed solo and with a rotating group of collaborators. Kansas City, features contributions from Jimmy Fitzner, John Nichols, and Mike Stover of The Grisly Hand, Bill Dolan from 5ive Style, and Brooke and Mike Tuley of Brooke Tuley and the Moontravelers and Ad Astra Per Aspera. More info at: www.suzannahjohannes.com.]

[Suzannah Johannes plays Northside Social, 340 Locust St., Lawrence KS. on Sunday, October 25, at 7;00pm with Small Birds of Sound.]

11:48 – Pledge Break #6

WMM On-Air / Fall Fund Drive Team: Betse Ellis, Mará Williams, Eddie Moore

KKFI Offers Incredible Diversity

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.

Now, more than ever, Independent, Community Media is important for our world. We are here to listen to you, to share your concerns, and offer resources and information. Along with our National Public Affairs shows like Democracy Now and Alternative Radio we offer more locally produced public affairs programs than anywhere else on the dial.

We offer programs for Women, the LGBTQIA Community, Native Americans, Black Public Affairs, Labor & Worker’s Unions, Middle Eastern Music & Information, Latino Programming, prison & justice system, environmental programming, Visual & Performing Arts, KC Tenants, Economics for the People, Understanding Israel Palestine.

At KKFI there is no automated robot playing the same 40 songs in a “rotation,” based on a formula, created by a singular programmer of the robot. KKFI is the opposite of a robot.

There is almost always a human on the end of the phone line when you call 816-931-KKFI.

90.1 offers 100 different radio programs. 88 of these programs are locally, produced, hosted, engineered and written by over 150 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.

There are 140 hours each week of locally produced handcrafted programs.

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?

For Betse Ellis, Mará Williams, Edie Moore, I’m Mark Manning. Thanks for listening! Thank you to everyone for donating!

17. Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
    rom: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]

Next week, on Wednesday, October 28 we welcome Dan Talmadge! Plus Mará Williams will be back for our On Air Fall Fund Drive to encourage YOU to please call us at 888-931-0901 or www.kkfi.org and support Community Radio

You can find our playlists at: www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org & www.kkfi.org
www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
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 Office Manager Book Keeper – Shaina Littler.

THANK YOU to everyone who donated to KKFI’s Fall Fund Drive during WMM. 25 people donated a total of $2979.75 THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are helping to build our community!

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/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.121

Show #1170

Wednesday MidDay Medley
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Shaun Crowley + Colin Halliburton + Jesse Kates & Kate McCandless

1. “It’s Showtime Folks”
   from: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to All That Jazz / 1980
   [WMM’s theme song]

2. Stevie Wonder – “It’s Easier”
   from: Songs In The Key Of Life – The EP / Motown / September 28, 2026
   [Stevie Wonder shares new tracks from the vault with this new EP release: Songs in the Key of Life. Stevie Wonder now 76 is a musical Icon and his critically acclaim Songs in The Key of Life is commemorating its 50th anniversary. In celebration Stevie Wonder shares new tracks from the vault, previously unheard songs, from the Songs in the Key of Life recording sessions include: “It’s Easier,” “My Life Story of Love,” “I Can See the Sun in Late December,” and “I’m Into Livin’.” // “We’ve lived with Songs in the Key of Life for fifty years, but there’s more to hear,” Wonder said in a press release. “We didn’t add these songs to the album, but they were part of what I was feeling and discovering as we made it. They bring me back to that time in my life, and now they get to become part of yours.” Wonder wrote and produced the four new releases, with “My Life Story of Love” featuring a co-writing credit for The Supremes’ Susaye Greene. “I’m Into Livin’” also includes backing vocals from soul star Deniece Williams and R&B great Thelma Houston. In addition to releasing the EP commemorating the groundbreaking LP, Wonder is heading on an 18-date anniversary world tour this fall, kicking off October 13 in Birmingham, England. // Songs in the Key of Life is Wonder’s eighteenth LP. Released when Wonder was already one of the most popular artists of the era, Songs in the Key of Life cemented his legacy as a Motown legend, featuring classics such as “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Sir Duke.” // Stevland Hardaway Morris; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, and is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. Wonder’s use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments in the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. // Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown’s Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder. As a teenager, he established himself as one of Motown’s most successful acts, known for his excited harmonica playing and high-pitched singing. His single “Fingertips” topped the Billboard Hot 100 when he was 13, making him the youngest solo artist ever to top the chart. Wonder’s critical and commercial peak, termed his “classic period” (1972–1976), began with the albums Music of My Mind and Talking Book (1972), which abandoned the Motown sound in favor of a synthesizer- and keyboard-driven one. With Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974), and Songs in the Key of Life (1976), he became the first Black musician to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. // In the 1980s, Wonder achieved international cultural presence, with high-profile collaborations (notably with Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson), television appearances, charity work, and political influence, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a federal holiday in the United States. Hotter Than July (1980), the soundtrack album The Woman in Red (1984), and In Square Circle (1985) all peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200. “Ebony and Ivory”, “I Just Called to Say I Love You”, “Part-Time Lover”, and “That’s What Friends Are For” all reached number one, making him the first act to top the Billboard Hot 100 in three consecutive decades. Wonder returned to the top five with his latest album, A Time to Love (2005), and he has continued to remain active in music and political causes. // Wonder is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of more than 100 million records worldwide. He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a male solo artist) and an Academy Award. He has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He ranked in the top 10 on Rolling Stone’s lists of the greatest singers and greatest songwriters of all time. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Believing himself to be of Ghanaian ancestry, he was conferred Ghanaian citizenship in 2024. // Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan, the third of five children born to Lula Mae Hardaway, and the second of Hardaway’s two children with Calvin Judkins. Wonder was born six weeks premature, a condition that, along with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, resulted in retinopathy of prematurity, a disease that aborts eye growth and often causes the retinas to detach, which left him blind. // When Wonder was 4, his mother divorced his father and moved with her 3 children to Detroit. Wonder attended Whitestone Baptist Church, where he sang in the choir and became a soloist at age 8. His mother later rekindled her relationship with her first child’s father (whose surname was also coincidentally Hardaway), changed her name back to Lula Hardaway, and had 2 more children. // Wonder began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica, drums. He formed a singing partnership with a friend; calling themselves Stevie & John, they played on street corners and occasionally at parties & dances. When Stevie was signed by Motown in 1961, his surname was legally changed to Morris, which (according to Lula Mae Hardaway’s authorized biography) was an old family name. // Wonder attended Fitzgerald Elementary School in Detroit. After his 1st album was released, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie (1962), he enrolled in Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, MI.]

Stevie Wonder Discography
The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie (1962)
Tribute to Uncle Ray (1962)
With a Song in My Heart (1963)
Stevie at the Beach (1964)
Up-Tight (1966)
Down to Earth (1966)
I Was Made to Love Her (1967)
Someday at Christmas (1967)
Eivets Rednow (1968)
For Once in My Life (1968)
My Cherie Amour (1969)
Signed, Sealed & Delivered (1970)
Where I’m Coming From (1971)
Music of My Mind (1972)
Talking Book (1972)
Innervisions (1973)
Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974)
Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants” (1979, soundtrack)
Hotter than July (1980)
The Woman in Red (1984, soundtrack)
In Square Circle (1985)
Characters (1987)
Jungle Fever (1991, soundtrack)
Conversation Peace (1995)
A Time to Love (2005)

3. Mon Rovîa – “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”
   from: Pray the Devil Back to Hell – Single / Mon Rovîa – Nettwerk / June 19, 2026
   [Janjay Lowe, known professionally as Mon Rovîa, is an Afro-Appalachian singer-songwriter from Liberia who grew up in the United States. // Janjay Lowe was born in Monrovia, Liberia. He was adopted around the age of seven by an American family, and during his early years his family lived in Florida, Montana, the Bahamas, and Tennessee. It was in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he was first exposed to folk music. As he began exploring his interest in music, he learned to play the ukulele, guitar, and other instruments. // Lowe uploaded his first song to SoundCloud in 2017 under the name Mon Rovîa, a name he chose in honor of his birthplace of Monrovia, Liberia. In 2020, he released his first EP, Sunburnt. His first album, Dark Continent, debuted in 2021 and featured a blend of hip-hop, trap, R&B, and folk influences. During 2022, his style shifted towards folk music with songs like “Vulture Culture,” “Where the Rivers Run,” and “Borderline.” // Starting in July 2023, he began releasing a series of four EPs based on the structure of the hero’s journey: Act 1: The Wandering, Act 2: Trials, Act 3: The Dying of Self, and Act 4: Atonement. One of the singles from Act 4: Atonement, “Winter Wash 24,” was inspired by the work of the International Rescue Committee, and all the proceeds from the single went to this organization. // Mon Rovîa made his music festival debut at Bonnaroo in 2024. He has also achieved a significant following on TikTok, with over 500 million views as of October 2024. He made his debut Grand Ole Opry performance in July 2025.]

4. Valerie June – “I’ll Fly Away”
   from: Brighter Blue – 3 song Single / June Tunes – Concord / September 11, 2026
   [“I’ll Fly Away” composed by Albert E. Brumley in 1929 Published 1932 is a hymn written between 1929 and 1932 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company in a collection titled Wonderful Message. Albert took three years to write the song after getting the idea while picking cotton in 1928. Over the years multiple derivative versions have been created and will be licensed for decades to come. Brumley’s writing was influenced by the 1924 secular ballad “The Prisoner’s Song”. // “I’ll Fly Away” has been called the most recorded gospel song. It is frequently used in worship services by Baptists, Pentecostals, Nazarenes, the Churches of Christ and many Presbyterians and Methodists. It appears in many hymnals where it is listed under the topics of eternal life, heaven and acceptance. It is a standard song at bluegrass jam sessions and is often performed at funerals, including jazz funerals in the New Orleans tradition.Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Valerie June releases her new EP, Brighter Blue, out now via Concord Records. In conjunction, she announces a March 2027 headline tour. Brighter Blue finds June journeying through the American songbook, marking a return to her early work weaving blues, folk, gospel, rock, and grunge. Throughout, she honors tradition while pushing into new territory. Today’s “Trouble in Mind,” which features Sam Amidon, has been interpreted by hundreds of artists, including Lightnin’ Hopkins, Nina Simone, and Muddy Waters. June comments, “The most transformative moments of my life have come when I found the courage to face my fears—to feel them fully and discover the stillness that remains when the storm passes. There is perhaps no better song to capture the journey from hardship toward happiness than the old blues song ‘Trouble in Mind.’ Rooted in sorrow yet reaching toward hope, it reminds us that even in our darkest moments, something within us continues to sing.” // “Trouble In Mind” follows June’s cover of “Smokestack,” a “revved-up electric blues” (Brooklyn Vegan) number, now accompanied by a video. Of the “Smokestack” video, June comments, “This one is for tiny thick thighs, lovers of the blues, and electric guitar lovers. In truth, I’m just trying to be like the other badass Black ladies who shredded on the electric guitar and came before me: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Memphis Minnie, Beverly ‘Guitar’ Watkins, and Peggy Jones/Lady Bo. I have a personal connection to all of them, and I try to keep their spirits alive in my own style. Every time I play electric, I’m giving them their flowers. They lived in times when female guitarists weren’t celebrated in the ways we’ve come to celebrate women guitarists today. So every riff, every solo, every nasty little sound is my way of honoring the women who picked up the electric guitar and showed us what was possible. This one’s for them.” // “She’s weaving together a tapestry of history, connecting genres between seemingly disparate scenes and communities. This new evolution of June is hard to categorize and undoubtedly fun.” — Chicago Tribune // “Valerie June manages to make rollicking, catchy splendor as she unpretentiously and seamlessly waltzes from pop to rock to gospel to ‘60s girl-group/Wall of Sound brilliance.” — Treble // “[A] vibrant single…a fresh take on a classic.” – Culture Beat // Valerie June is an author, poet, Grammy®-nominated singer-songwriter and three-time Americana Music Honors and Awards nominee. Recently the subject of an exhibit at Nashville’s National Museum of African American Music, she has been praised by Bob Dylan, written music for Mavis Staples, and shared the stage with Willie Nelson, Dinosaur Jr., John Prine, Tyler Childers, Brandi Carlile, Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, Meshell Ndegeocello, and well beyond. As NPR Music hailed, “Not all artists are cut quite like Valerie June. She is just the most expansive artist dabbling in psychedelic folk, indie rock, Appalachian, bluegrass, country, soul, gospel, you name it” (NPR’s All Songs Considered). June’s most recent album was 2025’s Owls, Omens, and Oracles. // June just wrapped a tour supporting Ani DiFranco on the west coast, and is currently in the midst of a North American headline tour with several festival appearances along the way. On September 18th at Americanafest, she’ll be in conversation with NPR Music’s Ann Powers at the Women & Guitars panel.

10:15 – Tribute to Mama Bear – Ruth Whitlock Ward

Recently our friend Madisen Ward wrote on social media that his mom, Ruth Evelyn “Mama Bear” Ward had passed away on Sunday, September 13, 2026 at the age of 75. Ruth was born on September 12, 1951, in South Bend, Indiana, where she was raised. She later became a longtime resident of Independence, Missouri, which she called home for many years. She was the daughter of the late Isiah Whitlock Sr. and the late Ruth Moore Whitlock. / Per her obituary: Ruth was a sharp, quick-witted, and creative soul. A true artist, she expressed herself through music and had a beautiful singing voice. // Ruth Ward continually performed throughout her life, mostly in coffee shops and open mics, for over 30 years, even recording a solo acoustic gospel record. In the midst of this she got married and became a mom, and was busy raising a family. / Ruth youngest son Madisen Ward was born in Oklahoma, and grew up in the outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri. Madisen’s journey to become a musician, was “melodically passed down” through the songs of his mother, where Madisen grew up watching his mom perform at local coffee shops. Eventually he began to learn to play the guitar, and poured his talent for writing into the music to create original songs. They began playing Madisen’s original songs along with the occasional cover of a classic track, reinterpreted in their own incredibly beautiful performance of two voices and two guitars in harmony and orchestration.They got signed to Glassnote Records and their debut album, THE SKELETON CREW was released May 9, 2015 and was our most played record that year and was #1 on WMM’s The 115 Best Recordings of 2015. They performed their debut single “Silent Movies” on The Late Show with David Letterman, they’ve toured across the United States, and Europe, more than once. They were featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NBC’s The Today Show, and Later With Jools Holland and played Bonnaroo, Pilgramage, and the Newport Folk Festival, and the Ryman Theatre, in Nashville. Their follow up EP RADIO WINNERS was released July 27, 2018 and received critical acclaim. // Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear released the album STARTED WITH A FAMILY on September 6, 2019. // Music was a huge part of Ruth’s life. She recorded and performed music across the world and made several appearances on national television. Her creativity, musical talent, and love of performing were an important part of the legacy she leaves behind. // Ruth was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings Bobbie Whitlock, Donnie Ray Whitlock, Christopher Whitlock, Kimberly Whitlock, and Isiah “Teddy” Whitlock Jr. // Ruth was a loving mother and grandmother. She and her husband, Kenneth Ward, shared three children: Heather Johnson and her husband, Matt Johnson, of Lake Worth, Florida; Adam Ward and his wife, Kortney Ward, of Raytown, Missouri; and Madisen Ward, of Independence, Missouri. She was also a proud grandmother to Gabrielle Fanning, Jax Ward, and Cora Ward. Ruth was also loved and cherished by her South Bend family, who held a special place in her heart. // She is survived by her four siblings, Deborah Riley, Michelle K. Stewart and her husband, James, Velma L. Lloyd, and Beverly Taylor, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews, all of South Bend, Indiana. // Her memory will be cherished by her family, friends, and all who had the privilege of hearing her sing, experiencing her creativity, and knowing her humor and loving spirit. // Wednesday MidDay Medley was the first radio show to ever play the music of Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear. Recording producer and engineer and friend of their family Joel Nanos recorded an EP with the duo and then passed it on to me saying, “I don’t think I have ever heard anything quite like this before.” // Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear first played LIVE on WMM on May 8, 2013. Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear made 7 live appearances on our radio show playing live on 5 different shows.

10:17

5. Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear – “Dreams”
   from: “Dreams” – Single / Glassnote Entertainment / January 22, 2015
   [Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear garnered international acclaim, from all over the world. They signed with Glassnote Records and recorded their debut full length album in Nashville with acclaimed producer Jim Abiss. They performed their debut single “Silent Movies” on The Late Show with David Letterman, they’ve toured across the United States, and Europe, more than once. They were featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NBC’s The Today Show, and “Later With Jools Holland and played Bonnaroo, Pilgramage, and the Newport Folk Festival, and the Ryman Theatre, in Nashville. // Ruth Ward has continually performed throughout her life, mostly in coffee shops and open mics, for over 30 years, even recording a solo record. In the midst of this she got married and became a mom, and was busy raising a family. Madisen Ward was born in Oklahoma, and grew up in the outskirts of KCMO. He graduated from William Chrisman High School in 2007. Madisen’s journey to become a musician, was “melodically passed down” through the songs of his mother, where Madisen grew up watching his mom perform at local coffee shops. Eventually he began to learn to play the guitar, and poured his talent for writing into the music to create original songs. They began playing Madisen’s original songs along with the occasional cover of a classic track, reinterpreted in their own incredibly beautiful performance of two voices and two guitars in harmony & orchestration. Their debut album, THE SKELETON CREW was released May 9, 2015 and was our most played record that year and was #1 on WMM’s The 115 Best Recordings of 2015. Their follow up EP RADIO WINNERS was released July 27, 2018 and received critical acclaim. // Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear released STARTED WITH A FAMILY on Sept. 6, 2019. Produced with Grammy-winner Nathan Chapman at Blackbird Studios in Nashville.]

6. Shabazz Palaces – “Pop Life (Prince Cover)”
   from: Maximum MN: a Digital Mixtape Compilation To Benefit The International Institute of Minnesota / Sub Pop / January 22, 2026
   [The International Institute of Minnesota Provides Services To Immigrants and Refugees So They Can Build New Lives, Find Work To Support Their Families, and Contribute To Their New Communities. Proceeds From This Compilation Improves The Lives of Refugees and Immigrants and Help Strengthen Our Communities’ Future. // Maximum MN, a digital mixtape featuring Sub Pop artists covering Minnesota musicians, capturing a snapshot of Minnesota’s long history of life-changing music and showing solidarity with the people of Minnesota, is out today worldwide, Friday, September 18th, 2026. In the wake of the ICE raids in Minneapolis this year, a lot of communities have been hit hard. Families have been disrupted, people have been displaced, and local support systems are under real strain. Proceeds from this compilation will be sent to The International Institute of Minnesota, a non-profit organization that supports refugees and immigrants through resettlement services, English and citizenship classes, job training (including nursing assistant training), immigration legal services, and direct financial support in the current environment. // The eight-song tracklist includes Yuno (covering Hippo Campus “The Way It Goes”), Sweeping Promises (covering Hüsker Dü’s “Something I Learned Today”), Mudhoney (covering Halo of Flies’ “Rubber Room”), Shabazz Palaces (covering Prince’s “Pop Life”), Flock of Dimes (covering Low’s “Especially Me”), Weird Nightmare (covering Paul Westerberg’s “It’s a Wonderful Lie”), and Pissed Jeans (covering former Minnesota Governor and WWF wrestler Jesse “The Body” Ventura’s “The Body Rules”). Listen to Downtown Boys cover of The Replacements “Can’t Hardly Wait” now. // Shabazz Palaces is a Seattle-based hip hop group led by Ishmael Butler a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro (formerly Butterfly of jazz rap group Digable Planets). // Much of Butler’s work as Shabazz Palaces was made in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Tendai “Baba” Maraire, son of mbira master Dumisani Maraire. Maraire left the group before the release of their fifth album in 2020. // Shabazz Palaces has released seven studio albums on Sub Pop between 2011 and 2024 after self-releasing two EPs in 2009. // Two anonymously self-released EPs titled Shabazz Palaces and Of Light in 2009 led to Shabazz Palaces becoming the first hip-hop act to be signed to Sub Pop. Their debut full-length album, Black Up, was released on June 28, 2011 to widespread critical acclaim. In 2019, Pitchfork ranked Black Up at number 179 on their list of “The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s”; cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib wrote: “From great mystery exploded an album of impossible vision”. // Their second album, Lese Majesty, was released on July 29, 2014 days after premiering at the ‘Laser Dome’ in Seattle’s Pacific Science Center. // On July 14, 2017, Shabazz Palaces released its third and fourth full-length records concurrently. Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines were accompanied by a short film directed by Nep Sidhu, and a limited-run comic book illustrated by Joshua Ray Stephens. In 2020, “Shine a Light” was added to the soundtrack of the 2013 video game, Grand Theft Auto V. // The following year, Shabazz Palaces joined up with frequent collaborator Erik Blood to release a full-length LP titled 1 Time Mirage under the moniker Knife Knights which released on September 14, 2018. The moniker had been used by Butler for his collaborative production work with Blood on previous Shabazz Palaces records, though now formalised as a touring band signed to Sub Pop. // Shabazz Palaces’ fifth full-length record, The Don of Diamond Dreams, was released on April 17, 2020. An article written by The Guardian confirmed that Tendai Maraire was no longer part of Shabazz Palaces and was not involved in creation of the album. // On April 12, 2023, an EP titled Illusions Ago was released on Glass Cane Records in collaboration with ‘Lavarr The Starr’, presumed to be another moniker of Butler’s. // A 6th studio album by Shabazz Palaces, Robed in Rareness, released later in the year on Oct. 27, 2023. // On March 29, 2024, Shabazz Palaces’ 7th studio album was released, titled Exotic Birds of Prey. // On Aug. 11, 2026, Shabazz Palaces announced their 8th album entitled It’s a Style Sport would be released on Oct. 23rd, 2026 and also released a single, “Ahh World (I Won The Alpha Bet)”. // “Pop Life” is a song by Prince and the Revolution. It was the 2nd US (and final UK) single from their 1985 album, Around the World in a Day, reaching # 7 in the US charts, becoming Prince’s 8th top-10 hit in a 2-year span. // The song starts with a faded-in synth line – quickly starts the main tune. The easy groove is achieved with a smooth bass guitar & piano embellishments. A drum machine provides handclaps to make the song danceable. “Pop Life” was recorded before Purple Rain was completed, indicating a new direction Prince wanted to take after the success of that album. Lyrically, the song describes the tiresome, stressful side of the celebrity life, including the pressure that can lead to drug use (“What you putting in your nose?/Is that where all your money goes?”)]

7. Beck – “It Ends Right Here”
   from: Ride Lonesome / Iliad – Capitol / September 18, 2026
   [Ride Lonesome is the fifteenth studio album by Beck. The first studio album Beck has released since the 2019 ‘s Hyperspace, marking his longest gap between studio albums. // On January 29, 2026, Beck released the compilation album, Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime, that featured covers and rarities. // Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collages of wide-ranging genres. He has musically encompassed folk, funk, soul, hip-hop, electronica, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia. He has released 15 studio albums, as well as several non-album singles and a book of sheet music. // Born and raised in Los Angeles, Beck gravitated towards hip-hop and folk in his teens and began to perform locally at coffeehouses and clubs. He moved to New York City in 1989 and became involved in the city’s anti-folk movement. Returning to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, he saw his commercial breakthrough with his 1993 single “Loser”. After signing with DGC Records, the song peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and served as the lead single for his third album and major label debut, Mellow Gold (1994). Its follow-up, Odelay (1996), topped critic polls and won several awards. Before his 1996 release, the same year, he played the role of a taxi driver in the US video of Alisha’s Attic’s single, “I Am, I Feel”. // Beck released the country-influenced Mutations in 1998, and the funk-infused Midnite Vultures in 1999. The soft-acoustic Sea Change in 2002 showcased a more serious Beck, and 2005’s Guero returned to Odelay’s sample-based production. The Information in 2006 was inspired by electro-funk, hip-hop, and psychedelia; 2008’s Modern Guilt was inspired by 1960s pop; and 2014’s folk-infused Morning Phase, a stylistic and thematic follow-up to Sea Change, won Album of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards. His 2017 album, Colors, won awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. His fourteenth studio album, Hyperspace, was released on November 22, 2019. In 2022, Beck was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. // With a pop art collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic lyrics, and postmodern arrangements incorporating samples, drum machines, live instrument-ation, and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public throughout his musical career as being among the most idiosyncratically creative musicians of the 1990s and 2000s alternative rock. Two of Beck’s most popular and acclaimed recordings are Odelay and Sea Change, both of which were ranked on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Beck is a four-time platinum artist; he has collaborated with several artists and contributed to several soundtracks. // Bek David Campbell was born in Los Angeles on July 8, 1970, the son of American visual artist Bibbe Hansen and Canadian arranger, composer, and conductor David Campbell. Bibbe Hansen grew up amid Andy Warhol’s The Factory art scene of the 1960s in New York City and was a Warhol superstar. She moved to California at 17 and met David Campbell. Beck’s maternal grandfather, artist Al Hansen, was of Norwegian descent and was a pioneer in the avant-garde Fluxus movement. Beck’s maternal grandmother was Jewish; he has said that he considers himself Jewish because he was “raised celebrating Jewish holidays.” // Beck was born in a rooming house near downtown Los Angeles. As a child he lived in a declining neighborhood near Hollywood Boulevard. He remembers “By the time we left there, they were ripping out miles of houses en masse and building low-rent, giant apartment blocks.” The working-class family struggled financially, moving to Hoover and Ninth Street, a neighborhood populated primarily by Koreans and Salvadorian refugees. He was sent for a time to live with his paternal grandparents in Kansas; he later remarked that he thought “they were kind of concerned” about his “weird” home life. Because his paternal grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, Beck grew up influenced by church music and hymns. He also spent time in Europe with his maternal grandfather. // After his parents separated when he was ten, Beck stayed with his mother and brother Channing in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by the city’s diverse musical offerings—everything from hip-hop to Latin music and his mother’s art scene—all of which would later reappear in his work. Beck obtained his first guitar at 16 and became a street musician, often playing Lead Belly covers at Lafayette Park. During his teens, Beck discovered the music of Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, and X, but remained uninterested in most music outside the folk genre until many years into his career The first contemporary music that made a direct connection with Beck was hip-hop, which he first heard on Grandmaster Flash records in the early 1980s. Growing up in a predominantly Latin district, he found himself the only white child at his school, and quickly learned how to breakdance. When he was 17, Beck grew fascinated after hearing a Mississippi John Hurt record at a friend’s house, and spent hours in his room trying to emulate Hurt’s finger-picking techniques. Shortly thereafter Beck explored blues and folk music further, discovering Woody Guthrie and Blind Willie Johnson. // Feeling like “a total outcast”, Beck dropped out of school after junior high. He later said that although he felt school was important, he felt unsafe there. When he applied to the new performing arts high school downtown, he was rejected. His brother took him to post-Beat jazz places in Echo Park and Silver Lake. He hung out at Los Angeles City College perusing records, books, and old sheet music in the college’s library. He used a fake ID to sit in on classes there, and he also befriended a literature instructor and his poet wife. He worked at a string of odd jobs, including loading trucks and operating a leaf blower.]

[Beck plays The Uptown Theater, 3700 Broadway, KCMO on Sunday, October 4, at 8:00 pm with Ionna Gika in an all Ages SOLD OUT show.]

10:29 – Underwriting

8. Jass – “Autumn In The City”
   from: Autumn In The City / Jass / September 25, 2025.
   [Jass is Jasmine “Jass” Couch. This release captures Jass’s dynamic sound in a live band recording, tracked and recorded by bandmate Clarence Copridge. The smooth vocals from Jass and instrumentals of vibes and upright bass in this track are the perfect end of summer/welcome to fall track. // Jass writes, “My new single ‘Autumn in the City” s close to my heart—paying homage to my hometown and the fall season that inspires so much love and reflection.” // Jass released the EP APRIL SHOWERS on April 27, 2025. // Jass released the single “Hope.wav” on February 29, 2024. // Jass and The Boys released the single, “Daydream Girl” on August 25, 2023. // Jass and The Boys released the single “Gvn2u” on July 14, 2023. // Jass released the single, “Time&Space” on July 14, 2023. n// Jass released the single, “Eye Contact.” // Jass released the single, “Lifetime” on January 6, 2023 // Jass and The Boys released the single “Love U Like I Love U” on December 2, 2022. Jass released the single “grow” on November 26, 2022. Jass released the EP, OFF KEY: TOO HIGH on September 23, 2022. Jass released the single “Higher Ground” on August 16, 2022. It was #1 on WMM’s 50 Favorite Singles of 2022. Jass released her single, “Him” on February 23, 2022. Jass released At the Close of a Decade on November 26, 2022. It was part of WMM’s 121 Best Recordings of 2021. She wrote, “After years of writing and recording in voice memos .. I decided to grab my iPad and began recording something that I am very proud of. I named it, At the Close of A Decade, and released it in November 2019. With my iPhone/iPad, some apple headphones, I created this project. The amazing people around me told me it was worth it, even when I didn’t believe it myself. I convinced myself I would be the only one that liked my songs. If you decide to listen you’ll hear sound clips of shows and movies that made a difference in the way I saw the world, the way I saw myself, and the way I overcame my experiences. I remember asking my grandma and my son if I should release what I’ve been writing and they both said very simply to do it, so I’ve done it. I want to thank all of my wonderful friends who have been my soundboards during this process, all of the people that have asked me when it’s coming, the people that have kept me accountable, and believed that this time it was for real. My story is so very triumphant and beautiful because I have overcome experiences and shunned the fear I had to do what I love. It’s crazy how you can talk your way out of some amazing things and also how you can talk yourself into making some amazing things happen. If you partake, I hope you enjoy.” // Info: www.jassrcouch.com]

[Jass plays MANOR RECORDS 9 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, Thursday, October 1, at 7:00pm to Midnight, at The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO in the historic West Bottoms. The celebration will include performances by The Manor Records Family Band, DJ Mers, and host Brittany Tilander.]

10:35 – Interview with Shaun Crowley

Thanks for tuning into WMM on 90.1 FM KKFI. I’m Mark Manning. Today we’re happy to welcome back our friend Shaun Crowley the Founder & Executive Director of Manor Records, a non-profit organization that functions as a record label to support KC musicians. Shaun shares details about MANOR RECORDS 9 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, Thursday, October 1, at 7:00pm to Midnight, at The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO in the historic West Bottoms. The celebration will include performances by The Manor Records Family Band, DJ Mers, and host Brittany Tilander. There will also be a Raffle and Silent Auction with items from local businesses such as JHS Pedals, Bay Boy Specialty Sandwiches, KC Fret Shop, and more! Proceeds help to fund Manor Records 2027 Record Label programming that gives funding to local KC musicians. More info at www.manorrecords.com

Money raised from the festival supports the non profit mission of releasing music from local artists on physical platforms and other resources for musicians.

Shaun Crowley is a classically trained guitarist, and studied at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. Shaun is the Founder & Executive Director of Manor Records, a music label that grew out of Manor Fest, the first festival sized “house show” Shaun and friends produced in their basement featuring 12 bands. We first met Shaun as part of the band Rev Gusto, originally formed in high school with friends at Saint James Academy.

Shaun Crowley thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Manor Records Board
Khrystal Johnson – President
Danielle Krakenberg – Secretary
Tyler Fowler – Board Treasurer
Talon Ice – Board Member
Droo Long – Board Member

Record Label Operations Team
Our record label team is a mix of our core operations staff and dedicated volunteers who work hands-on with the artists on our roster each year. Beyond supporting our musicians, we’re committed to developing the next generation of music industry professionals—giving them real experience in booking, press, and other key roles. Our long-term goal is to grow Kansas City’s music industry by turning these positions into paid, part-time roles and creating sustainable career pathways right here at home.

Shaun Crowley – Founder & Executive Director
Skylar Rochelle – Record Label Lead
Kayla Jarrett – Physical & Digital Distribution
Betsie Yeomans – Booking
Abigail Elwart – Social Media
Kate Whitefield – Press / PR
Valorie Mersman – Press / PR
Enrique Guiterrez – Graphic Design
Randee Wisdom – Blog Editor

Manor Records Event Volunteers & Manor Fest 8 Team
Dorian Allen – Manor Fest Sound Lead
Sarai Vega – Manor Fest Photo Lead
James Miller -Events Volunteer
Evan Herd – Manor Fest Lead Volunteer

Mission – Manor Records Foundation’s mission is to strengthen Kansas City’s music community by providing equitable funding and artist development to uplift and advance emerging independent artists.

Our Story – Manor Records Foundation’s mission is to provide equitable funding and artist development to uplift and advance emerging independent artists in Kansas City. Manor Records Foundation is a Kansas City based nonprofit record label dedicated to sustaining and developing our local music community through direct artist funding, development programs, and community events. Our roots trace back to The Shawnee Manor, a basement venue that became a launching pad for local and touring talent, featuring early shows from bands like Glass Animals and Hinds. From these grassroots beginnings and much learning along the way – we have grown into a fully operational nonprofit label supporting local artists.

Today, Manor Records Foundation has supported more than 60 digital releases and over 30 physical albums from emerging Kansas City musicians — helping artists fund projects, build sustainable careers, and reach wider audiences. Through initiatives like our annual Manor Fest, showcasing over 60 local acts, and year-round programs like Songbird Sessions, we provide platforms that celebrate and reinvest in the creative heartbeat of our city. By combining the spirit of community with structured artist development, Manor Records Foundation ensures that KC’s vibrant music scene continues to thrive and grow.

Manor Records Record Label Program – Each year, Manor Records raises $2,000 in direct project funding for 10 local artists, helping them bring their work to life through physical releases, music videos, touring support, and whatever resources they need as they grow.

Manor Records 2026 Roster of Artists:
Fritz Hutchison
True Lions
Jamogi
Paris Williams
Jass
Frankie Shorez
Alber
Aigerue
Kirstie Lynn

Artists Manor Records have worked with in the past:
BLANKY
CATTY CLINE
CHARLOTTE BUMGARNER
DANIEL GUM
DYLAN PYLES
FLOODING
FOREST PORRIDGE
JAIRY
KAT KING
KHRYSTAL.
MINT FATIGUES
MOMMA’S BOY
PALE TONGUE
R.I.PETER
SCABB
SUPERMOTO
THE WILD TYPE

10:44

9. Jamogi – “Back & Forth”
   from: J’DAY / Jam Tunes / June 12, 2026
   [J’Day is a celebration of growth, creativity, and self discovery. Three years in the making, the album represents the culmination of Jamogi’s journey through a wide range of genres, influences, and sonic landscapes. The result is a body of work that not only showcases his musical versatility but also reveals the many facets of his personality. // Produced alongside OceanLife Gianni, J’Day captures the energy, emotion, and moments that make life memorable. From the horn driven fanfare of “Go Big or Go Home” to the flirtatious blend of West Coast, Midwest, and Southern influences on “Back N’ Forth,” Jamogi demonstrates a clear understanding of both his sound and his audience. Tracks like “Do It to Me” transport listeners through different eras and musical inspirations, while songs such as “Storybook,” “Treasure,” and “Georgia Peach” reveal his romantic side through storytelling, heartfelt lyricism, and poetic imagery. // The album also features collaborations with a talented lineup of friends and fellow artists on tracks including “What’s It Gonna Be?” and “HOLLABACK,” adding even more personality and perspective to the project. // More than just a collection of songs, J’Day marks a defining moment in Jamogi’s artistic journey. It is a bold statement of who he is today and a testament to the creative vision he has spent years refining. Rich with personality, versatility, and heart, the project positions Jamogi for his next era and leaves listeners wondering where he’ll take them next. // Jamogi is also know as Byron Hyde a Kanas City based singer, songwriter, MC, producer, originally from Los Angeles, California.// Jamogi released the single “Georgia Peach (feat. Burgandy)” on September 5, 2025. Jamogi released Jamogi & The Jammers: Live at Flew The Coop Sessions (Flew The Coop Live) through Jam Tunes on April 11, 2025. // Jamogi released the single “Do It To Me” on March 28, 2025. // Jamogi released the single “Go Big or Go Home” on August 30, 2024, Jamogi released the single “Hot Block” on May 30, 2024. Jamogi released the EP, Star-Crossed Lover on March 3, 2023. Jamogi then released a “Star-Crossed Lover GALACTIC REMIX (feat. Watchman)” single on June 9, 2023.Jamogi previously released the AGE OF AQUARIUS EP on March 3, 2023, and the single “Celebration” on Dec. 9, 2022, and the single “Anymore” on May 6, 2022. // Jamogi played the ROCK IS BLACK—a celebration of Black artists in rock music, happening February 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM at the Zhou B Art Center, 1801 E 18th Street, KCMO. Rock is Black features: Malek Azrael & The Vibez, Jamogi and The Jammers, Stephonne, and Frankie Shorez & Mercy Fire. Kamogi and the Jammers played Boulevardia 2025]

[Jamogi plays the 19th annual Apocalypse Meow on Saturday, November 7th, Doors at 6pm, Show at 7pm, at recordBar, featuring live music from: ROMAN NUMERALS, JAMOGI & THE JAMMERS, PHAZE II, and STUBBLEFIELD. Apocalypse Meow is MMF’s main fundraiser for Abby’s Fund For Musicians’ Health Care, which provides local musicians and music workers with essential health care resources. In addition to live music, the RockDocs will be on site to offer flu shots and COVID boosters provided by the KC Indian Center, as well as discuss screenings, wellness programs, health conditions and concerns, and arrange follow-ups. We’ll also have live raffles that feature an assortment of items donated by local businesses at AM19, and an online auction running the month of November. // We are seeking donations for our annual Apocalypse Meow silent auction and fundraiser! Advertise your business or band while supporting our mission to provide healthcare grants to music professionals in the Kansas City area! Items like merchandise, music, classes, gift certificates, experiences, and art are greatly appreciated. // If you would like to donate or know of someone who can, please email Rhonda Lyne at rhonda@midwestmusicfound.org. // In 2008, Apocalypse Meow was established to raise medical funds for local musician Abigail Henderson, who had been diagnosed with cancer. Compelled to give back to the community, she co-founded MMF to provide musicians with health care assistance. Though she passed away in 2013, Abigail’s mission continues — MMF provides financial resources, educational programs, health clinics and events throughout the year. Abby’s Fund dispenses emergency health care grants to KC-area musicians, having contributed more than $780,000 since its inception. // Midwest Music Foundation provides grants to musicians faced with urgent health care expenses and preventative health care services through Abby’s Fund for Musicians’ Health Care. This assistance is available to active KC area musicians and music personnel. LEARN MORE AND APPLY HERE or email our Executive Director, Rhonda Lyne, for more information at rhonda@midwestmusicfound.org.]

10:48 – More Interview with Shaun Crowley

We welcome back our friend Shaun Crowley the Founder & Executive Director of Manor Records, a non-profit organization that functions as a record label to support KC musicians. Shaun shares details about MANOR RECORDS 9 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, Thursday, October 1, at 7:00pm to Midnight, at The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO in the historic West Bottoms. The celebration will include performances by The Manor Records Family Band, DJ Mers, and host Brittany Tilander. There will also be a Raffle and Silent Auction with items from local businesses such as JHS Pedals, Bay Boy Specialty Sandwiches, KC Fret Shop, and more! Proceeds help to fund Manor Records 2027 Record Label programming that gives funding to local KC musicians. www.manorrecords.com

Money raised from the festival supports the non profit mission of releasing music from local artists on physical platforms and other resources for musicians.

Shaun Crowley is a classically trained guitarist, and studied at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. Shaun is the Founder & Executive Director of Manor Records, a music label that grew out of Manor Fest, the first festival sized “house show” Shaun and friends produced in their basement featuring 12 bands. We first met Shaun as part of the band Rev Gusto, originally formed in high school with friends at Saint James Academy.

Shaun Crowley thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Crowley started playing in the KC when he was 17 in band Rev Gusto and Momma’s Boy. Shaun Crowley started Manor Records in 2017. The organization was born from the special concerts produced in the basement of the Rev.Gusto / Momma’s Boy band house, where Shaun and his band mates were living at the time. Named “The Manor” this house was located in the suburbs of Shawnee, KS An almost anonymous venue, where the band invited other up and coming area bands to play a musical festival held in a basement. Even national artists joined in the show. From Glass Animals to Shy Boys, the underground venue hosted numerous local acts, some national touring acts. Founder Shaun Crowley created the 1st Manor Fest with 10 bands 1-night, then grew to 2 nights and 20 bands.

Eventually band members moved out of The Manor, and went into different directions, some starting solo projects, through Manor Records, some getting married, some moving away from Kansas City. Shaun carried on, collaborating with actual public venues in Strawberry Hill to create a record store, creating monthly and weekly music events, and creating a non-for profit, called Manor Records.

Shaun was working full time, while also teaching himself how to run a non-for profit. When spaces in Strawberry Hill became unavailable Manor Records moved to the West Bottoms, and then to a Troost storefront retail space, continuing the Record Store-Record Label-Music Venue idea, and also providing music classes. Moving over state lines meant reapplying as a non-profit now under Missouri guidance.

Today, Manor Records Foundation has supported more than 60 digital releases and over 30 physical albums from emerging Kansas City musicians — helping artists fund projects, build sustainable careers, and reach wider audiences. Through initiatives like our annual Manor Fest, showcasing over 60 local acts, and year-round programs like Songbird Sessions, we provide platforms that celebrate and reinvest in the creative heartbeat of our city. By combining the spirit of community with structured artist development, Manor Records Foundation ensures that KC’s vibrant music scene continues to thrive and grow.

Manor Records Record Label Program – Each year, Manor Records raises $2,000 in direct project funding for 10 local artists, helping them bring their work to life through physical releases, music videos, touring support, and whatever resources they need as they grow.

10:56

Shaun Crowley Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

MANOR RECORDS 9 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, Thursday, October 1, at 7:00pm to Midnight, at The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO in the historic West Bottoms. The celebration will include performances by The Manor Records Family Band, DJ Mers, and host Brittany Tilander. There will also be a Raffle and Silent Auction with items from local businesses such as JHS Pedals, Bay Boy Specialty Sandwiches, KC Fret Shop, and more! Proceeds help to fund Manor Records 2027 Record Label programming that gives funding to local KC musicians.

www.manorrecords.com

10:56

10. Frankie Lynn Shorez & Mercy Fire – “Start Over”
    from: Project Lullaby – Adventures in the City EP / Mercy Fire LLC / April 15, 2026
    [Frankie Shorez : Lead vocals, Lyrical comp & Arrangments, Backing Vocals. Featuring MC : Jazmine Revely. Dylan Guthrie on guitar, Daniel Cole on drums, Joshua Wright on bass, Jamogi Bridges on piano. // Frankie B. Shorez is a 25 year old singer, songwriter, model, actress, and clothing designer and small business owner based in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, known for her soulful voice, emotionally driven songwriting, and dynamic live performances. Since emerging on the Kansas City music scene in 2022, she has quickly built a reputation through appearances at local staples like The Fling KC, The Rino, Knuckleheads, and The Phoenix. // A songwriter as well as a performer, Frankie has contributed to several standout Kansas City artists, with multiple unreleased collaborations currently in development. Her own catalog began at age 17 with the release of her debut SoundCloud single “Shame,” and has since grown to include self-produced tracks like “Need That Back,” “Love My Baby,” and “Sam.” Her hands-on approach to music is backed by formal training at the Phil Rodgers Foundation of Music, where she studied audio recording, mixing, and mastering. // In 2026, Frankie released her highly anticipated EP, Project Lullaby, a deeply personal body of work that reflects her growth as both a songwriter and producer. Alongside her original music career, she is an active and in-demand wedding vocalist, bringing a refined, heartfelt touch to ceremonies and private events across the region. // Beyond her solo work, Frankie is the founder and frontwoman of her band Mercy Fire, where she continues to book, curate, and build immersive live experiences. Her background also includes four years as a professional modeling instructor with Barbizon USA, adding to her strong stage presence and artistic versatility. // On January 3, 2024 Frankie Shorez released the single, “Wanna Be Bad.” // In 2025 Frankie Shorez & Mercy Fire played ROCK IS BLACK—a celebration of Black artists in rock music, happening February 28, 2025 at the Zhou B Art Center, with Malek Azrael & The Vibez, Jamogi and The Jammers, and Stephonne.]

[Frankie Shorez & Mercury Fire play MANOR RECORDS 9 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, Thursday, October 1, at 7:00pm to Midnight, at The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO in the historic West Bottoms. The celebration will include performances by The Manor Records Family Band, DJ Mers, and host Brittany Tilander.]

11:00 – Station ID

11. The Roseline – “Heart of Oak”
    from: 86 Gumption / The Roseline / July 3, 2026
    [Colin Halliburton – acoustic guitar, vocals; Bradley McKellip – electric guitar. Heidi Gluck – bass, keys, vocals. Jim Piller – drums, percussion. Recorded by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studios, Jim Piller, Heidi Gluck, and Bradley McKellip. Mixed by Jim Piller. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering // The Roseline (pronounced ‘rose’ like the flower, ‘line’ like a straight line) is a band from Lawrence, Kansas USA. They have released eight LPs and one live album, to date. They started out as a fairly delicate little acoustic trio and have since evolved into the heartland rock five-piece behemoth of their current state. // Good luck trying to coax any braggadocious one-sheet “high-lights” out of these humble Kansans. It will require some serious finesse. But, if you insist…they have had four records chart in the TOP TEN in the wildly niche Euro Americana Chart. Some very sweet words have been written about them in such esteemed publications and websites as NPR, Bandcamp, American Song-writer, No Depression, Glide, Pop Matters, and The Bluegrass Situation. They have had their songs featured (*barely audible as source music in the background of bar scenes) in ABC’s ‘Nashville’ & ‘Resurrection’, CBS’s ‘Marshals’, USA’s ‘Queen of the South’, Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’, and MTV’s own Sistine Chapel, ‘Teen Mom’. They have toured in the US, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK, Poland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. // The band made their UK debut as an Official Showcase act at 2025’s UK Americana Music Week in London. However, they have not been accepted to showcase at the stateside Americana Fest for a record-breaking 17 consecutive years. Impressive stuff. // Today, they arrive with their ninth LP “86 Gumption”. Ironically, it called for quite a bit of collective gumption to get this thing across the finish line. Recorded over a year (with a big breather in the middle) in myriad studios and homes, “86 Gumption” is perhaps the band’s most diverse musical offering yet. Indie rock, honky tonk, heartland rock, folk and alt-country occupy the sonic spectrum of the album. Primary singer and songwriter, Colin Halliburton, is found exploring the nuances of marriage, middle-age, grief, geopolitics, acts of creation, hedonism, sobriety, and everything in between. There is darkness. There is a sliver of light. Play it loud.]

[The Roseline play a KC ALBUM RELEASE SHOW at Hillsiders, 403 N. 5th Street KCK, on Friday, October 2, at 8:00pm with The Creepy Jingles, and True Lions.]

[The Roseline play a LAWRENCE ALBUM RELEASE SHOW with Gracie Hughes and her band, at Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence KS on Saturday October 3, at 8:00pm]

11:04 – Interview with Colin Halliburton

Colin Halliburton joins us to share music from his band, The Roseline and their new album 86 GUMPTION, released August 7, 2026, The Roseline play a KC ALBUM RELEASE SHOW at Hillsiders, 403 N. 5th Street KCK, on Friday, October 2, at 8:00pm with The Creepy Jingles, and True Lions. The Roseline play a LAWRENCE ALBUM RELEASE SHOW with Gracie Hughes and her band, at Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence KS. More info at: www.roselonemusic.com

Colin Halliburton Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

86 Gumption – Released August 7, 2026 – The 9th Studio album from The Roseline

Colin Halliburton – acoustic guitar, vocals
Bradley McKellip – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, field recording
Heidi Gluck – keys, bass, vocals
Colin Jones – bass
Jim Piller – drums, percussion
Lynn Piller – pedal steel

Recorded at Element Recording Studios, The Green Lodge, KPR, and in the homes of Jim Piller, Bradley McKellip, and Heidi Gluck.

Engineered by Joel Nanos, Jim Piller, Jason Slote, Bradley McKellip, Heidi Gluck, and Rob Pope. Mixed by Jim Piller. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering

Design by Emily Demarchi; “Cat and Sweetpeas” image courtesy of The Met’s Open Access public domain image archive.

All songs written by Colin Halliburton / ASCAP (LFK TOWNIE)
All songs arranged by The Roseline

The Roseline (pronounced ‘rose’ like the flower, ‘line’ like a straight line) is a band from Lawrence, Kansas USA. They have released eight LPs and one live album, to date.

One reviewer wrote: “Good luck trying to coax any sort of braggadocious one-sheet “highlights” out of these humble Kansans. It will require some serious finesse. But if you insist…they have had four records chart in the TOP TEN in the wildly niche Euro Americana chart. Some very sweet words have been written about them in such esteemed publications and websites as NPR, Bandcamp, American Songwriter, No Depression, Glide, Pop Matters, and The Bluegrass Situation.”

The Roseline have had their songs featured (*barely audible as source music in the background of bar scenes) in ABC’s ‘Nashville’ & ‘Resurrection’, CBS’s ‘Marshals’, USA’s ‘Queen of the South’, Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’, and MTV’s own Sistine Chapel, ‘Teen Mom’.

The Roseline have toured in the US, England, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The band made their UK debut as an Official Showcase act at 2025’s UK Americana Music Week in London, although has not been accepted to showcase at the stateside Americana Fest for a record-breaking 20 consecutive years. Impressive stuff. Their 9th LP “86 Gumption” arrived August 7, 2026 and was immediately followed by a run of shows in the UK and Sweden.

Colin’s Recent Tour DATES (all dates are Colin solo/acoustic)

Thursday, August 13 — The Grafton Arms; Manchester, UK
Friday, August 14 — The Vinyl Tap; Preston, UK
Saturday, August 15 — Northern Guitars; Leeds, UK
Sunday, August 16 — Oxted Sessions @ The Ginistry; Oxted, UK
Monday, August 17 — St James Wine Vaults; Bath, UK
Tuesday, August 18 — Kingsmeade House Concerts; High Wycombe, UK
Wednesday, August 19 — The Grove; Nottingham, UK
Thursday, August 20 — Biddle Bros; London, UK
Saturday, August 22 — Rootsy Summer Fest; Falkenberg, SE
Sunday, August 23 – Stockholm Roots (@ Debaser); Stockholm, SE
Lawrence and KC full-band album release shows TBD

11:12

12. The Roseline – “Apex”
    from: 86 Gumption / The Roseline / July 3, 2026
    [Colin Halliburton – acoustic guitar, vocals; Bradley McKellip – electric guitar. Heidi Gluck – bass, keys, vocals. Jim Piller – drums, percussion. Recorded by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studios, Jim Piller, Heidi Gluck, and Bradley McKellip. Mixed by Jim Piller. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering // The Roseline (pronounced ‘rose’ like the flower, ‘line’ like a straight line) is a band from Lawrence, Kansas USA. They have released eight LPs and one live album, to date. They started out as a fairly delicate little acoustic trio and have since evolved into the heartland rock five-piece behemoth of their current state. // Good luck trying to coax any braggadocious one-sheet “high-lights” out of these humble Kansans. It will require some serious finesse. But, if you insist…they have had four records chart in the TOP TEN in the wildly niche Euro Americana Chart. Some very sweet words have been written about them in such esteemed publications and websites as NPR, Bandcamp, American Song-writer, No Depression, Glide, Pop Matters, and The Bluegrass Situation. They have had their songs featured (*barely audible as source music in the background of bar scenes) in ABC’s ‘Nashville’ & ‘Resurrection’, CBS’s ‘Marshals’, USA’s ‘Queen of the South’, Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’, and MTV’s own Sistine Chapel, ‘Teen Mom’. They have toured in the US, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK, Poland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. // The band made their UK debut as an Official Showcase act at 2025’s UK Americana Music Week in London. However, they have not been accepted to showcase at the stateside Americana Fest for a record-breaking 17 consecutive years. Impressive stuff. // Today, they arrive with their ninth LP “86 Gumption”. Ironically, it called for quite a bit of collective gumption to get this thing across the finish line. Recorded over a year (with a big breather in the middle) in myriad studios and homes, “86 Gumption” is perhaps the band’s most diverse musical offering yet. Indie rock, honky tonk, heartland rock, folk and alt-country occupy the sonic spectrum of the album. Primary singer and songwriter, Colin Halliburton, is found exploring the nuances of marriage, middle-age, grief, geopolitics, acts of creation, hedonism, sobriety, and everything in between. There is darkness. There is a sliver of light. Play it loud.]

[The Roseline play a KC ALBUM RELEASE SHOW at Hillsiders, 403 N. 5th Street KCK, on Friday, October 2, at 8:00pm with The Creepy Jingles, and True Lions.]

[The Roseline play a LAWRENCE ALBUM RELEASE SHOW with Gracie Hughes and her band, at Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence KS., on Saturday October 3, at 8:00pm]

11:16 – More Interview with Colin Halliburton

Colin Halliburton joins us to share music from his band, The Roseline and their new album 86 GUMPTION, The Roseline play a KC ALBUM RELEASE SHOW at Hillsiders, 403 N. 5th Street KCK, on Friday, October 2, at 8:00pm with The Creepy Jingles, and True Lions. The Roseline play a LAWRENCE ALBUM RELEASE SHOW with Gracie Hughes and her band, at Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence KS. More info at: www.roselonemusic.com

Colin Halliburton Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

86 GUMPTION the band’s 9th Studio album was released August 7, 2026, that was recorded at Element Recording Studios, The Green Lodge, KPR, and in the homes of Jim Piller, Bradley McKellip, and Heidi Gluck.

Engineered by Joel Nanos, Jim Piller, Jason Slote, Bradley McKellip, Heidi Gluck, and Rob Pope.

And features Colin Halliburton on acoustic guitar, vocals; Bradley McKellip on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, field recording; Heidi Gluck on keys, bass, vocals; Colin Jones on bass; Jim Piller on drums, percussion; and Lynn Piller on pedal steel.

The Roseline will play release shows for “86 Gumption” at Hillsiders with the Creepy Jingles and True Lions on Friday, October 2, and at the Replay Lounge with Gracie Hughes & Her Band on Saturday, October 3.

Introspective Lawrence country-rockers The Roseline’s ninth full-length, “86 Gumption”, comes two and a half years after their last proper release, 2024’s Keystone of the Heart, with a live album released in between. The album was recorded over the course of a year and yet feels like a single moment, so the introspection comes through clearly.

Maybe it’s the fact these folks have been playing together so long that they don’t need to hunker down over the course of a month to maintain any sort of cohesion. You can feel the relative comfort in a band capable of switching from the out and out honky tonk of “Tooth & Claw” to the AM gold country yacht rock of “Balance of Beauty,” with the Roseline seeming as though they didn’t even need to shift gears.

It’s all of a piece, lyrically and musically. Frontman Colin Halliburton’s voice plays off the backing vocals of Heidi Gluck, whose keys nicely counterpoint Bradley McKellip’s guitar, complemented by the steady rhythm of bassist Colin Jones and drummer Jim Piller, with Lynn Piller’s pedal steel popping up just when needed. For a band nine albums in, it certainly doesn’t feel like they’re settling, however.

The opening pair of songs, “Heart of Oak” and “Wet Black Fin,” are as intimately epic as anything the Roseline has done, while closing with Halliburton and an acoustic guitar for the heart-rending story of “Palm to the Sky” takes the project all the way back to its roots as a Halliburton solo project. “86 Gumption” reminds us that life is cyclical, with change constantly reminding us of what’s come before and what will come to be.

Colin Halliburton told Nick Spacek of The Pitch:

“I was listening to Nick Lowe’s The Convincer a lot during the writing of this record. I’m not sure exactly if there is a through line between the two, but I’m certain it influenced me. He has such a deft touch when balancing heartbreak and comedy. I always attempt that, but I’m unsure of how successful I am. I think both The Convincer and “86 Gumption” are distinctly adult records–we’ve seen some shit, life has landed some punches, but we’re still able to laugh it off … most of the time.”

Official Showcase act at UK Americana Music Week 2025

“Best Country of Bandcamp (Feb ’24)” – Bandcamp

“…vivid, emotion-charged songwriting. Best New Music” – American Songwriter

“The Roseline produces minimalistic and windswept Americana indicative of their Heartland roots. There’s something more to their portfolio than another set of strong contributions to the alt-country scene.” – Pop Matters

“Midwestern alt-country stalwarts… breezy, affectionate (and honest) blend of wit and melancholic twang” – No Depression

“Warm and dreamy Americana. Classic alt-country.” – Glide Magazine

“Colin Halliburton has cornered the market on power pop and Americana.” – The Boot

“9/10” – Americana-UK.com (United Kingdom)

“5/5” – Rockfarbror.se (Sweden)

“4 Stars ****” – Spill Magazine

“4 Stars ****” – Altcountry.nl (The Netherlands)

“a sparkling Americana jam.” – Petal Motel

“#1 in the Top 120 Recordings of 2021” – Mark Manning; Wednesday Midday Medley 90.1 KKFI

“hands down the best album of the year” – Fally Afani; explorelawrence.com

“Top 10 Albums of the Year” Tim Finn; InKC Magazine

“Album of the Year” – Steven Routledge; Rockin The Suburbs Podcast

“Album of the Year” – CJ Janovy; Kansas Reflector

“The Roseline’s ‘Constancy’ is a slice of pumpkin pie as imagined by a cutting edge chef.” – Jason Earle; The Marinade podcast

“These lyrics are poetic and immense. The Roseline redefines their genre. It’s a fresh take on subtlety and magic.” – Tuned Up
.
“(The Roseline) has taken the fabric of country music and painted a colorful Americana mix of pure front porch, pulling at your heart strings, sincere country gold.” – Nashville Music Guide

“He’s a master storyteller that draws you in and leaves you hanging on every word until a song fades away as gently as it started… the lyrics are so vivid and relatable it’s difficult to not get lost in them.” – I Heart Local Music

“Colin Halliburton distills the essence of Midwestern sincerity as the Roseline. The unassuming voice and gentle country-rock of the singer/songwriter reflects the rugged independence and understated graciousness associated with his home state of Kansas.” – Ink Magazine

“It’s poetic country with sublime melodies and haunting vocals.” – Diamond Deposits

“A gorgeous assortment of songs that occupy sprawling territory vaguely dubbed Americana. The Roseline have forged their path with sharp songwriting, a soft-edged country mellow burnished to produce a warm glow with pedal steel, pretty piano, and Colin Halliburton’s sweet, expressive voice. These songs will transport you.” -Present Magazine

“The Roseline have both emotion and depth. This is solid, smoky Americana.” -John Mills, Happening Magazine
.
“It’s kind of sick how good the band is… We highly endorse them.” -MTV2 Subterranean blog
.
“Let me tell you, if you’re a fan of the alt-country genre and you don’t have this album in your collection then you should stop calling yourself a fan right now.” – Parasite Gods

“The band’s fourth release is their most fully realized, both sonically and lyrically. ‘Townie’ is both bleak and hopeful at once.” -No Depression

“4 stars ****” – altcountry.nl, rootstime.be, kindamusik.com

Top 5 Albums of 2015 – Natalie Gallagher, Pitch Magazine

The Roseline play a KC ALBUM RELEASE SHOW at Hillsiders, 403 N. 5th Street KCK, on Friday, October 2, at 8:00pm with The Creepy Jingles, and True Lions.

The Roseline play a LAWRENCE ALBUM RELEASE SHOW with Gracie Hughes and her band, at Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence KS

11:24

13. The Roseline – “Wet Black Fin”
    from: 86 Gumption / The Roseline / July 3, 2026
    [Colin Halliburton – acoustic guitar, vocals; Bradley McKellip – electric guitar. Heidi Gluck – bass, keys, vocals. Jim Piller – drums, percussion. Recorded by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studios, Jim Piller, Heidi Gluck, and Bradley McKellip. Mixed by Jim Piller. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering // The Roseline (pronounced ‘rose’ like the flower, ‘line’ like a straight line) is a band from Lawrence, Kansas USA. They have released eight LPs and one live album, to date. They started out as a fairly delicate little acoustic trio and have since evolved into the heartland rock five-piece behemoth of their current state. // Good luck trying to coax any braggadocious one-sheet “high-lights” out of these humble Kansans. It will require some serious finesse. But, if you insist…they have had four records chart in the TOP TEN in the wildly niche Euro Americana Chart. Some very sweet words have been written about them in such esteemed publications and websites as NPR, Bandcamp, American Song-writer, No Depression, Glide, Pop Matters, and The Bluegrass Situation. They have had their songs featured (*barely audible as source music in the background of bar scenes) in ABC’s ‘Nashville’ & ‘Resurrection’, CBS’s ‘Marshals’, USA’s ‘Queen of the South’, Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’, and MTV’s own Sistine Chapel, ‘Teen Mom’. They have toured in the US, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK, Poland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. // The band made their UK debut as an Official Showcase act at 2025’s UK Americana Music Week in London. However, they have not been accepted to showcase at the stateside Americana Fest for a record-breaking 17 consecutive years. Impressive stuff. // Today, they arrive with their ninth LP “86 Gumption”. Ironically, it called for quite a bit of collective gumption to get this thing across the finish line. Recorded over a year (with a big breather in the middle) in myriad studios and homes, “86 Gumption” is perhaps the band’s most diverse musical offering yet. Indie rock, honky tonk, heartland rock, folk and alt-country occupy the sonic spectrum of the album. Primary singer and songwriter, Colin Halliburton, is found exploring the nuances of marriage, middle-age, grief, geopolitics, acts of creation, hedonism, sobriety, and everything in between. There is darkness. There is a sliver of light. Play it loud.]

[The Roseline play a KC ALBUM RELEASE SHOW at Hillsiders, 403 N. 5th Street KCK, on Friday, October 2, at 8:00pm with The Creepy Jingles, and True Lions.]

[The Roseline play a LAWRENCE ALBUM RELEASE SHOW with Gracie Hughes and her band, at Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence KS., on Saturday October 3, at 8:00pm]

11:28 – Underwriting

14. SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES – “SMILE (ft. Frogpond)”
    from: SMILE (ft. Frogpond) – Single / SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES / July 28, 2026
    [Kate McCandless is SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES (vocals, looping pedal, music, lyrics, guitar) featuring members of Kansas City’s iconic band, Frogpond – Heidi Phillips (guitar), Kristen Conkright (bass), Michelle Bacon (drums). Recorded at Element Recording, Kansas City KS with Joel Nanos as Engineer + Mixing + Mastering. Kate McCandless writes, “this song was created to capture the feeling of that “second skin” – a feeling all too familiar for women – that curdles and writhes when we’re being perceived. when power and entitlement are being projected onto us by men. the song highlights the root of rape culture, this sense of entitlement to women’s bodies rooted in patriarchy. this entitlement translates to gestures of violence that needle away at us, gradually building to a full on bleed. leers, stares, cat calls, and “innocent” remarks – “why don’t you smile, honey?” – translate directly to more extreme acts of violence – abuse, sexual assault, murder. this is the air we breathe. its pervasiveness and constancy is mirrored in the repetitive nature of the song, looping the same line again and again until it builds to a chorus of voices, all chanting the same mantra – “DON’T BAT ONE PITCH.” // don’t make eye contact, just walk down the street, ignore them, walk tall. // a body can’t just walk down the street. the second skin recoils. // beyond the chorus arises a woman’s solo cry, increasingly persistent and terrified – // “DON’T. DON’T. DON’T! DON’T!!!” // she said no, and they’re not listening.] [www.shespeaksintongues.bandcamp.com]

[She Speaks in Tongues open for The Sexy Accident’s 21st anniversary album release on Friday, October 2, 2026, at 8:00pm at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore Ave, KCMO. The Sexy Accident will perform their new vinyl album release, BEFORE WE INVENTED THE MOON as a six-piece acoustic ensemble in Studio 306 above the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center.]

11:35 – Interview with Jesse Kates, Mack McKinney, & Kate McCandless

Kate McCandless performs as SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES. Kate writes: “My work is about reclaiming agency. It is about giving voice and liberation to what was repressed and silenced.”With vocals, looping pedal, music, lyrics, guitar, Kate collaborated with members of Kansas City’s iconic band, Frogpond – Heidi Phillips (guitar), Kristen Conkright (bass), Michelle Bacon (drums). Recorded at Element Recording, Kansas City KS with Joel Nanos as Engineer + Mixing + Mastering. Kate McCandless writes, “this song was created to capture the feeling of that “second skin” – a feeling all too familiar for women – that curdles and writhes when we’re being perceived. when power and entitlement are being projected onto us by men. the song highlights the root of rape culture, this sense of entitlement to women’s bodies rooted in patriarchy. this entitlement translates to gestures of violence that needle away at us, gradually building to a full on bleed. leers, stares, cat calls, and “innocent” remarks – “why don’t you smile, honey?”

SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES is artist, singer, and performer, Kate McCandless. She makes music and performances with her body, voice, and a looping pedal; and in collaboration with other musicians and artists. The work is about reclaiming femme agency, giving voice to what was silenced and suppressed, and using the voice for healing and liberation.

Albums gloria GUITAR (2012) DOMESTIKA a bjork inspired ritual (2020) and new single SMILE ft. Frogpond can be on Bandcamp and selectively on mainstream platforms. To stay most up to date on new music, performances, and events follow on Instagram @she_speaks_in_tongues

Jesse Kates and Kate McCandless who join us to share details about: Jesse’s Band The Sexy Accident’s 21st anniversary album release with She Speaks in Tongues, Friday, October 2, 2026, at 8:00pm at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore Ave, KCMO. The Sexy Accident is Jamie Lin, Ramone Hall, Jesse Kates, Ryan Leip, Mack McKinney who will perform their new vinyl album release, BEFORE WE INVENTED THE MOON as a six-piece acoustic ensemble in Studio 306 above the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center. BEFORE WE INVENTED THE MOON is a revisionist history of new, homespun recordings. The album features a re-imagined selection of songs from all eras of the band’s back catalog, plus one entirely new tune, “Hard Launch.” She Speaks in Tongues opens the night..

Kate McCandless & Jesse Kates thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Kate McCandless is SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES. She writes: “My work is about reclaiming agency. It’s about giving voice & liberation to what was repressed & silenced.”

Kate McCandless writes, “Smile” “is song was created to capture the feeling of that “second skin” – a feeling all too familiar for women – that curdles and writhes when we’re being perceived. when power and entitlement are being projected onto us by men. the song highlights the root of rape culture, this sense of entitlement to women’s bodies rooted in patriarchy. this entitlement translates to gestures of violence that needle away at us, gradually building to a full on bleed. leers, stares, cat calls, and “innocent” remarks – “why don’t you smile, honey?” – translate directly to more extreme acts of violence – abuse, sexual assault, murder. this is the air we breathe. its pervasiveness and constancy is mirrored in the repetitive nature of the song, looping the same line again and again until it builds to a chorus of voices, all chanting the same mantra – “DON’T BAT ONE PITCH.” // don’t make eye contact, just walk down the street, ignore them, walk tall. // a body can’t just walk down the street. the second skin recoils. // beyond the chorus arises a woman’s solo cry, increasingly persistent and terrified – // “DON’T. DON’T. DON’T! DON’T!!!” // she said no, and they’re not listening.

Described by Sasha Geffen as “Best Feminist Rock n’ Roll Exorcism”.

Armed with body, voice, and a fierce, shamanic energy, SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES often lures with nostalgia – simultaneously embracing and questioning its comfort and authority with a dark, feminist bent. McCandless creates & performs her work solo, and in collaboration with other musicians. The effect is jarring, haunting, and a cathartic call to healing. A transplant from Chicago since 2020, McCandless now calls KC her creative home base.

SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES started in Chicago and has transitioned to Kansas City.

We became aware of She Speaks in Tongues in 2022 when she played Outer Reaches Fest.

This first time Kate was on the WMM was April 5, 2023 when Kate & Cody Wyoming came on tshare details about SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES submits: Patti Smith’s EASTER on EASTER, Sun, April 9, 2023, a 7:00 PM, at recordBar 1520 Grand.

Previous shows by SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES

SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES played The Benefit for Amplify Lawrence Saturday, May 31, 2025. at 8:00pm at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, KS. with Sisterbot, Lauren Lovelle, True Lions, and Cheery.

SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES submits: SUPPOSED FORMER INFATUATION JUNKIE//Alanis Morissette, May 13, 2025 at The Black Box, 1060 Union Ave, KCMO with Katie Gilchrist and Project1994 performing JAGGED LITTLE PILL.

SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES partnered: THE CODY WYOMING DEAL, and Julia Othmer, and Teri Quinn to create a cathartic, sacred homage to Patti Smith and her work…with a surprising, shamanic edge where nothing is sacred… Sacred is all.
Info at: www.shespeaksintongues.com

The Sexy Accident has released 19 albums/EPs and multiple singles. Many of their albums have been released in creative very ways including a hardbound book of lyrics, interviews and original artwork, and as a board/card game. More information at http://www.thesexyaccident.com

The last time Jesse Kates was on WMM was October 9, 2024 to share The Sexy Accident’s new single “Becoming. On June 13, 2024, The Sexy Accident released their 4-song EP, Live at Prospero’s Bell Tower, recorded at Prospero’s Books in Kansas City on December 9, 2023.

Before We Invented the Moon / The Sexy Accident / September 29, 2026

twenty-first-anniversary revisionist history of new, homespun recordings. Features the completely new song Hard Launch.

Written by Jesse Kates {Halaster Music | ASCAP}
Arranged by The Sexy Accident:

Jesse Kates (singing, guitars, piano, autoharp, mallets, percussion)
Ramone Hall (drums, cajon)
Ryan Leip (guitars)
Mack McKinney (bass)
Rachel Jaggard (singing)

Violin on “I Tried Again” by Jonas Kates
Trumpet on “I Tried Again” by Mark Hamblin.

Group singing on “I Tried Again” by Becky Mack, Jason Ammerman, Jason Vaughn, Jonas Kates, Maggie Ammerman, Nicole Hall, Samuel Haney, Stephanie Kates, Tobias Kates and Will Leathem

Produced and engineered by Jesse Kates
Mixed by Josh Williams. Mastering by Mike Nolte
Prints by Graesen Joyce

Recorded in 2024 and 2025 at Jesse’s house in Kansas City

11:43

15. The Sexy Accident – “I’m Going to Love Your New Boyfriend”
    from: Before We Invented the Moon / The Sexy Accident / September 29, 2026
    [A twenty-first-anniversary revisionist history of new, homespun recordings. Features the completely new song Hard Launch. / Written by Jesse Kates {Halaster Music | ASCAP}. Arranged by The Sexy Accident: Jesse Kates (singing, guitars, piano, autoharp, mallets, percussion); Ramone Hall (drums, cajon); Ryan Leip (guitars); Mack McKinney (bass); Rachel Jaggard (singing). Violin on “I Tried Again” by Jonas Kates. Trumpet on “I Tried Again” by Mark Hamblin. // Group singing on “I Tried Again” by Becky Mack, Jason Ammerman, Jason Vaughn, Jonas Kates, Maggie Ammerman, Nicole Hall, Samuel Haney, Stephanie Kates, Tobias Kates and Will Leathem // Produced and engineered by Jesse Kates // Mixed by Josh Williams. Mastering by Mike Nolte. Prints by Graesen Joyce. Recorded in 2024 and 2025 at Jesse’s house in KC. Released on 180-gram vinyl via support from Club Medici. More information at www.thesexyaccident.com]

[The Sexy Accident play a show in honor of their 21st anniversary album release on Friday, October 2, 2026, at 8:00pm at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore Ave, KCMO. The Sexy Accident will perform their new vinyl album release, BEFORE WE INVENTED THE MOON as a six-piece acoustic ensemble in Studio 306 above the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, with She Speaks in Tongues opening. ]

11:45 – Interview with Jesse Kates, Mack McKinney, & Kate McCandless

Jesse Kates, Mack McKinney, and Kate McCandless who join us to share details about: Jesse’s Band The Sexy Accident’s 21st anniversary album release with She Speaks in Tongues, Friday, October 2, 2026, at 8:00pm at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore Ave, KCMO. The Sexy Accident is Jamie Lin, Ramone Hall, Jesse Kates, Ryan Leip, Mack McKinney who will perform their new vinyl album release, BEFORE WE INVENTED THE MOON as a six-piece acoustic ensemble in Studio 306 above the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center. BEFORE WE INVENTED THE MOON is a revisionist history of new, homespun recordings. The album features a re-imagined selection of songs from all eras of the band’s back catalog, plus one entirely new tune, “Hard Launch.” She Speaks in Tongues opens the night.

Kate McCandless & Jesse Kates & Mack McKinney thanks for being with us on WMM

About SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES submits series: SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES submits: is a live, album listening experience with a femme/feminist edge; twists, turns and script flipping. Featuring artist, vocalist, performer Kate McCandless and an assembly of top notch Kansas City musicians and collaborators, this is not your typical tribute. Collaborators have included Cody Wyoming, Katie Gilchrist, Matt Richey just to name a few. Recent performances as part of the series include: EASTER//Patti Smith (2023-2024) TO BRING YOU MY LOVE//PJ Harvey (2023-2024) and currently, SUPPOSED FORMER INFATUATION JUNKIE//Alanis Morissette

About SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES’ Bjork-inspired album/performance DOMESTIKA

“Kate McCandless samples music as hungrily as Girl Talk, but she doesn’t use a computer. With her band Speaks in Tongues, the singer repurposes well-worn rock and blues classics into new narratives…unravels threads from the music she loves to knot together her own bizarro-world reimaginings, a process she describes…as ‘a necessary feminist act…a reclaim of agency.'” – Sasha Geffen, The Chicago Reader

1 day, 1 take per song. Just me, my voice, and my looping pedal, live and in the moment, recorded in Chicago and released in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
This album is my bloody valentine to Bjork, Motherhood, Feminism, and all the wisdom they have given me. My hope is that this music/performance serves as a stinging yet redemptive balm for my listeners, especially during these trying times.
In addition to performing excerpts from DOMESTIKA live in local music venues, my intention with this work is to create a more intentional performance, to debut in Kansas City and to tour.

This project began as an exploration of what I believed were feminist themes in Bjork’s music and a desire to highlight them, especially given her latest releases Vulnicura & Utopia, and subsequent interviews. “Domestika” was the original title intended for what became Bjork’s iconic Vespertine, during which she fell in love with Matthew Barney … the partner who would later cheat on her and file for divorce. There was something I wanted to reclaim in that. This desire was highlighted by my more recent struggles with Motherhood, mental health, and the wounding of being homebound.

What I didn’t expect was how this project would become a cathartic space in which to process the unfolding reckoning with injustice in our times … #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, the Trump presidency, the collective isolation/struggle during a pandemic…In the process I formed a chain of channeled messages … as if from my Mother ancestors, or Mother Earth herself. Messages of unheard stories, pain, healing, justice, and hope.

For, SHE SPEAKES IN TONGUES – DOMESTIKA, released May 8, 2020 – Kate McCandless writes DOMESTIKA began as an exploration of what I believed were feminist themes in Bjork’s music and a desire to highlight them. This was especially given her latest releases Vulnicura & Utopia, and subsequent interviews. “Domestika” was the original title intended for what became Bjork’s iconic Vespertine, until she met Matthew Barney … the partner who would later cheat on her and file for divorce. There was something I wanted to reclaim in that. This desire was highlighted by my more recent struggles with Motherhood, mental health, and the wounding of being homebound. // In the process I formed a chain of channeled messages … as if from my Mother ancestors, or Mother Earth herself. Messages of unheard stories, pain, healing, justice, and hope. // This album is my bloody valentine to Motherhood and all the wisdom She gave me. My hope is that this music serves as a kind of balm for my listeners, especially during these trying times. // Vocals, looping pedal, arrangement/mashup, select lyrics: Kate McCandless.Electronic music (Light Bearer): Nigel Harsch. Engineering: Steve Marek. Mixing and Mastering: Steve Marek. Music & Lyric Inspiration: Bjork.

About SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES//// HEALING ARTS

Kate McCandless (SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES) is as an artist, writer, energy healer, and tarot reader in the Kansas City area, after studying and practicing in Chicago IL. Her Shamanic approach takes the work beyond the basic hand positions or interpreter role, and flows seamlessly with her artistic practice and expression. Kate was attuned and initiated into the Reiki practice at levels 1-Master through Sara Gaines of Red Bird Reiki’s 1 Year Shamanic Reiki Apprenticeship (Chicago/Galena IL.) There she studied and explored Shamanism in the open tradition/practice of the Andean Peruvian shamans/Q’ero. Kate’s path to Tarot came naturally and intuitively and she is mostly self taught, though counted among her teachers is Lindsay Mack. Kate has completed Mack’s renowned and in depth course, Tarot for the Wild Soul and continues to study and practice on her own. Kate believes tarot and energy work is for every person and can be used as an excellent tool for self reflection, healing, and self care for any one who is curious, interested, and/or called. She serves as a compassionate facilitator and holder of space. She believes the journey is yours and she is here to support that without dogma nor judgement. Kate believes that tarot and energy work is intended to be inclusive, compassionate, healing, unpretentious and easeful, while rooted in the here and now. By reflecting on “what’s here now” we can curiously and kindly bring our awareness to reach for a more whole and healing present, and therefore, future. Other practitioners/artists she considers teachers and inspirations are Chani Nicholas, Sarah Faith Gottesdiener, Tatianna Morales, Renee Sills (Embodied Astrology,) Michelle Tea, Julia Cameron, and Rachael Gonzalez (FAMILIAR) just to name a few.

SHAMANIC ENERGY WORK + TAROT //// SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES

“KATE IS INCREDIBLE! I don’t have the words to fully relay what happened but Kate created the most healing safe cocoon of reiki energy magic I have ever experienced. I was able to feel and release challenging emotions and I feel we accomplished deep healing work for myself and ancestors… my experience was so epic. Thank you Kate for doing this kind of work in the world.” – Amy W., Energy Healing Client, Kansas City, MO

Selected The Sexy Accident Discography

Live at Prospero’s Bell Tower (2024)
The Sexy Accident released this 4-song EP om June 13, 2024. Songs written by Jesse Kates / Halaster Music [ASCAP]. Performed by The Sexy Accident: Jesse Kates on vocals & guitars. Ramone Hall on drums, Ryan Leip on keys, Mack McKinney on bass, and Rachel Jaggard on vocals. Produced by Danny Mac. Recorded and Mixed by Josh Luke. Recorded at Prospero’s Books in Kansas City on December 9, 2023. Thanks to Will Leathem More info at: www.sexyaccident.bandamp.com]

New Roulette (2022)
Kansas City’s The Sexy Accident plays mercurial pop of brains and heart “driven by catchy melodies and smart, real-life lyric writing.” (The Big Takeover) When the pandemic struck in 2020, songwriter and bandleader Jesse Kates built a home studio and began producing New Roulette remotely. Josh Williams performed and recorded Ramone Hall’s drum parts. Ryan Leip flew in guitars for Jesse to re-amp. Jamie Pratt sang at her father’s suburban home and Mack McKinney played bass from Jesse’s back yard. For more Kansas City flavor, New Roulette’s lead track, I’m Feeling Dancy, features Sisterbot and the EP includes a cover of Wind Flirter by True Lions. New Roulette comprises six tracks and releases on 23 April 2022.

Rabarbaro (2020)
The band’s seventh long-player, Rabarbaro, released on 14 April 2020 during the year of the band’s fifteenth anniversary. Produced, engineered and mixed by longtime collaborator and pacific northwest legend Steve Fisk (Car Seat Headrest, Low, Unwound, Nirvana, Pigeonhed) in Kansas City and Tacoma, Rabarbaro comprises eleven of songwriter Jesse Kates’ most dark, dynamic and sensual songs, living up to the intensity of the album’s namesake adult beverage: a bittersweet, intoxicating (30% ABV) variety of Italian amaro distilled from Chinese rhubarb with zest and cardamom.

Live at Holy Cow EP (Sept. 23, 2017
Performed on September 23, 2016, with Jesse Kates on vocals & guitar, Ramone Hall on drums, Jamie Lin on vocals, Pete Marten on bass, and Ryan Leip on keyboards. Recorded by Josh Williams. Songs selected from Champagne Babycakes, Lavender 3 and Ninja Ninja Fight Darth Vader. Cover art curated by Carly Lewandowski of How Very Vintage from objects found at Holy Cow.

Champagne Babycakes (2016)
Champagne Babycakes is the world’s first album released as a card game. Each copy of Champagne Babycakes includes a complete game deck of 54 cards illustrated by Gavin Snider and twelve songs written by Sexy Accident bandleader Jesse Kates. Champagne Babycakes was produced by Steve Fisk

The songs of Champagne Babycakes are hefty yet compact, like a deck of cards, and reflect Kates’ mainstay themes of romance and family life. Sonically, the album echoes and amplifies features of The Sexy Accident’s prior work, including the groove of Ninja Ninja Fight Darth Vader, the layering of Lavender 3, the squall of Mantoloking, and the dynamics of Kinda Like Fireworks.

Lavender 3 (2013)
Like Champagne Babycakes, The Sexy Accident’s fifth release isn’t a typical record. To deliver tactile pleasure with the ease of downloads, the band created a pop album as a hardback book. Lavender 3 is a nine-inch square, 48-page, silver cloth-covered, smythe-sewn, silk-screened book brimming with lyrics, paintings, illustrations, interviews and commentary, including works by Blue Gallery painter Bernal Koehrsen and poet Jim Daniels. Lavender 3 comprises twelve love songs marinated in strings, keyboards and alternate-tuned guitars. The tracks guest star Laurel Parks and Sascha Groschang of string ensemble The Wires, and Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger, among others.

Origins
In 2005, after years of spinning wordless tales with Pittsburgh, PA-based instrumental band Whitford, Jesse Kates decided to sing. Jesse had recently relocated to Kansas City for a day job and needed co-conspirators. A search of nearby cubicles revealed Dan Weller, the bass-playing spouse of a market researcher, and Craig used his list to find Billy Brown, the band’s first drummer. Musicians assembled, Jesse began to write. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s Creative Writing program, Jesse remains influenced by a mantra of the faculty – have the courage to be clear – to this day. As the only permanent band member, The Sexy Accident remains unavoidably Jesse-centric, yet the sonics transform from album to album, showcasing the strengths of each lineup.

“The Oh,” was the third single from Rabarbaro released February 13, 2020.
“The Land of Want” was the second single released November 2, 2019
“Unto a Sparkling Shore” was the first single released September 21, 2019

The Sexy Accident – Key Lineups

2026 Jesse Kates, Ramone Hall, Ryan Leip, Mack McKinney, Jamie Lin,
2024 Jesse Kates, Ramone Hall, Ryan Leip, Mack McKinney, Rachel Jaggard.
2022 Jesse Kates, Ramone Hall, Jamie Pratt, Ryan Leip, Mack McKinney
2015 Jesse Kates, Ramone Hall, Jamie Pratt, Dan Diamond
2013 Jesse Kates, Daniel Torrence, Camry Ivory, Mark Hamblin, Kristin Smith view
2010 Jesse Kates, Daniel Torrence, Camry Ivory, Mark Hamblin
2009 Jesse Kates, Daniel Torrence, Chad Toney, Pat Padgett
2007 Jesse Kates, Daniel Torrence, Pat Fent
2005 Jesse Kates, Billy Brown, Dan Weller

Jesse was on WMM on April 15, 2020 in the early days of COVID 19. Jesse called into the show to share details about The Sexy Accident’s 7th full length, Rabarbaro, released April 14, 2020 during the band’s 15th year. Produced, engineered & mixed in Kansas City and Seattle, by longtime collaborator and pacific-northwest legend Steve Fisk (Car Seat Headrest, Low, Unwound, Nirvana, Pigeonhead), Rabarbaro includes 11 of songwriter Jesse Kates’ most dark, dynamic and sensual songs. Rabarbaro was performed by Jesse Kates on guitars, vocals, keyboards & percussion; Ramone Hall on drums; Jamie Pratt on vocals; Ryan Leip on guitars & keyboards; and Eric Knight on bass; with Steve Fisk on keyboards, and guest violinist Laurel Parks. More info at www.sexyaccident.com

The Sexy Accident is a pop band from Kansas City. The Sexy Accident have released nearly 200 songs on s19even albums/EPs. The Sexy Accident doesn’t do normal, their 2014 album Lavendar 3 was released as a 9” x 9” square, 48-page, cloth-covered, foil-stamped hardback book. Their 2016 recording Champagne Babycakes, the band’s 6th full length record, was released as a “card game.” The band’s last release, Chamcakes Babypagne was a selection of songs from The Sexy Accident’s , Champagne Babycakes, re-imagined and reconstructed by Steve Fisk, namelessnumberheadman, Akkilles and guest musicians.

Congratulations on 21 years as a band.

11:50

Jesse Kates, Mack McKinney, and Kate McCandless, Thanks for being with us on WMM

The Sexy Accident play a show in honor of their 21st anniversary album release on Friday, October 2, 2026, at 8:00pm at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore Ave, KCMO. The Sexy Accident will perform their new vinyl album release, BEFORE WE INVENTED THE MOON as a six-piece acoustic ensemble in Studio 306 above the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, with She Speaks in Tongues opening.

More information at: www.sexyaccident.com // Info at: www.shespeaksintongues.com

For WMM, I’m Mark Manning & Jesse Kates, Mack McKinney, & Kate McCandless. Thanks for listening!

11:54

16. The Sexy Accident – “Hard Launch”
    from: Before We Invented the Moon / The Sexy Accident / September 29, 2026
    [A twenty-first-anniversary revisionist history of new, homespun recordings. Features the completely new song Hard Launch. / Written by Jesse Kates {Halaster Music | ASCAP}. Arranged by The Sexy Accident: Jesse Kates (singing, guitars, piano, autoharp, mallets, percussion); Ramone Hall (drums, cajon); Ryan Leip (guitars); Mack McKinney (bass); Rachel Jaggard (singing). Violin on “I Tried Again” by Jonas Kates. Trumpet on “I Tried Again” by Mark Hamblin. // Group singing on “I Tried Again” by Becky Mack, Jason Ammerman, Jason Vaughn, Jonas Kates, Maggie Ammerman, Nicole Hall, Samuel Haney, Stephanie Kates, Tobias Kates and Will Leathem // Produced and engineered by Jesse Kates // Mixed by Josh Williams. Mastering by Mike Nolte. Prints by Graesen Joyce. Recorded in 2024 and 2025 at Jesse’s house in KC. Released on 180-gram vinyl via support from Club Medici. More information at www.thesexyaccident.com]

[The Sexy Accident play a show in honor of their 21st anniversary album release on Friday, October 2, 2026, at 8:00pm at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore Ave, KCMO. The Sexy Accident will perform their new vinyl album release, BEFORE WE INVENTED THE MOON as a six-piece acoustic ensemble in Studio 306 above the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, with She Speaks in Tongues opening.]

17. Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
    rom: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]

Next week, on Wednesday, October 7, we’ll talk with Calvin Arsenia about his big show at The Folly Theatre on Tuesday, October 13, and we welcome back to the show Just Angel, who share detals about POETRY IN PINK GALA – Sunday, October 25 at 6:00pm at Sherri’s Executive Lounge, 3834 Gennessee Street, KCMO for the 2nd annual Cancer Awareness Gala for Cancer Survivors, Angels, Families and Communities. Joining Angel will be Gie Santana, Jon Hypocrace Lewis and Sherri Hall. We also talk with Fanny Mandelberger about Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy in the Performance Arts.

You can find our playlists at: www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org & www.kkfi.org
www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
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 Office Manager Book Keeper – Shaina Littler.

THANK YOU to everyone who donated to KKFI’s Summer Fund Drive during WMM we had a total of 33 people donate a total of $3513.50. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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 #1167