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, November 26, 2026

2025 – The Year in Music
with: Bill Brownlee, Judy Mills, Chris Haghirian, & Fally Afani

1. “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
   rom: Motion Picture Soundtrack to All That Jazz / Universal / Dec. 20, 1979 [WMM’s theme]

Today we take a look at 2025: The Year in Music with 4 special guests who are sharing their Favorite Musical Releases of 2025. Bill Brownlee of Plastic Sax and There Stands The Glass, Judy Mills owner of Mills Record Company, Chris Haghirian of Eight One Sixty on The Bridge 90.9, and Fally Afani of I Heart Local Music

Bill Brownlee’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2025

5. Lorna Kay – EP / Town & Country / September 19, 2025

4. Hermon Mehari & Tony Tixier – SOUL SONG / Komos Jazz / April 25, 2025

3. Joyce DiDonato – Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626 / Warner Classics – Erato – Parlophone / August 22, 2025

2. Britanny Davis – Black Thunder / Loosegroove Records / June 13, 2025

1. Mister Water Wet – Things Gone and Things Still Here / Soda Gone / October 31, 2025

10:00

2. Lorna Kay – “I’m Never Drinking Again (Again)”
   from: Lorna Kay – EP / Town & Country / September 19, 2025
   [Lauren Krum solo project with Mike Stover. Lauren Krum is known for her work as lead singer of The Grisly Hand who had their last show on May 11, 2024 at The Ship. The band first started playing live in 2009. When The Grisly Hand released their debut album Safe House, the entire band (at that time: Lauren Krum, Jimmy Fitzner, Johnny Nichols, Chas Snyder, Mike Tuley. Ben Summers & Kian Byrne) climbed into our studios and performed live on our Nov. 10, 2010 show. // Jimmy Fitzner, Johnny Nichols, Chas Snyder were in a band called Left Behind. Lauren had played with them at The Brick, before laving Kansas City to go to Columbia College in Chicago. N Chicago Lauren created the group The Strumpettes a soul-inspired group featuring four female singers and a four-piece band. When the Strumpettes dismantled in 2008 and her life in Chicago started to fall apart, Krum decided to move back to Kansas City. She immediately began singing with From Before. // Within a few months, Krum, Fitzner, Nichols and Snyder were performing as a new group. They had brought on Andy Davis to play mandolin. Krum had found the name “the Grisly Hand” iafter coming across it in the poem “Webster Ford” from Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. The most Current grouping of The Grisly Hand was Jimmy Fitzner, Lauren Krum, Ben Summers, Mike Stover, Johnny Nichols and Kian Byrne. / A super group of sorts several members have also been involved in other projects. Lauren has played and recorded with Ruddy Swain (w/ David Regnier), Lorna Kay, and Lorna Kay’s Country Club, as well as being a DJ.]

[Lorna K plays NightHawk at 1228 Baltimore, KCMO, on Saturday, November 29, 2025 at 9:00pm.]

10:05 – Interview with Bill Brownlee

Bill Brownlee is a music industry veteran based in the Kansas City area. He worked in the warehouse of a music distributor based in Olathe, Kansas, and was a clerk at Penny Lane Records in the 1980s. He was the Midwestern sales representative for hundreds of independent record labels in the 1990s. He pitched releases from labels such as Death Row Records and Rounder Records to chains including Walmart and to mom-and-pop shops. When the streaming revolution transformed the industry, Bill became a freelance writer for The Kansas City Star. The newspaper published hundreds of his concert reviews and thousands of his concert previews. His concert recommendations and audio features have been published and aired by KCUR. The pandemic years aside, Brownlee attended more than 100 concerts in each of the past 20 years. He documents many of these outings at Plastic Sax, his 19-year-old Kansas City jazz blog, and at There Stands the Glass, a site he founded 20 yeaes ago in 2005.

Bill Brownlee, thanks for being with us on WMM.

Learn more about Bill’s favorite releases of 2025 at: http://www.plasticsax.com and http://www.therestandstheglass.com

10:09

3. Hermon Mehari & Tony Tixier – “POEM FOR THE OPPRESSED”
   from: SOUL SONG / Komos Jazz / April 25, 2025
   [Hermon Mehari on trumpet, Tony Tixier on Fender Rhodes. // Hermon Mehari and Tony Tixier first met in 2010, in their early twenties, in a club on Paris’s Rue des Lombards for a concert with saxophonist Rodolphe Lauretta. Over the next decade, the two musicians took opposite paths, while continuing to collaborate on two continents. The American trumpeter moved to France to discover European culture and the world cultures that coexist there, while the Parisian pianist of Martinican origin spent several years in the USA, immersing himself in the roots of jazz and Afro-American music. // In June 2024, the two musicians, who had been working for fifteen years on numerous albums and collaborations, and whose musical understanding had continued to be forged in clubs, festivals, and on recordings, met again for a duet at the TOC-TOC festival in the Puisaye region, where Antoine Rajon was a collaborator. Enthusiastic about the idea, the artistic director of the KOMOS label invited them back to his home in this corner of Burgundy to record this Fender Rhodes/trumpet formula. He called on sound engineer Christian Hierro, who traveled with his mobile studio for the album recording, then mixed and produced the master in his studio in Lyon, using the best analog equipment and his expert ear. // At dusk on November 12, 2024, the duo played eight tracks in a single, direct take on a 33-minute magnetic tape. // Four unusual cover versions were carefully chosen. “Maimoun” is a composition emblematic of pianist Stanley Cowell’s style, also recorded by Marion Brown. George Duke’s “The Black Messiah” was captured live by Cannonball Adderley’s band on an album of the same name but has never been released as a studio version. “Hello To The Wind” was created by Bobby Hutcherson in 1969, sung by Eugene McDaniels. Finally, “Laini,” dedicated by the great Martinican pianist Marius Cultier to one of his daughters, is a mazurka dear to Tony’s heart. // Each of the musicians also contributed a composition: Hermon with “This Is Our Fantasy,” written especially for the session, and Tony with “Poem For The Oppressed,” a moving composition with an explicit title. Lastly, the duo improvised two tracks, without repetition, in mutual symbiosis and echo. // SOUL SONG captures a moment without enhancement, transformation, or additives, far removed from contemporary virtual technologies. // A&R : Antoine Rajon // Sound engineer : Christian Hierro. // Analog recording on 1/2 inch tape at Antoine’s Burgundy home on the 12th of November 2024, no edits, no overdubs. // Analog mix and mastering at Christian’s Back to Mono studio in Lyon in November 2024. // Hermon Mehari grew up in Jefferson City, Missouri, home of Lincoln University. He received his BM in Jazz Performance from UMKC Conservatory of Music in 2010. Hermon was also the winner of the 2008 National Trumpet Competition and placed second in the International Trumpet Guild competition in Sydney, Australia. Hermon Mehari Mehari was the winner of the 2015 Carmine Caruso International Trumpet Competition and a semifinalist in the 2014 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition. He is a founding member with Ben Leifer, Ryan Lee , John Brewer, and William Sanders of the band Diverse Jazz, and Diverse Trio. In 2014 Diverse released the album “Our Journey” which was recorded in Paris featuring Logan Richardson on alto saxophone. In 2015-2016 Hermon Mehari was a founding member of the KC super group The Buhs with Julia Haile, Lee Langston, Anthony Saunders, Reach, Les Izmore, Ryan J. Lee, Ben Leifer, Tim Braun, Brad Williams, and Kinyon Price. Hermon Mehari released his debut solo album, BLEU in 2017, and his 2nd solo album A CHANGE FOR THE DREAMLIKE in 2020. In 2021 Hermon Mehari with Alessandro Lanzoni released the 11 track Contemporary Jazz album Arc Fiction. Mehari released ASMARA on November 18, 2022. Recorded and mixed by Félix Rémy in Paris with Hermon Mehari on trumpet, Peter Schlamb on piano & vibraphone, Luca Fattorini on double bass, Gautier Garrigue on drums, and Faytinga on vocals. // In addition to performing and touring all over the world, Hermon dedicates himself to being a serious educator, runs a weekly musical radio program called “The Session” on KCUR 89.3, is constantly collaborating with other musicians. Hermon Merhari has collaborated with Peter Schlamb, Making Movies, John Velghe & the Prodigal Sons, Mikal Shapiro, Krystle Warren. Hermon was featured on Bobby Watson’s 2013 release, “Check Cashing Day”.]

10:14

4. Joyce DiDonato, Maxim Emelyanychev & Il Pomo d’Oro – Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626, Act III: When I Am Laid In Earth (Dido’s Lament)
   from: Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626 / Warner Classics – Erato – Parlophone / Aug. 22, 2025
   Joyce DiDonato (née Flaherty; born February 13, 1969) is an American opera singer and recitalist. A coloratura mezzo-soprano, she has performed operas and concert works spanning from the 19th-century Romantic era to those by Handel and Mozart. // Educated at Wichita State University and the Academy of Vocal Arts, DiDonato began her career in mid-1990s, participating in young artist programs of several opera companies, most notably Houston Grand Opera. Since then, she began having engagements across the United States and Europe. She made debuts at La Scala in Rossini’s La Cenerentola in the 2000/01 season, the Royal Opera in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen in 2003, and the Metropolitan Opera as Cherubino in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in the 2005/06 season. She has performed in world premieres of several operas, such as Michael Daugherty’s Jackie O (1997), Mark Adamo’s Little Women (1999/2000), Jake Heggie’s Great Scott (2015), and Kevin Puts’s The Hours (2022). // DiDonato has won multiple awards including the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Solo. // Joyce Flaherty was born in Prairie Village, Kansas in 1969, the sixth of seven children in an Irish-American family. Her father, Donald Martin Flaherty, was a self-employed architect who designed houses in the area; her mother, Kathleen Claire (McGlinchy) Flaherty, worked for the Gas Service Co. writing recipes in their test kitchen. One of her sisters, Amy Hetherington, was a music teacher at St. Ann Catholic School, which Joyce and her siblings attended. She later went to Bishop Miege High School where she sang in musicals. She entered Wichita State University (WSU) in 1988 to study vocal music education, because she was initially more interested in teaching high school vocal music and musical theatre. She became interested in opera after seeing a PBS telecast of Don Giovanni, and then, in her junior year, when she was cast in a school production of Die Fledermaus. // After graduating from WSU in spring 1992, DiDonato decided to pursue graduate studies in vocal performance at the Academy of Vocal Arts.[4] Following her studies in Philadelphia, she was accepted in the Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Singer program for the summer 1995 festival season, where she appeared in several minor roles and understudied for larger parts in such operas as Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Richard Strauss’ Salome, Kálmán’s Gräfin Mariza and the 1994 world premiere of David Lang’s Modern Painters. She was honored as one of several Outstanding Apprentice Artists by the Santa Fe Opera that year. // She became a part of Houston Grand Opera’s young artist program in 1996; she sang there from autumn 1996 until spring 1998. During the summer of 1997, DiDonato participated in San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program. // During her apprentice years, DiDonato competed in several vocal competitions. In 1996 she won second prize in the Eleanor McCollum Competition and was a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In 1997 she won a William Matheus Sullivan Award, while in 1998 she won second prize in the Operalia Competition, first place in the Stewart Awards, won the George London Competition, and received a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation. // In a 2016 interview with English mezzo-soprano Janet Baker, DiDonato discussed that from age 26 to 29 (circa 1995–1998), she radically changed her vocal technique. “When a lot of my friends were getting covers at The Met and leading roles at [The New York] City Opera,… it wasn’t coming together for me. And I stopped and I said, ‘OK, let’s revamp.’ …. And I was really bad for about a year and a half, because my teacher was taking away all the mechanism that I was using to sing. And it was the best thing that could have happened.” // DiDonato began her professional career in the 1998/1999 season singing with several regional opera companies in the United States. She most notably appeared as the main heroine, Maslova, in the world premiere of Tod Machover’s Resurrection with Houston Grand Opera. She gave a recital in San Francisco that year as part of the Schwabacher recital series. // Also at Houston Grand Opera, she performed the role of Meg in the world premiere during the 1999/2000 season of Mark Adamo’s Little Women with Stephanie Novacek as Jo and Chad Shelton as Laurie. That season, she also sang the role of Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro with the Santa Fe Opera and the role of Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri with the New Israeli Opera. She gave a recital at New York’s Morgan Library under the auspices of the George London Foundation and featured as a soloist in the Seattle Symphony production of Handel’s Messiah. // DiDonato made her debut at La Scala as Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola in the 2000/01 season, returned to Houston Grand Opera as Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and sang the mezzo-soprano solos in Bach Mass in B minor with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris and conductor John Nelson. // The 2001/2002 season included debuts with Washington National Opera as Dorabella in Così fan tutte, with De Nederlandse Opera as Sesto in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, with Opéra National de Paris as Rosina in The Barber of Seville, and with Bavarian State Opera as Cherubino in under the baton of Zubin Mehta. Also, she returned to the Santa Fe Opera to perform the role of Annio in La clemenza di Tito and made several concert appearances, including those with Riccardo Muti conducting the Orchestra of La Scala in Vivaldi’s Gloria and the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris’s presentation of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. // The 2002/03 season saw debuts with the New York City Opera as Sister Helen in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in the title role of La Cenerentola, at the Royal Opera House as Zlatohřbítek the fox in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and with the New National Theatre Tokyo as Rosina in The Barber of Seville. It also saw performances of the title role in Rossini’s Adina at the Rossini Opera Festival and Cherubino at Opéra Bastille. // In concert, she performed Mozart’s Requiem with the Seattle Symphony, Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, and made her Carnegie Hall debut in a production of Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s under the baton of Peter Schreier. She toured Europe with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre in performances of Les nuits d’été. // In the 2003/2004 season DiDonato made her debut at San Francisco Opera as Rosina and then reprised the role at Houston Grand Opera. She performed Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo with De Nederlandse Opera and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and also sang the role of Ascanio in a concert performance of Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini with the Orchestre National de France. She made solo recital appearances at the Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Kansas City’s Folly Theater, and Wigmore Hall in London, among others. She sang at the Hollywood Bowl in a production of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. // She gave her first performances in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda as the role of Elisabetta at the Grand Théâtre de Genève during the 2004/2005 season. Also, she returned to La Scala as Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola and once again played Rosina in a new production of The Barber of Seville by Luca Ronconi at the Pesaro Festival and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. // During the 2005/06 season, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and also played Stéphano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette there. She returned to the Royal Opera House as Rosina in The Barber of Seville, sang her first Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito at Grand Théâtre de Genève, and sang the role of Dejanira in Handel’s Hercules at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York and the Barbican Centre with William Christie. She appeared in several concerts with the New York Philharmonic and gave a recital at Wigmore Hall. She closed the Santa Fe Opera’s 50th anniversary season in the title role of Massenet’s Cendrillon. // DiDonato debuted at the Teatro Real as the composer in Ariadne auf Naxos in the 2006/07 season, and returned to the Paris Opera as Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo and to Houston Grand Opera as Angelina in La Cenerentola. She sang Rosina in The Barber of Seville at the Metropolitan Opera and sang her first Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier with the San Francisco Opera in addition to an extensive recital tour through the United States and Europe accompanied by Julius Drake. // Her 2007/08 season appearances included her debut at the Liceu as Angelina in La Cenerentola and at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Rosina. She sang the title role in Handel’s Alcina with Alan Curtis and Il Complesso Barocco and the title role in Handel’s Ariodante at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. She also sang Roméo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Opéra Bastille and returned to Teatro Real as Idamante in Idomeneo in July 2008. She gave recitals at La Scala, Lincoln Center, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and performed a special concert of Handel arias which was recorded in Brussels. // In the 2008/2009 season, DiDonato returned to Royal Opera House as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. In a performance as Rosina at the same house on July 7, she slipped onstage and broke her right fibula, hopping in the first act and spending the rest on crutches. She then carried out the five remaining performances in a wheelchair. She performed the roles of Beatrice in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict at Houston Grand Opera, Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo with Opéra National de Paris, and Rosina in her debut at Vienna State Opera. // She also appeared in concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the latter of which under the baton of James Levine. She toured Europe and the United States with Les Talens Lyriques, giving concerts of Handel arias, including performances at Wigmore Hall and the Rossini Opera Festival. // She sang the role of Isolier in Rossini’s Le comte Ory at the Metropolitan Opera in April 2011. In April 2012, she sang the title role in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda at the Houston Grand Opera, repeating the role in the work’s premiere performances at the Metropolitan Opera in January 2013. In the spring of 2013, she starred in a new production of La donna del lago at the Royal Opera House. A new production was mounted by the Santa Fe Opera during its 2013 festival season, also starring DiDonato with Lawrence Brownlee as Uberto. For the first time in its 57-year history, the Santa Fe Opera added an extra performance of La donna del lago due to unprecedented ticket demand. // On September 7, 2013 she performed at the Last Night of the Proms, singing arias by Massenet (“Je suis gris! je suis ivre!”), Handel (“Ombra mai fu”), and Rossini (“Tanti affetti in tal momento!”) as well as “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the musical Carousel, “Over the Rainbow” from the Wizard of Oz as a bow to her home State of Kansas, and “Danny Boy”; she then led the audience into the traditional “Rule, Britannia!”. On September 21, 2013, she sang the role of Romeo as the Lyric Opera of Kansas City opened its season with Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi. // In January 2014, DiDonato was named a “Perspectives” artist for the duration of Carnegie Hall’s 2014/2015 season. During that time her performance collaborators include The English Concert conducted by Harry Bicket, her accompanist David Zobel, the Brentano String Quartet, and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Maurizio Benini. She performed in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, as the title role at the Metropolitan Opera in April and May. // In early September 2014, she opened the Wigmore Hall’s 2014/15 season with two concerts and with Antonio Pappano at the piano. The programme included works by Haydn, Rossini, Santoliquido and songs from the Great American Songbook. A live recording was released in 2015 as Joyce and Tony: Live at Wigmore Hall, which won Best Classical Vocal Solo Album in the 2016 Grammy Award. // In late September 2014, DiDonato opened the Barbican Centre’s 2014/15 classical season with a concert entitled “Stella di Napoli” with the Orchestre et Choeur de l’Opéra de Lyon conducted by Riccardo Minasi. This was the first concert of five events for Joyce DiDonato in the Barbican’s Artist Spotlight series. The remaining four events were three concerts: Handel’s Alcina with the English Concert conducted by Harry Bicket + Camille Claudel: Into the Fire, a song cycle written for her by Jake Heggie, with the Brentano String Quartet + a concert with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert and a masterclass at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. // In 2015, she began giving masterclasses annually at Carnegie Hall, more specifically, at the Weill Music Institute. This is a three-day program where several aspiring singers (usually college students) study with her personally over three days, to receive important feedback regarding their performance and vocal abilities. // In November 2016, she released an album entitled In War & Peace: Harmony through Music, a project conceived in response to the November 2015 Paris attacks. She collaborated with Maxim Emelyanychev and Il Pomo d’Oro in a series of concert recitals imbued with choreography and theatrical effects. They subsequently toured the program through Europe and the United States. The project, which lasted for three years, also toured to Russia, Asia, and South America; the 4 June 2017 performance at the Liceu was filmed and later released on DVD. The last performances in November 2019 staged at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., was followed by a conversation with Donna Leon and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. // On December 31, 2017, she was featured in a New Year’s Eve Concert at the Berlin Philharmonic. // In 2019, she released her album Songplay, which mixes jazz, Latin, and tango rhythms into arrangements of Italian Baroque arias, jazz standards, and picks from the Great American Songbook. After a well-acclaimed album release, she then went on to do a national tour, after the album was released between February 18 and March 10, 2019. This album received a 2020 Grammy Award – DiDonato’s third. // DiDonato acted and sang in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Handel’s Agrippina in 2020, in the title role of Agrippina. She portrayed Virginia Woolf in the Metropolitan Opera’s world stage premiere of Kevin Puts’s opera The Hours in November 2022. On her debut tour of Australia in 2025 she sang Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Hobart and with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Hamer Hall, and she gave a master class. // Joyce Flaherty married Alex DiDonato at 21. They divorced after being together for 14 years. She met Italian conductor Leonardo Vordoni at the Rossini Opera Festival in 2003 and fell in love at first sight. They married in August 2006 at Las Vegas’ Venetian Hotel in a gondola during performances of Cendrillon at the Santa Fe Opera and shared a home in Kansas City, Kansas. Their marriage ended in 2013. DiDonato currently lives near Barcelona.]

10:21

5. Britanny Davis – “Girl (Don’t You Know)”
   from: Black Thunder / Loosegroove Records / June 13, 2025
   [“As a blind person, I’ve never had an actual visual experience,” says artist Brittany Davis. “Sound is the way I’ve always seen my world.” // Brittany brings that world to cinematic life with Images Issues, their full-length debut as a solo artist, released March 1, 2024 on Loosegroove Records. Arriving on the heels of 2022’s I Choose to Live — an introductory EP that was championed by outlets like NPR (who hosted Davis for a Tiny Desk Concert) and SPIN Magazine (who praised Davis’ “intuitive virtuosity across deeply-felt rock, funk, and R&B”) — it’s a wildly creative project that obliterates the traditional borders between genre and job. Brittany isn’t just the album’s vocalist; they’re also the songwriter, engineer, co-producer, and multi-instrumentalist responsible for nearly every sound on the album. Those sounds are just as diverse as the person who created them, with Image Issues making room for gospel piano, hip-hop grooves, house beats, jazz chords, self-made samples, and everything in between. It’s a wide mix — and it’s all Brit. // From Written by Jonathan Cohen’s April 13, 2023 article in DSPIN Magazine: Blind since birth, the talented musician leads their own quartet while also playing in Stone Gossard’s Painted Shield. // Davis, who uses they/them pronouns, has been dazzling people in this fashion more or less since the beginning, while overcoming enormous personal challenges along the way. They were born blind in 1994 in Kansas City, Mo., and were just three years old when their mother was sent to prison for a decade for murder, leaving them to be raised by their maternal grandmother. Davis has a form of synesthesia, where they can experience multiple senses at once. Although for some this might seem like a kind of blessing or superpower, for Davis, it only magnified the struggle to translate the sounds in their young head into something people could actually hear for themselves. // “When I was little, I heard music in everything,” Davis tells SPIN over Zoom after apologizing for the constant loud noises coming from their cell phone (“Forgive me – everything in my life talks,” they say with a huge smile, in a voice as naturally harmonious as their songs). “Music was like a language. There was no quintessential moment where I knew it was magic — it just was. It always was. It’s like breathing. But I didn’t really have anybody to share it with, or the means to share it with people the way that I wanted to. I definitely played in churches sometimes, or maybe if a friend came to the house, they’d be like, ‘OK Brittany, play us a song.’ I felt like a one-trick pony, and I didn’t know how to express my desire and pain through my music. It was almost like a second skin.” // An early breakthrough came through the assistance of a teacher at a Kansas City piano academy, where at the behest of their grandmother, Davis spent four years as a student between the ages of seven and 11. Even though they “can’t stand to practice,” Davis was encouraged to play loops or fragments of their fledgling ideas, which the instructor then helped turn into actual songs. “Bless his soul – he gave me my first recording experience,” Davis says of this material, which is now sadly lost to the ages. // Shortly thereafter, Davis’ life was plunged back into tragedy when, at age 12, their father was murdered. “My mother was still incarcerated at the time, so imagine the impact of what that meant for 12-year-old me,” they say. “My father was my lucky star. I believed he was really God’s conduit for my gift – I’m the vessel, but he was the conduit to show me what was possible.” // Davis’ mother was eventually released from prison, and in search of a fresh start, moved Davis and one of their three brothers from Kansas City to Seattle, where their late father’s sister resided. Although a leading light from the city’s celebrated music scene would eventually figure prominently in Davis’ life, initially, they didn’t even think about what their new hometown might have to offer from a cultural standpoint: “I was just on this adventure, like, ‘Seattle! Let’s go!’ It was as if I found a golden ticket but didn’t know about the contest.” // Davis continued working on music with the help of a basic synthesizer with a built-in sequencer, in spite of ongoing difficulties with their day-to-day well-being. “Definitely I experienced a lot of displacement,” they admit. “I say ‘homelessness’ very loosely, because we didn’t live on the street. But we lived in hotels sometimes. I’d take taxis to school because we didn’t have transportation. I had clothes and food, but just not a steady residence. I moved almost 60 times during the term of my high school career.” // Stability may have proven elusive for a while, but Davis was also beginning to make inroads in the Seattle music community. They played regular gigs at an African restaurant called Rumba Notes and made appearances at local festivals such as Sundiata, Juneteenth, and Folklife, but the big break came just before the pandemic in 2019. // That year, Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard heard from longtime Seattle friend Om Johari that there was a young musician in town who he positively had to meet. Before long, Davis was at Gossard’s Studio Litho recording new ideas of their own and was quickly invited to Pearl Jam’s warehouse to contribute to material from Gossard’s nascent side project, Painted Shield. Gossard also signed Davis to his revived imprint Loosegroove, for which they’ve released the 2022 EP I Choose To Live and are working on a debut full-length that should be out before the end of the year. // “It has been such an amazing experience to be involved with Brittany,” Gossard tells SPIN. “Their capabilities as a musician, improviser, storyteller, producer, and straight-up keyboard hero are as profound as any that I’ve ever experienced. It is beyond an honor to be connected to their blossoming career.” // Davis now finds themself with the good fortune of being in two different bands at once, a situation made even more fruitful now that Painted Shield finally played live for the first time during three March shows at Seattle’s Clock-Out Lounge. Among Davis’ upcoming gigs are solo performances on April 30 and May 28 at Seattle’s Rabbit Box, an appearance to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Seattle Sounders soccer game on May 17, and two June shows with the Quartet (bassist Evan Flory-Barnes, drummer D’vonne Lewis, and guitarist Jason Cameron) as part of the city’s annual Pride celebration. // “When it comes to sitting in front of a keyboard, I will always come through expressively,” Davis says. “If I’m in a rock band, I’ll rock just as hard as any other rocker. If I’m rapping, I’ll rap just as well. I always acknowledge the language being spoken sonically, and that’s one of the gifts I have. To be honest, with Painted Shield, I don’t know how people see me in that band. They probably think, ‘Whoa! That’s a wild card (laughs)! Whoa, Stone! Who is that?’” // While it’s true that a non-binary, sightless, millennial African-American musician may seem like an odd match with four veteran rockers in their 40s and 50s, Gossard can’t say enough about what Davis has brought to songs such as “Til God Turns the Lights on” and “Fallin’ Out the Sky” for Painted Shield, which also features vocalist Mason Jennings, drummer Matt Chamberlain, and bassist Jeff Fielder. // “Britt’s work with Painted Shield is just scratching the surface of what they are capable of, but if I were to list the two biggest aspects of how they’ve impacted the band, it would be their incredible vocal harmonies and their wicked ear, which allows them to layer color and other musical ideas to existing tracks,” Gossard says. “It’s a high priority for me to have more songwriting from Britt on our next album, and to give them more freedom to create outside the lines. I can’t wait to hear it.” // And while Davis is confidently looking forward, enough time has now passed from their tumultuous early years to allow them to trace the evolution of music’s role in their life. They’re now even more committed to what they believe is their God-given purpose: to ignite the spirits, souls, and hearts of people through sonic translation. // “Music has definitely evolved, in the way that I express it and how it expresses me,” Davis says. “That language has broadened. It’s one thing to say, ‘I’m sad,’ but it’s another to say, ‘I’m grieved.’ It’s being able to digest the amalgamation of the emotion that can form through being in contact with music. I’m entrenched in Seattle music now, and I’m working with historical figures who have been a part of historical movements. All of that changes how you walk. It’s not the same as wishing and hoping. No, it’s happening, and the people I’m touching are real. The lives I’m impacting are real. The love being given is real. The journey is no longer in my head, and that’s humbling because you realize that even if it’s all gone tomorrow, the music will always be there.”]

10:26

6. Mister Water Wet – “Make Sure You Get(feat. Don & Haydn Douet Lukies”)
   from: Things Gone and Things Still Here / Soda Gong / October 31, 2025
   [from misterwaterwet.bandcamp.com: Mister Water Wet returns to Soda Gong with “Things Gone and Things Here Still,” an album that radically expands the project’s purview while preserving the homespun warmth and oblique tactility that have long defined Iggy Romeu’s work. Where earlier records tilted toward the dusty swing of sample-based beatcraft or spectral minimalist jazz, here Romeu opens the frame to a more ensemble-minded approach, inviting a stellar cast of supporting musicians, including SG alumni Memotone and K. Freund, into the fold. // The result is an album that feels both broader and more intimate, with live instrumentation such as piano, strings, and reeds woven into MWW’s signature lattice of hand percussion, production sleights, and slippery time signatures. Acoustic and electronic textures bend toward each other like plants angling for the same light: bowed strings blur into vaporous pads, brushed drums scatter under riffing guitars, a horn phrase lingers in the same space as a cracked cassette loop. // A tension between decay and presence – the “things gone” and the “things here still” – runs throughout the record. At times, the music evokes a chamber session refracted through waterlogged tape; at others, it recalls the afterimage of a hip-hop instrumental slowed into an oneiric haze. In the world of MWW, memory functions less as nostalgia and more as a living fabric – mutable and resonant. “Things Gone and Things Here Still” finds Iggy Romeu at his most expansive, offering up a generous record of open spaces and porous boundaries. ?/ Arranged and produced by Iggy Romeu. Mastered by Kassian Troyer. Art/design by Alex McCullough and Felix Luke]

10:29 – Underwriting

Judy Mills’ Favorite Musical Releases of 2025

1. S.G. Goodman – Planting By The Signs / Slough Water Records / June 20, 2025

2. PinkPantheress – Fancy That / Warner Records UK / May 9, 2025

3. Oklou – choke enough / True Panther – Virgin Records / March 14, 2025

4. Cate Le Bon – Michelangelo is Dying / Mexican Summer / September 26, 2025

5. Mereba – The Breeze Grew a Fire / Secretly Canadian / February 14, 2025

10:31 – Interview with Judy Mills

Judy Mills is the founder, owner and manager of Mills Record Company at 4045 Broadway Blvd, KCMO. For the last 12 years, this locally owned indie record store has been buying and selling vinyl records, physical music, and books, in the heart of Kansas City. In two days, on Friday, November 28, opening at 7:00am, Mills Record Company are participating in Black Friday Record Store Day, one of the biggest days in the Record Store Day calendar. Judy has been a curious student all her life and most recently. She has previously taught in colleges and served in the corporate retail world. Her favorite things are Conway the dog, writing a good “to do” list and introducing people to new music.

Judy Mills, Thanks for being with us on WMM

10:34

7. S.G. Goodman – “I Can See the Devil”
   from: Planting By The Signs / Slough Water Records / June 20, 2025
   [S.G. Goodman is an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Hickman, Kentucky. She has released three studio albums, Old Time Feeling in 2020, Teeth Marks in 2022, and Planting by the Signs in 2025, and received the 2023 Emerging Artist of the Year award at the Americana Music Association Awards. // Goodman was raised in Hickman, Kentucky. The Southern Baptist church played a central role in her childhood in Kentucky saying she went to church 3 times a week with her family. Goodman began performing by singing in church. Her father was a farmer. She has played rhythm guitar since she was 15 and been driving since she was 7 which is illegal under Kentucky state law. Her favourite guitar to use are Guild Starfires due to their humbuckers. // Goodman moved to Murray, Kentucky in 2007 to attend Murray State University, where she studied philosophy. // Prior to her solo career, Goodman started the music project The Savage Radley with drummer Stephen Montgomery, releasing their first and only album Kudzu with Slough Water Records. // Her debut solo album, Old Time Feeling, was co-produced by Jim James of My Morning Jacket. The album has been described as Americana, folk, country, and rock. She is signed to Verve Forecast Records. Tyler Childers covered “Space and Time” from Old Time Feeling on his album Rustin’ in the Rain. “Space and Time” was also covered by Devonté Hynes and Mereba for the soundtrack to the 2022 film, Master Gardener. // In 2021, as a solo artist, she was among other things part of the Newport Folk Festival in July. // In June 2022, Goodman released her second album, Teeth Marks, on Verve Forecast. She usually plays with her guitar tuned down a whole step, though some songs on the record were played in this tuning with a capo. The fifth track on the album, “If You Were Someone I Loved” deals with the opioid crisis. Because her debut album was released during the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodman did not headline a tour for the album. As such, her tour for Teeth Marks was her first solo tour. // Goodman released her third studio album, Planting by the Signs, on June 20, 2025, via Slough Water Records and Thirty Tigers in LP, CD and digital formats. // Goodman lives in Murray, Kentucky. Studio albums: Old Time Feeling (2020), Teeth Marks (2022), and Planting by the Signs.]

10:39

8. PinkPantheress – “Romeo”
   from: Fancy That / 300 Entertainment / May 9, 2025
   [Victoria Beverley Walker (born 19 April 2001), known professionally as PinkPantheress, is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her diaristic lyrics and eclectic mix of genres including alternative pop, drum and bass and UK garage, often sampling music from the 1990s and 2000s. She was named Producer of the Year by Billboard Women in Music in 2024, and received accolades such as nominations for three Brit Awards and two Grammy Awards. // Born in Bath, Somerset, and raised in Kent, PinkPantheress began her musical career in 2021 while attending university in London, where she produced songs using GarageBand and posted them on SoundCloud and TikTok. Several of them, including “Break It Off”, became popular on TikTok, and she signed to Parlophone and Elektra Records and released her debut mixtape To Hell with It later that year. She won BBC’s Sound of 2022 poll after the singles “Just for Me” and “Pain” peaked in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. Her 2022 single “Boy’s a Liar” reached number two in the UK. // PinkPantheress’s debut studio album, Heaven Knows (2023), spawned the UK top-20 song “Nice to Meet You” and the remix single “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” with American rapper Ice Spice, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Heaven Knows was accompanied by her headlining Capable of Love Tour the following year. Her second mixtape, Fancy That (2025), earned two Grammy nominations and spawned the UK top-40 singles “Tonight” and “Illegal”. // Victoria Beverley Walker was born on 19 April 2001 in Bath, Somerset, to a Kenyan Luo mother from Kisumu, Kenya, who works as a carer, and an English father, a statistics professor. She has one older brother, who works as an audio engineer. She is related to English chess player Susan Lalic, with her mentioning that “my family are all chess players.” When she was five years old, her family moved from Bath to Canterbury, Kent, where she grew up. Her father moved to the US to work at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, when she was 12 years old, but she and her mother remained in the UK. // Walker took piano lessons as a child, and, at age 12, sang “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King at a school talent show. When she was 14 years old, she became the lead singer in a rock band, which covered songs by My Chemical Romance, Paramore, and Green Day, and performed with them for the first time at a school fête. // She studied film at the University of the Arts London, but dropped out in 2022. // Walker started writing music in high school to help a friend before eventually writing music on her own. At age 17, she began using GarageBand to produce instrumentals for her friend, fellow singer Mazz, and she later used GarageBand to record many of her early songs while lying down in her university hall late at night. She started uploading original songs of hers to SoundCloud as PinkPantheress, where they received little attention. After a video posted to her personal TikTok account in December 2020 received over 500 thousand likes, she posted a snippet of her song “Just a Waste”, which used the instrumental from Michael Jackson’s song “Off the Wall”, as PinkPantheress later that month in the hopes of reaching a wider audience; the snippet soon went viral on the platform. // Two of PinkPantheress’s songs, the Adam F-sampling “Break It Off” and the Sweet Female Attitude-sampling “Pain”, went viral on TikTok in early 2021, with the latter peaking at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart in August of that year. She was signed to Parlophone in April 2021. In June 2021, she was featured on GoldLink’s song “Evian” from his studio album Haram! and signed to Elektra Records. When a snippet of her song “Just for Me”, produced by Mura Masa, gained attention on TikTok, she released it in August 2021, along with a music video co-directed by her and released the following month. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 27, making it her highest entry on the UK Singles Chart at the time. It earned PinkPantheress nominations for an iHeartRadio Music Award, an Ivor Novello Award, and two NME Awards. In early October 2021, she announced the release date and title of her debut mixtape, To Hell with It, which was released on 15 October 2021 through Parlophone and Elektra Records and debuted at number 20 on the UK Albums Chart. The mixtape was preceded by “Pain”, “Break It Off”, and “Just for Me” as singles, as well as “Passion”, released in July 2021, and “I Must Apologise”, released in October 2021. PinkPantheress performed live for the first time in October and November 2021 in London. // In January 2022, PinkPantheress was announced as the winner of BBC’s Sound of 2022 poll. That same month, she released a remix album for To Hell with It. She was nominated for the Brit Award for Song of the Year at the 42nd Brit Awards for “Obsessed With You” by Central Cee, which sampled her song “Just for Me”, and gave a virtual performance on Roblox for the Brit Awards. She appeared on the song “Bbycakes” with Mura Masa, Lil Uzi Vert, and Shygirl in February 2022. She released her song “Where You Are” featuring Willow in April 2022. That same month, PinkPantheress went on a European tour in support of To Hell with It. She was featured on “Tinkerbell is Overrated”, a song from Beabadoobee’s second album, Beatopia, released in July 2022. She performed as an opening act on Halsey’s Love and Power Tour throughout the spring of 2022 on the American leg. // PinkPantheress’s single “Picture in My Mind” featuring Sam Gellaitry was released in August 2022. Her extended play Take Me Home was released in December 2022, featuring the singles “Boy’s a Liar” and “Do You Miss Me”, both released a month prior, and the title track. “Way Back”, her collaborative single with Skrillex and Trippie Redd, was released in January 2023 and included on Skrillex’s album Don’t Get Too Close the following month. In February 2023, she released a remix of “Boy’s a Liar”, “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2”, with American rapper Ice Spice. After becoming popular on TikTok, the remix debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first song to appear on the chart, and later peaked at number three. It also peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, where it became her highest-charting single. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), marking her first RIAA certification, and was nominated for two BET Awards, an MTV EMA, and a Streamy Award. “Angel”, her addition to the soundtrack for the Greta Gerwig–directed 2023 film Barbie, was released as a single in June 2023. Her collaborative single “Turn Your Phone Off” with Destroy Lonely was released in July 2023, and she was featured alongside Hyunjin of the K-pop group Stray Kids on a remix of the Troye Sivan song “Rush” in August 2023. // In October 2023, PinkPantheress announced her debut album, Heaven Knows, which was released on 10 November 2023. “Mosquito”, the album’s lead single, was released in September, followed by the singles “Capable of Love” and “Nice to Meet You” in October and November, respectively. That same month, she announced the Capable of Love Tour for the UK and Europe, spanning from February to April 2024, with North American dates added later in November. The North American leg was produced by Live Nation. In February 2024, she was honored as Producer of the Year by Billboard Women in Music. She performed as an opener on Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour in the summer of 2024 until announcing the cancellation of all of her remaining live performances in August of that year, citing health reasons. She was featured on a remix of K-pop group Le Sserafim’s song “Crazy” released in September 2024. / In January 2025, PinkPantheress was featured on Shygirl’s single “True Religion” alongside Isabella Lovestory. Her first solo single of 2025, “Tonight”, was released in April with a Regency–inspired music video. Her second mixtape, Fancy That, was released on May 9, 2025, with “Tonight” as its lead single. She was featured on Danny L Harle’s song “Starlight” released July 8, 2025 and was featured on Yves’s single “Soap” which released on August 7, 2025. On October 10, 2025, she released the remix mixtape Fancy Some More?, which features several artists. In November 2025, she was announced to be nominated for the Grammy Awards for Best Dance Pop Recording for “Illegal” and Best Dance Electronic Album for Fancy That. That same month, she appeared on Benee’s sophomore album Ur an Angel I’m Just Particles as a ‘secret feature’ on “Princess”, which she also helped write. It was announced by FKA Twigs that PinkPantheress would be featured in her album Eusexua Afterglow as a collaboration for ‘Wild and Alone’, which released on November 14, 2025. // PinkPantheress has called Paramore lead vocalist Hayley Williams (pictured) a “big influence” on her music and stated that she is “doing music because of [Williams]”. //PinkPantheress’s stage name was taken from her TikTok account of the same name, which was inspired by a question from the game show The Chase that asked “What is a female panther called?” and by The Pink Panther film series. PinkPantheress has listed Imogen Heap, Lily Allen, Kelela, and Kate Nash as her biggest influences, alongside other artists such as My Chemical Romance, Just Jack, Michael Jackson, Kaytranada and Frank Ocean. She has also cited K-pop songs, Blink-182, Good Charlotte, Green Day, early Panic! at the Disco, Linkin Park, and Frou Frou as inspirations for her melodies and beat choices. She has called Hayley Williams a “big influence” on her as a performer and said that she first wanted to become a professional musician when she was 14 years old after seeing Williams perform as part of Paramore during Reading Festival and that she is “doing music because of [Williams]”. She has also stated that she was inspired by an interview with Doja Cat to pursue music as a career, and was inspired to post her songs on TikTok by Lil Nas X. // PinkPantheress’s music has been described as R&B, bedroom pop, pop, dance, alt-pop, drum and bass, 2-step, jungle, and hyperpop, and often uses samples of other songs, such as dance music from the 1990s and 2000s and jungle, funk, UK garage, and pop songs. PinkPantheress uses topline writing to write her songs, which are frequently self-produced and short in length. She has attributed the shorter length of her songs, which customarily range from two to three minutes long, to her belief that a song does not need to be longer than two minutes and thirty seconds or to have a bridge, a repeated verse, or an extended outro. //Walker has discussed experiencing body dysmorphia from a young age. She also suffers from gradual hearing loss, which initially began as tinnitus, from exposure to loud music and microphone feedback. She reported being 80% deaf in her right ear in 2022 and has described voices as sounding “mostly like bass”. // On 22 July 2025, Walker received an honorary doctorate in Music from the University of Kent.]

10:44

9. Oklou – “family and friends”
   from: choke enough / True Panther – Virgin Records / March 14, 2025
   [Marylou Vanina Mayniel was born April 23, 1993, she is better known by her stage name Oklou (pronounced “Okay Lou”. Her debut mixtape Galore was released in 2020, which was followed up by her debut album Choke Enough in 2025.// Marylou Mayniel was born in Poitiers, France. Mayniel grew up in the countryside of western France with her two parents and an older brother. // She was classically trained in piano and cello at a conservatory school and sang in choirs as a child. Her brother would bring home CDs from the local library, exposing her to artists such as Dälek. The first album she bought was by Gorillaz. // Mayniel began recording and uploading music online in 2013. She self-released her debut EP, Avril, in June 2014, under the moniker Loumar. // She moved to Paris in 2015, and self-released her first Oklou EP, First Tape, alongside a limited run of cassettes. After meeting in late 2015, Mayniel co-founded the female DJ collective TGAF (These Girls Are on Fiyah), alongside DJ Ouai, Miley Serious, and Carin Kelly. They would play weekly radio shows on French station PIIAF and live shows around Paris. The group gained a notable following in its formative years, appearing in many online publication features. TGAF disbanded in July 2018. She attended a Red Bull Music Academy residency in Montreal in 2016, where she met Canadian musician and close collaborator Casey Manierka-Quaile. // Mayniel acted in the short film After School Knife Fight in 2017. The film received a festival release from 2017 to 2018. In December 2017, Mayniel released her collaborative EP with Casey MQ, titled For the Beasts. In early 2018, Mayniel became associated with record label and collective, NUXXE, and its co-founders, Irish-Chilean music producer Sega Bodega, British rapper Shygirl and French producer and performer Coucou Chloe. She released her third EP, The Rite of May, via the label in March of that year. Fact described the EP as “a deeply personal exploration of identity, intimacy and faith” set against “lush, experimental electronic production.” It featured collaborations with Sega Bodega, Rodaidh McDonald, Krampf and Bok Bok. Later that year, Mayniel and Krampf co-created the video game, Zone W/O People. It was made as a part of Red Bull Music Academy France’s 2018 Diggin’ in the Carts event. Mayniel also produced a soundtrack for the game, which she later released on a limited cassette.Mayniel also appeared on the late American rapper Chynna’s October 2018 single “Xternal Locus”. // Throughout 2019, Mayniel played at various festivals, such as Loom Festival and Pitchfork’s Paris Music Festival. She also released a single, titled “Forever”, via TaP Records in October. It was co-produced with Sega Bodega. // In January 2020, Mayniel released a collaborative single with French experimentalist Flavien Berger, titled “Toyota”, via Because Music. This was followed by another single in February, titled “entertnmnt”, which was co-produced with British producer Mura Masa, and another single in April, titled “SGSY” (standing for She’s Gonna Slaughter You). The singles were released via TaP Records and True Panther Sounds. //Mayniel announced her debut mixtape Galore in July 2020, sharing three tracks, one of which, “unearth me”, was accompanied by a music video. Another three tracks from the mixtape were released in August 2020, alongside a music video for the “god’s chariots” track. The full mixtape was released 24 September 2020, via Because Music, TaP Records and True Panther Sounds. The tape was made primarily in collaboration with Casey MQ, but also featured collaborations with Sega Bodega, Shygirl, PC Music’s A. G. Cook and EASYFUN, and GRADES. It also appeared on Gorilla vs. Bear, Rough Trade, and Dummy Mag’s 2020 year-end lists. Additionally in 2020, Mayniel released remixes of Caroline Polachek’s “Door”, and Dua Lipa’s “Fever”. //Mayniel produced a remix of French singer Pomme’s “les cours d’eau” track in January 2021, followed by a remix of Swedish rapper Bladee and producer Mechatok’s “Rainbow” track in March 2021. Mayniel appeared on A. G. Cook’s Apple vs. 7G remix album in May 2020, covering “Being Harsh” from Cook’s 2020 7G album. She also released remixes of her tracks “fall” and “galore”, by Cook. Mayniel toured across the US supporting Caroline Polachek from November through to December 2021. A remix EP celebrating Galore’s anniversary was released on 13 October, featuring an extended mix of “asturias”, and two remixes from Casey MQ, and Pomme & Danny L Harle. // She appeared on Flume’s Palaces album in May 2022, on the song “Highest Building”. She supported him on the album’s tour through the United States. //In 2024, Mayniel began talking about a potential new project, before releasing a first single “Family and Friends” in September 2024, accompanied by a music video directed by Gil Gharbi. This track also included additional vocals from Casey MQ, Cecile Believe and Zsela. In October 2024, a double A-side single containing the tracks “Obvious” and “Harvest Sky” was released, the latter of which featured Underscores, an American hyperpop artist. This was followed only a month later with a fourth promotional track titled “Choke Enough”, accompanied by an announcement for an album of the same name, later released on February 7, 2025, on the French label Because Music. The singles “Take Me by the Hand” featuring Bladee, and “Blade Bird” were also released to promote the album. // The album charted in France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. The album was also critically well-received, with Pitchfork writing “the French electronic pop darling presents a twilit fusion of Y2K worship, Baroque polyphony, and elegant, opaque ambiance”. Paste Magazine praised Mayniel for her use of field recordings and nostalgia-based musicianship. // In May 2025, she was announced as a supporting act on Lorde’s upcoming Ultrasound World Tour. // In July 2025, Mayniel released remixes of select tracks from the album, featuring remixes by Jamesjamesjames, Malibu, Nick Léon Broward, and Aaron Hibell // In October 2025, she released a song “Viscus” with British avant-pop musician FKA twigs. This was followed by an announcement of a deluxe edition of Choke Enough, titled Choke Enough: Expansion Pack. This version, released on October 30, 2025, featured four new songs, including “Viscus”. In October 2025, it was also announced via X that Mayniel is featured on the remix of British pop singer-songwriter PinkPantheress’s “Girl Like Me”, appearing the remix album Fancy Some More. // In a February 2025 interview with Stereogum, Mayniel revealed that she was pregnant. In June 2025, she announced the birth of her child.]

10:49

10. Cate Le Bon – “Heaven is No Feeling”
    from: Michelangelo is Dying / Mexican Summer / September 26, 2025
    [Michelangelo Dying is the seventh studio album by Welsh singer and producer Cate Le Bon. The album was made between Hydra, Cardiff, London, and Los Angeles. The album was finished in the Joshua Tree desert. // Le Bon revealed the album was meant to come out a year earlier in 2024, but felt too sick and exhausted after a break-up. Le Bon described the album as: “realising you’ve completely abandoned yourself in the throes of this all-encompassing love. The breakup was always like an amputation that you don’t really want, but you know will save you” // Cate Le Bon was born Cate Timothy on March 4,1983. She is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. She has released seven solo studio albums, and was one half of the experimental music duo Drinks (stylised in all caps) with her then-partner Tim Presley. Her stage name is a tribute to English musician Simon Le Bon. // As a record producer, Le Bon has worked with Deerhunter, John Grant, H. Hawkline, Kurt Vile, Josiah Steinbrick, Wilco, Devendra Banhart and Horsegirl. // Le Bon first gained public attention when she supported Gruff Rhys (of the Super Furry Animals) on his 2007 solo UK tour. She appeared as a guest vocalist on Neon Neon’s 2008 single “I Lust U” from their album Stainless Style. Under her original name she provided backing vocals on Richard James’s debut solo album The Seven Sleepers Den in 2006. She also appeared on his second solo album, We Went Riding, from 2010. // Her first official release was a Welsh language EP, Edrych yn Llygaid Ceffyl Benthyg (“Looking in the Eyes of a Borrowed Horse”, similar to the English expression “to look a gift horse in the mouth”), on Peski Records in 2008. She also self-released the double A-side debut single “No One Can Drag Me Down” / “Disappear” (described by Gruff Rhys as “Bobbie Gentry and Nico fight over a Casio keyboard; melody wins!”) on her website. Le Bon worked alongside Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci’s Megan Childs, who contributed violin, and Super Furry Animals and Thrills collaborator John Thomas, who added pedal steel. // Her debut album Me Oh My was released in 2009, followed by Cyrk and the Cyrk II EP in 2012. // In January 2013, Le Bon moved to Los Angeles to further her career in the US.[non-primary source needed] Her third album, Mug Museum, was released November 2013. It was produced by Noah Georgeson and Josiah Steinbrick in Los Angeles, and featured Stephen Black (bass) and Huw Evans (guitar). During that year, she provided guest vocals on two albums: the track “Slow Train” from Kevin Morby’s debut album Harlem River and “4 Lonely Roads” from Manic Street Preachers’s album Rewind the Film. // In 2015, Le Bon collaborated with Tim Presley as DRINKS and released the album Hermits on Holiday in August 2015. DRINKS released their second album Hippo Lite in April 2018. // Le Bon released her fourth studio album, Crab Day, on 15 April 2016 on Drag City to generally favourable reviews. The album was produced by Josiah Steinbrick and Noah Georgeson, and again featured Stephen Black (bass) and Huw Evans (guitar), with Stella Mozgawa (drums). She noted how the collaboration with Presley had made her realise “that I make music because I love to, not because I have to”. On tour she was supported by Black and Evans and on occasion by Steinbrick and Josh Klinghoffer, a five-piece that also performs instrumental improvisations under the name BANANA. // In January 2017, Le Bon released the four-track EP Rock Pool via Drag City. It includes her version of the track “I Just Want to Be Good” which she wrote for Sweet Baboo’s 2015 album The Boombox Ballads. In the same month Leaving Records released Live by BANANA, recorded live during the band’s 2016 tour and Le Bon remixed Eleanor Friedberger’s song “Are We Good?” from the album Rebound (2018). // In 2018, Le Bon signed with Brooklyn based record label Mexican Summer. That same year, she joined John Cale onstage at the Barbican Centre with the London Contemporary Orchestra. // Le Bon released her fifth studio album, Reward, via Mexican Summer on 24 May 2019. Reward was nominated for the Mercury Prize. It was followed by her sixth Le Bon began working on Pompeii during the first wave of the COVID-19. Her parents were council workers who met at the University of Newcastle, and soon moved into a farmhouse in Penboyr, where they eventually raised their three daughters.Le Bon had previously lived with her DRINKS collaborator and partner Tim Presley in Joshua Tree, California. She had also lived in Cardiff and Los Angeles.]

10:57

11. Mereba – “Counterfeit”
    from: The Breeze Grew a Fire / Secretly Canadian / February 14, 2025
    [Lives Outgrown is the debut solo studio album by English musician Beth Gibbons, released on 17 May 2024 through Domino Recording Company. The album was produced by Gibbons, James Ford and Lee Harris. It was preceded by the singles “Floating on a Moment”, “Reaching Out” and “Lost Changes”. // Gibbons wrote the album over a decade, with topics including “motherhood, anxiety, menopause, and mortality”. Gibbons said that the album was directly influenced by the deaths of family and friends over the preceding several years and she “realised what life was like with no hope” // eth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, who have released three albums. She released an album with Rustin Man, Out of Season, in 2002, and a recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2019. She released a solo album in 2024 titled Lives Outgrown. // Gibbons was born in Exeter, Devon, England and raised on a farm with three sisters. Her parents divorced when she was young. She attended St Katherine’s School in Pill, Somerset, in North Somerset. // At 22, she moved to Bath, then Bristol to pursue her singing career, where she met Geoff Barrow, her future collaborator in Portishead, on an Enterprise Allowance course in 1991. // With Adrian Utley, Gibbons and Barrow released the first Portishead album Dummy in 1994 and have produced two other studio albums, a live album, and various singles in the years since. // She has also collaborated on a separate project with former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb (Rustin Man). Before she joined Geoff Barrow in Portishead, she had auditioned for the singer’s slot in .O.rang, the group formed by Webb after Talk Talk’s late-Eighties departure from EMI, but Portishead’s sudden success pre-empted matters. In October 2002, they released the album Out of Season in the United Kingdom under the name Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man. The album peaked at number 28 in the UK Albums Chart. It was released in the United States a year later: while touring in North America, Variety favourably described her performance with Rustin as “Billie Holiday fronting Siouxsie and the Banshees”. // In June 2013, Gibbons announced plans for a new solo album with Domino Records. She contributed vocals to a cover of the song “Black Sabbath” with the British metal band Gonga, released on April 24, 2014. // In 2018, Gibbons contributed vocal performances, along with Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, to the Spill Festival held in Ipswich in an audio installation entitled ‘Clarion Calls’, which uses the voices of 100 women to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. // In 2014, Gibbons performed Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Górecki with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki. Gibbons sang in Polish. The performance was released in 2019; reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Jayson Greene wrote: “Part of the tension comes from hearing her untrained voice scale these rocky heights. Her vibrato, tight and trilling and barely controlled, sounds an awful lot like someone fighting off a panic attack. This would get her dismissed from a traditional opera audition, probably, but it is magnificently effective at sending raw shudders through what can be a pretty well-worn work.” In 2022, Gibbons featured on the track “Mother I Sober” from Kendrick Lamar’s album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. For her collaboration in the album she received a nomination for Album of the Year at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards as a featured artist and songwriter. On February 7, 2024, Gibbons announced the release of her first solo studio album in over 20 years. The album, titled Lives Outgrown, was released May 17, 2024. It was announced alongside a single titled “Floating on a Moment”, with its second single “Reaching Out” being released later that year on 10 April. // She has cited Nina Simone, Bono of U2 for his performance on The Joshua Tree, Otis Redding and Jimmy Cliff as musical inspirations. She has covered Janis Joplin songs and enjoys the music of Janis Ian.]

11:00 – Station ID

11:00 – Interview with Chris Haghirian

Chris Haghirian shares his passion for the KC music community as host of Eight One Sixty, heard Tuesday nights at 6:00 pm, on 90.9 The Bridge, just a few clicks up the dial. Chris worked for The KC Star for over 20 years. Chris organizes music for, Boulevardia, The Plaza Art Fair., and many other musical venues and events. With Nathan Reusch of The Record Machine, Chris created The Middle of The Map Fest.

Chris Haghirian thanks for being with us on WMM.

Chris Haghirian’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2025

5. TheBabeGabe X The Human – HONEYPOP: RELOADED / Seven Rings Media / 10/8/25

4. Lnrd Dstroy x Chromadadata – Enter The ScribbleVerse / A Space Suit Production / June 26, 2025

3. HAILES – FIVE (EP) / Magic Mango Music / September 29, 2025

2. Land Lion – Hymns For End Times / Drag City Records / November 5, 2025

1. Katy Guillen & The Drive – MAKE THAT SOUND / Are and Be Recordings / 10/17/25

11:03

2. TheBabeGabe X The Human – “Honeypop (clean edit)”
   from: HONEYPOP: RELOADED / Seven Rings Media / August 8, 2025 HONEYPOP (3/5/2025)
   [Production by The Human // After years of being the girl in the band, TheBabeGabe is stepping out, and standing ten toes down. As she dives into her solo career, Gabe brings the same sugary raps and addicting energy that she did as 1/3 of the alt-rap trio BLACKSTARKIDS. This time though, she’s telling her story, and forging a fresh start. The debut mixtape HONEY POP introduces the world to a young black girl from Kansas City that’s hungry for better things for herself and everyone who looks like her. Her energy is infectious, and you won’t want to be the one standing in her way, which becomes clear from the rowdy hook of the project’s lead single PSA. “It’s in my DNA, killing shit like every day, take this as a PSA, don’t give a fuck ‘bout what you say.” // With BLACKSTARKIDS, Gabe gained experience crushing a stage, opening on tour with The 1975, beabadoobee, Glass Animals, & more. That confidence shines through on braggadocios tracks like Only See Me, Pulse, and Pep Rally where she raps, “hoe shut the fuck up when I’m talking, got a pretty face but this mouth repulsive.” Pulling inspiration from future peers like Doja Cat & Tyler, The Creator, Gabe is quick to prove she isn’t restricted to one sound. There’s no shortage of variety with sticky hooks, soulful ballads, Janelle Monáe -esque pop hits, somber reflective cuts, and boomy west-coast kickbacks. // No song boasts this genre-bending ability better than the double track RIOT GRRL//DRAMA QUEEN. Starting with an inspirational pop-punk banger that could make any Olivia Rodrigo fan nod in approval, it soon turns to the emotional DRAMA QUEEN, seeing Gabe grapple with difficult changes and struggle to find the best way forward. Listening to Gabe can often feel like hanging with your bestie in that you’re getting both the yap sessions about the everyday as well as the venting about life’s drama and all its uncertainties. // These confessions, boasts, hooks, croons, screams, beats, and sounds all come together to create an extraordinary portrait of a young artist figuring it out. It’s an unfiltered showcase that sees Gabe pull back the curtain and step forward so you can meet her where she’s at. So when you listen, you’re seeing her for who she really is. And for many, that’s someone you can see yourself in. That’s TheBabeGabe. // TheBabeGabe was one-third of the Kansas City based BLACKSTARKIDZ Gen-Z upstarts BLACKSTARKIDS have released their sixth studio album Saturn Dayz on Sept. 20, 2024 through Dirty Hit Records and immediately followed with an 8-track 7th studio album HEAVEN ON URF, on Oct. 25, 2024 on Dirty Hit Records. Music writer Bill Brownlee talked with us about how the band created a double album, but the record company decided to release as two separate albums. The music from both albums relate to each other. Before the release of Saturn Dayz the band released their single and video “SOULMATEZ!” on August 30, 2024. “SOULMATEZ!,” is a magnetic, blissed-out bop that brings together pop, indie, and alt-rap, reminiscent of Dev Hynes-era Solange mixed with De La Soul. // The follow up to BLACKSTARKIDS’ acclaimed 2022 album CYBERKISS* which featured standout singles “CYBERKISS 2 U* ft. beabadoobee” and “SEX APPEAL,” SATURN DAYZ is an otherworldly, genre-crossing testament to their unrelenting artistry and is their most impressive work to date. PRESS HERE to pre-save SATURN DAYZ. // Putting out music at a prolific rate and making waves for their formidable songwriting and producing talents, as well as their endless energy and truly limitless sound, BLACKSTARKIDS have received critical acclaim from New York Times, MTV, UPROXX, Billboard, Alternative Press, SPIN, Ones To Watch, Rolling Stone France, The Line Of Best Fit, DIY, Coup De Main, and more. Blending garage rock with synth-punk and hip-hop to usher in a new surge of indie, such as on their beloved album Puppies Forever which features anthemic singles “ALL COPS ARE BASTARDS,” “JUNO,” and “FIGHT CLUB,” BLACKSTARKIDS are well on their way to indie stardom and have previously toured with the likes of The 1975, COIN, Glass Animals, beabadoobee, Christian Leave, GroupLove. // Incorporating each member’s wide-ranging influences into their blissful DIY sound, such as Toro Y Moi, NERD*, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Outkast, Odd Future, and A Tribe Called Quest, BLACKSTARKIDS first captivated the internet with their “black coming of age trilogy” of projects Let’s Play Sports, Surf, and Whatever, Man that feature critically acclaimed singles including “BRITNEY BITCH” and “FRANKIE MUNIZ.” // Blackstarkids are phenomenon who came out of KC in 2020 became the soundtrack for the summer. Members include: TheBabeGabe, Deiondre, and TyFaizon (of the Drop Dead XX collective). The members have known each other since high school in Raytown, Missouri. Members met at Raytown South High School and formed the band in 2019. The group released its first album, Let’s Play Sports, on August 1, 2019. Blackstarkids then released their second album SURF through their own label Bedroom Records on February 28, 2020. Blackstarkids caught the attention of The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy and were then signed to The 1975’s management company and UK-based label Dirty Hit Records. They were featured in Clash Magazine. Blackstarkids then released, Surf Basement Demos on Dirty Hit Records on March 5, 2020. On Oct. 29, 2020, Blackstarkids released Whatever, Man on Dirty Hit Records, their third album release of 2020. Gabe, of Blackstarkids recently described the KC Music community to an interviewer, “The music scene here is really nice. There are a lot of bands who are super talented and do all types of genres. The jazz music here is really great as well. KC is honestly a hidden gem when it comes to music. I feel like you can meet an artist anywhere and anyplace in this city.” Ty wrote, “The KC scene is great, the community here is so supportive and genuine. This is a really prideful city here and I think they’re finally getting the musicians they deserve.”]

11:08

13. Lnrd Dstroy x Chromadadata – “Peaced Out ft. Aaron Alexander, Octavio Santos, Tina Sol (radio edit)”
    from: Enter The ScribbleVerse / A Space Suit Production / June 26, 2025
    [Produced by Lnrd Dstroy & Chromadadata // “What began as a short film about the artist Scribe has grown into a multidimensional exploration of the creative experience. Music, a vital thread in that journey, took center stage as Leonard DStroy and Chromadadata expanded their original film score into a full sonic odyssey—one that drifts from wide open fields to the far reaches of space. // This project is more than a soundtrack—it’s a mood, a companion for your road trips, your creative deep dives, your moments of stillness. Full of chill-out vibes and soul-nourishing lyrics, it invites you to reflect: What fuels your own creative path? // So grab your headphones, crank the stereo, and Enter the Scribbleverse.” -Scribe // Track 05 features Aaron Alexander & Ubi on vocals. Track 07 features Peter Schlamb on Vibraphone. Track 11 features Dom Sanders on Bass. Track 14 features Ubi on vocals. Track 17 features Aaron Alexander on vocals, Octavio Santos on Trumpet/ Arrangement, and Tina Sol on Strings. // Mixed/ Mastered/ Executive Produced by Lnrd Dstroy. Cover Art by Scribe. A Space Suit Production.]

11:13

14. HAILES – “Chess (radio edit)”
    from: FIVE (EP) / Magic Mango Music / September 29, 2025
    [Debut EP from KC based R&B artist HAILES. After graduating from Blue Valley West High School and briefly attending college, Hailes spent two years in the U.S. tour of The Wizard of Oz before moving to New York in 2017 to continue her acting career. COVID-19 shut down theatre and HAILES turned her energies toward writing music. When Broadway came back to life, HAILES returned to theatre and joined the Hadestown Broadway Tour for three years. While on tour Hailes continued writing music. // The music on her debut EP FIVE came from her time attending a writing camp in Austin, Texas. // HAILES told Cameron Castaldi of KJHK “On the road, I always had my recording equipment, so in every hotel that we got to, I would set up my little studio and write sporadically throughout the week.” // After living in New York City for the last seven years, R&B artist, songwriter, and actress Hailes is back home in Kansas City. She had her first concert in Kansas City on August 5, 2025 at The Blue Room. / More info at:www.hailes.komi.io/.]

11:17

15. Land Lion – “Motion Smoothing”
    from: Hymns For End Times / Drag City Records / November 5, 2025
    [Land Lion band make happy songs about sad things. This KC-based indie rock collective led by Ben Wendt and backed by a revolving all-star supporting cast of musicians draws inspiration from Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire, and Bruce Springsteen. Music For End Times is the band’s debut album release. Land Lion is: Ben Wendt on lead vocals & guitar; Matt Jack on drums, Iggy Chamon on bass; Carlos Chamon on keyboards; Grant Baker on lead guitar; Parker Mason on rhythm guitar & backing vocals; Kirsten Krier on trombone; Caitlyn Jacobs on saxophone, Michael Cervantes on trumpet; and Schuyler Minor on vocals. Fronted by primary songwriter and lead vocalist Ben Wendt, Land Lion crafts songs that evoke both introspection and celebration, inviting listeners into a world of personal storytelling and wide-reaching soundscapes. For fans of Bruce Springsteen, Bleachers, and The Muppets, Land Lion is a dynamic project blending indie rock, arena rock, folk, and Americana, known for its heartfelt lyrics, vibrant instrumentation, and powerful rhythms accompanied by an amazing horn section. Last year Land Lion released three singles: “Ribs” on Jan. 26, “Honey Do” on June 9, and “Townie Song” on July 25, 2024. Land Lion played Boulevardia June 14, 2025.]

[Land Lion play a double album release show on Saturday, December 13, at 8:00pm at The RINO, 314 Armour Rd, North Kansas City with Jack Summers, and with special guest Jeremy Nathan.]

11:24

16. Katy Guillen & The Drive – “Outcome”
    from: MAKE THAT SOUND / Are and Be Recordings / October 17, 2025
    [Katy Guillen & The Drive released the singles: “What If: on July 25, and “Outcome” on August 22, 2025) from the band’s upcoming album.// MAKE THAT SOUND was Produced by Megan McCormick, Engineered & Mixed by Brandon Bell with Annie Petrik, Mastered by Kim Rosen. Katy Guillen on vocals & guitar; Stephanie Williams on drums & percussion; Megan McCormick on bass, backing vocals, additional guitars & percussion; Erin Manning on Synthesizers; and Brandon Bell on Loops & programming. // Established in 2019, Katy Guillen & The Drive is an independent Indie Roots Rock band from Kansas City, Missouri, formed by partners Katy Guillen (Vocals, Guitar) and Stephanie Williams (Drums). The band’s 2022 debut album Another One Gained, produced by Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Heartless Bastards), “hit the sweet spot with a mix of spiky garage rock and soulful country torch songs,” lauds Uncut Magazine. Under The Radar Magazine declares the duo “evokes a timeless indie rock sound” and displays “effortless instrumental chemistry that gives both members a chance to shine.” Following this release, the band unleashed Another One Gained Deluxe featuring ‘Batallas,’ a highly anticipated Spanish version of the fan-favorite ‘Battles,’ which spotlighted special guest Latin Grammy winner Mireya Ramos (Flor De Toloache) on violin and backing vocals. // Katy Guillen & The Drive prides itself on fostering empowered spaces for women in music both onstage and off, and performances showcase the group’s signature all-female powerhouse formation, technical prowess, and electrifying chemistry. This core value heavily influenced the band’s second full-length effort Make That Sound. Guillen admits, “Having never worked with a woman in the studio, that’s something we wanted to change on this record. We wanted more female energy, ideas, and power to influence this album.” With this goal in mind, the band was eventually led to Producer Megan McCormick (Allison Russell, Amythyst Kiah). As a result of their fast friendship and facile chemistry, the duo embraced their newfound creative trust in this relationship and ran with it. Within a matter of a few days, the three collaborated on everything from songwriting and arrangements to live tracking and overdubs, resulting in a liberated, emboldened, and nuanced new record. Williams shares, “The recording process was dense and fast. It required being totally present, trusting our initial instincts, and pushing into some uncharted territory at times.” Guillen speaks to the inspiration behind the songs and process, “In creating this album I felt particularly inspired by the countless strong and important women in my life, the love that I’ve grown with my partner, and the strength I’ve gained from digging inward through challenging times.” Make That Sound is a celebration of self-empowerment, liberation, vulnerability, honesty, and love. In addition to McCormick, the band was fortunate to work with engineers Brandon Bell (Brandi Carlile, Joni Mitchell) and Annie Petrik on tracking and mixing, as well as mastering engineer Kim Rosen (Bonnie Raitt, Allison Russell). The band will partner with Nashville-based indie label and artist collective Are & Be Recordings for the release.]

[Katy Guillen & The Drive set out for a 32 city tour September 19 through November 23, 2025 with a show at Knuckleheads on Friday, November 14.]

11:28 – Underwriting

Fally Afani’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2025

5. Jass – “Autumn inThe City”- Single / Manor Records / September 22, 2025

4. Discotek Mama – “Last Call” – Single / turnpyke / February 14, 2025

3. Suzannah Johannes – Kansas City: Hanz Bronze Boulevard / Suzannah Johannes / August 29, 2025

2. Corners of the Sky – Electrify Your Mind – EP / COTS / February 7, 2025

11:30

17. Jass – “Autumn in The City”
    from: “Autumn in The City” – Single / Jass / September 22, 2025
    [This release captured 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” is close to my heart—paying homage to my hometown and the fall season that inspires so much love and reflection.” Jass is currently working with her band Jass and the ConrtraBand. Jass is Jasmine “Jass” Couch. // 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. // 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.” // Jass has opened for Thundercat sat GRINDERS, headlined a show at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, and she opened up for The New Respects at The Uptown, and sang the Negro National Anthem at BLAQUE to School Night at the KC Monarchs game.More info at: http://www.jassrcouch.com]

10:34 – Interview with Fally Afani

Fally Afani is an award-winning journalist with a career spanning nearly three decades in media. She has worked extensively in radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and more. Fally’s work has been featured in magazines, newspapers, and television stations across Kansas. She has received several Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards as well as an Edward R. Murrow Award for her online work in journalism. Fally is also a two-time recipient of the Rocket Grant Award, which helped develop live music and cultural events for her community, including a Community Dabke Dance Circle and Lawrence PRIDE. Currently, she resides in Lawrence, Kansas, where she focuses on music journalism, live events, and photography. Info at: http://www.iheartlocalmusic.com

Fally Afani, Thank you for being with us in WMM. We started with Jass

11:37

18. Discotek Mama – “Last Call”
    from: “Last Call” – Single / turnpyke / February 14, 2025
    [From Fally Afaani and I Heart Local Music, from February 13, 2025: We love a good college town rock band, and Discotek Mama is checking all our boxes. // Their new single, “Last Call,” doesn’t hold back. Exploding vocals, racing guitar work, and a drummer that never slows down. WE. ARE. HERE. FOR. IT. Though the band is only a couple of years old, that calculates to about triple in Lawrence years, so we’ll consider them an established band. Isaac Castro and Brady Foltz really hold the band together with their guitar work. Backed by Jack Lague on bass and Jacob Smith on drums, they’ve become a local favorite here. It’s nice to see alternative rock back in the ranks here. Discotek Mama is a band you can thrash to and keep a party going all night, whether it’s in the basement of a house show or the stage at a downtown venue.]

11:42

19. Suzannah Johannes – “Bordeaux Girl”
    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: http://www.suzannahjohannes.com. ]

11:47

20. Corners of the Sky – “Electrify Your Mind”
    from: Electrify Your Mind – EP / COTS / February 7, 2025
    [Debut EP from Kansas City based psychedelic garage rock from Jason Perez on guitar, Jake Sell on bass, Kyle Dirck on drums & Tamborine, Jason Perez on vocals. Mixed and Mastered by Jason Perez]

11:54

21. VCMN – “Shoot Your Shot”
    from: Shoot Your Shot – Single / VCMN Music / May 9, 2025
    [VCMN released the single “Fab” on July 26, 2024. VCMN release the single, “Bounce (Remix) [feat. Amira Wang & The Epitome on August 11, 2023. VCMN released their debut album entitled “The VCMN Project” on Friday, May 13, 2022. VCMN is an American singer-songwriter duo who’s artistry is shaped by way of edgy, alternative R&B, Pop, and Rock. Victoria and Emmanuel “Manny” Cable—aka the “Vic” and “Man” of VCMN. Victoria grew up in the Bethel International Center of Worship church in Kansas City, Kansas, where her father, Cleveland Drone, was a pastor. From the ages of 10-19, she toured across the country singing gospel music. Manny came to performance via a different path: ballet and modern dance. They’ve been working it out with the rhythms and the rhymes for years now. VCMN Project was first birthed into existence when they were still dating; the album was finished after they were married. It all began on their living room sofa. The VCMN Project is just as much a party as it is a beautifully written love story. The 10-track “The VCMN Project” encompasses a song from every top 40 music genre. R&B, Rap, Pop, Alternative Rock, Ballad, Country, Hip Hop, and Dance Pop. VCMN played Lawrence Gay Pride, presented by I Heart Local Music. Fri. June 24, 2022 at Lucia, 1016 Mass with Cuee & Friends. INFOt: http://www.vcmnofficial.com%5D

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

NEXT WEEK on Wednesday, December 3 We bring you WMM’s Favorite Singles of 2025, and in our second hour we welcome Michelle Bacon, Content Manager at 90.9 The Bridge, will share her Favorite Musical Recordings of 2024.

IN TWO WEEKS: WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2025. Tune into Wednesday MidDay Medley throughout December for our 4-week series on December 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st. This is our celebration of the year in music based on the playlists of this little ole radio show. In 2025 we’ve played hundreds of New & MidCoastal Releases. We conducted over 175 interviews with 159 special guests.

The text in this playlist is a collage and “cut & paste” of information from artist’s websites, press releases, event info, wikipedia, social media pages, BandCamp, liner notes, and where noted.

You can find our playlists at: http://www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org & http://www.kkfi.org
http://www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
http://www.instagram.wednesday_midday_medley
http://www.bandcamp.com/wednesdaymiddaymedley

Thank you to KKFI Staff: Executive Director – Bess Wallerstein Huff, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers, Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, and Shaina Littler – Office Manager Book Keeper

This radio station is more than the individual hosts of each individual radio show. It is a collective spirit of hundreds of people, setting aside ego, to work for the greater good of community building and the goal of keeping our airwaves, non-commercial, and open! Thank you to programmers who create content for over 85 locally produced radio shows & volunteers who made extra effort to keep our station alive.

Thanks for listening

Show #1123