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 1, 2025

New & MidCoastal Releases + Beth Watts Nelson & Brandon Day + Whim Production’s “Boys in the Band”

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. Julia Othmer – “White Rabbit”
   from: White Rabbit – Single / Fricken’ Awesome Records / August 29, 2021 (Unreleased)
   [Recorded Live at Kulak’s in North Hollywood with Andy Sanesi (Missing Persons, Eminem, Arturo Sandoval) on drums, Jamie Kime (Dr. John, Zappa Plays Zappa) on guitar, and Chris Roy (Nancy Sinatra, Don Randi) on bass. // On February 27, 2024 Julia Othmer and James T Lundie released the single “Slip Away” from THE FORCEFIELDS, their new musical project, a new “cosmosonic” collaboration between Julia Othmer and James T Lundie AKA Aayama & Max Forcefield. The Forcefields debut EP, BRIDGE, will be released later in 2024. It is a sonic bridge between their previous work together and this new trajectory. Reinterpreting and distilling the essence of two of Julia’s previous songs, BRIDGE is a rhythmic, multi-layered and richly textured exploration of letting go and positive self realization. // Julia released SEEDS VOLUME 2, her 4th album with live recordings from her 30-day “Songs of September Project”, where Julia covered songs of protest & hope, to inspire people to vote. From those songs Julia’s fans democratically selected their favorite tracks to be released together on “Seeds.” In 2020 Julia released SEEDS VOLUME 1. Julia Othmer released “Sound,” on April 12, 2019, her second album, that took 3 years to complete, and was produced with James Lundie, who also married Julia in January of 2016, during the completion of the record. Julia Othmer, is a graduate of Park Hill High School. Julia moved to Los Angeles in 2006 to record her 1st album, OASIS MOTEL. More info at: http://www.juliaothmer.com.]

3. THIMASTR – “Elliptical”
   from: Muscle Memories / High Dive Records / September 26, 2025
   [From Lawrence, KS. Thimastr is bringing fabulous tone to thighs and songcraft since just now. Music that summons nostalgia for the chill vibes and warm tanning booths of Spring Break. Resurrecting the song-writing demons that have long haunted Maxfield Yoder (Dean Monkey & the Dropouts, Plains), Thimastr truly is garage pop for cool grandparents. Now you too can have shapely thighs in minutes a day. No master but Thimastr includes: Max Yoder on voice & guitar; Jen Graham on drums; Jordan Swartzendruber on vocal & tambo; Ellen L’Esperance on vocals & shakers; Renee Huey –on bass; and J. Little on guitar. The new album was Mixed by Robert Pope. Tracked & Mastered by Caufield Schnug. Artwork by Amber Hansen
   Graphic designer Tyler Davis. // THIMASTR released their debut album, Between The Knees And Squeeze on High Dive Records on January 10, 2020 with Maxfield Yoder on guitar & vocals, Max Lock on vocals, Max Smith on tambourine & vocals, Esteban Gomez –on bass, Jennifer Graham on drums, and Jake Little on guitar. Tracked, Mixed and Mastered by Ross Williams and written by Thighmaster. Now you too can have shapely thighs in minutes a day.]

4. Jeff Tweedy – “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter”
   from: Twilight Override / dBpm Records / September 26, 2025
   [Twilight Override is the fifth solo studio album by Jeff Tweedy. It is a triple album featuring 30 songs. It follows Tweedy’s 2020 album, Love Is the King. It was recorded at his Chicago studio, the Loft. It features contributions from James Elkington, Finom’s Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart, and Liam Kazar, along with Tweedy’s sons, Spencer and Sammy. Tweedy’s decision to record a triple album was first inspired after he listened to The Clash’s Sandinista! all the way through during a road trip with his two sons. // In the album’s press release, Tweedy expressed being overwhelmed by the “bottomless basket of rock bottom” of current social conditions, what he described as the “sense of decline” in the “twilight of an empire”. He, however, concluded that he was unsure what exactly was “squeezing this ennui into [his] day”, and described the album as his “effort to overwhelm it right back”. He further credited his recent prolific output to his belief that creativity aligns oneself against destruction, consuming the “darkness”. // Twilight Override was officially announced on July 15, 2025. Four singles were released the same day: “One Tiny Flower”, “Out in the Dark”, and “Stray Cats in Spain”, and “Enough”. The album is scheduled to be released on September 26, 2025, through dBpm Records. “Feel Free” was released on August 19, 2025, and “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter” was released on September 12, 2025. // Following the remaining dates on Wilco’s summer 2025 tour, Tweedy will support the album with “a full-band tour” of North America in October and November 2025, followed by a tour of Europe in February 2026. // Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, singer songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, began his music career in high school with his band The Plebes along with Jay Farrar, also in the band. The Plebes later became the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. // After Uncle Tupelo broke up Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. The latter received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005. // During his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums including four with Uncle Tupelo, twelve with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg. // Tweedy was born in Belleville on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died August 4, 2017) worked for Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis; JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy grew up with three siblings, older brother Greg Tweedy (he died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll. // Tweedy’s mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he did not know how to play. // When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody “called him out” on the lie. On an appearance of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he remembered attending an X concert as a youngster in St. Louis. The Replacements opened, and Paul Westerberg, their guitarist and vocalist, fell off the stage while performing. Tweedy recalls thinking “That looks like fun!” // In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar during an English class at Belleville Township High School West.  All of the members of Farrar’s family enjoyed playing music; he already knew rock and roll music very well. By that time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols. Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.]

[Jeff Tweedy plays Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas on November 8, 2025]

5. Shy Boys – “Upperclassmen”
   from: “Upperclassmen” – Single / Polyvinyl Record Co. / September 16, 2025
   [Written by Collin Rausch. Engineered by Ross Brown. Mixed by Ross Brown. Mastered by Mike Nolte
   Recorded in Kansas City, KS.With additional vocals by Sadie Rausch. From Polyvinyl Record Co. “The energetic single, “Upperclassmen,” is a freewheeling anthem for the underdog that rides high upon bright jangle-pop verses, and charming vocal harmonies led by the commanding falsetto of singer / guitarist Collin Rausch. // Capturing Shy Boys’ ever so gentle punk proclivities, “Upperclassmen” is charged with nimble guitars that evoke the early 80s spirit of South Bay SST bands like Minutemen and Descendents. // Meanwhile, Kansas City artist Diyana Shipp’s beautifully detailed cover illustration of two leaping ‘letter-jacket jocks’ (who will undoubtedly “kick your ass”) calls to mind the iconic pen and ink contrast work of Raymond Pettibon. // Saved by the bell, yet again, “Upperclassmen” gets in and out quicker than you can make it to homeroom. “ // Shy Boys line-up consists of brothers Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. Members of Shy Boys represent the bands: The ACBs, Ghosty, The I’ms, Fullbloods , and Koney. The group formed shortly after Collin Rausch, Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin became roommates in 2012. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were already band mates in the indie-pop band The ACBs and Collin had been playing for years in the Kansas City area in various bands. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. Soon the band became a 5-piece. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records. The album received generally positive reviews and the single “Bully Fight” was featured on Spin.com. In June 2014 the band recorded and released two more singles and one of them, “Life Is Peachy,” was featured on Stereogum. On April 4th, 2018, it was announced that the band had signed to Polyvinyl Record Co. Shy Boys release Bell House on Polyvinyl Records on August 3, 2018. Shy Boys released their third album Talk Loud on Polyvinyl Record Co. on September 25, 2020. More info at: http://www.shyboys.com]

Shy Boys / The ACBs / Ghosty / The I’ms / Fullbloods / Koney – Discography

The ACB’s / The ACB’s / July 10, 2007
[Debut from KC based 4-piece with Konnor Ervin on lead vocals, Bryan McGuire on bass, Matt Saladino on guitar, Corey Egan on drums & vocals. Written by, and arranged by Konnor Ervin. Produced by Tim Suttle. Recorded & mixed at Underdog Studio in Desoto, KS. Mastered at Euphonic Masters in Memphis, TN.]

The Abracadabras – Be Still, Be Cool / The Abracadabras / January 1, 2008
[5-piece KC band formed in the spring of 2007, with Jocelyn Olivia (John) Nixon on keyboards & vocals, Travis Mckenzie on lead guitar, Bobby (Wayne Hutcherson) Topaz on guitar & vocals, Collin Rausch on bass & vocals, and Kyle Rausch on drums & vocals.]

The ACBs – Stona Rosa / The ACBs / January 1, 2011
[After half of the band left to move to LA, Konnor Ervin and Bryan McGuire got help from: Andrew Connor of Ghosty, and Beau Bruns of Cowboy Indian Bear. All songs written by, and arranged, lead vocals & guitar by Konnor Ervin. Mike Nolte on bass, Bryan McGuire on bass & vocals, Andrew Connor on guitar & vocals, Beau Brus on drums. Kyle Rausch on vocals. Produced by Mike Nolte. Mastered by Roger Seibel Recorded at More Famouser Studios. Mixed at More Famouser Studios. Mastered at SAE Mastering.]

The I’ms – Second MIXES / Independent / 2011
[Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch. Kyle Rausch also plays with The ACB’s. In 2011 on WMM we started playing songs from The I’ms, a duo made of up Collin and Kyle, who posted 6 of their self recorded songs on their facebook page. We included this informal release in our Top Ten of The 111 Best Recordings of 2011. 3 of the songs from The I’ms ended up being rerecorded for Shy Boys.]

Ghosty – GHOSTY / More Famouser Records – High Dive Records / April 17, 2012
[3rd full length release from Lawrence and KC area band. Ghosty is Andrew Connor, Mike Nolte an Bill Belzer who recorded their new album themselves over the last couple of years with help from David Wetzel, Josh Adams, Jake Blanton, Konnor Ervin, Ryan Connor, Kirsten Paludan, and Dan Talmadge. The new release was pressed on vinyl and available on LP and digital download. More info at ghostysounds.com.]

The ACBs – Little Leaves / High Dive Records / March 5, 2013
[Konnor Ervin on lead vocals, & guitar; Bryan McGuire on bass, Andrew Connor on guitar; Kyle Rausch on drums. Their songs have been featured on MTV’s The Inbetweeners, and Daytrotter. The title “Little Leaves” is a nod to Konnor Ervin’s landscaping day job. The lead single, “Ocean” was released as a free download in late 2012, prompting Popmatters to declare the ACBs as one of its “Best Hopes to Break Out in 2013.”]

Shy Boys – Shy Boys / High Dive Records / January 17, 2014
[Debut release. Brothers Collin Rausch, Kyle Rausch, and friend and roommate Konnor Ervin, are members of this KC based trio. Collin and Kyle’s father was a High School band director and music teacher. Konnor Ervin is the lead singer and songwriter of The ACBs, where Kyle also plays drums. The 10 song release had two singles premiered by Stereogum. “Keeps Me On My Toes” was a song Collin wrote in 15 minutes while his girlfriend was in the shower. The album was recorded at West End Studio, over two-weekends.]

Shy Boys – “Life is Peachy” – Single Release / High Dive Records / July 15, 2014
[Stereogum has premiered the band’s new song, “Life Is Peachy”, the A-side to their new 45 rpm, 7″ single coming from High Dive Records. Brothers Collin Rausch, Kyle Rausch, and roommate Konnor Ervin, are members of the Kansas City based band, Shy Boys. ]

Fullbloods – Mild West / High Dive Records / February 26, 2016
[Second full length release from Fullbloods: Ross Brown; Jared Tomasino; David Seume; and Bill Pollock. Recorded at Westend Studios in Kansas City, Kansas by Mike Nolte. Mixed by Fullbloods. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. (Starfucker, Of Montreal).]

Shy Boys – Bell House / Polyvinyl Record Co. / August 3, 2018
[Shy Boys line-up consists of brothers Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. The group formed shortly after the trio became roommates in 2012. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were already band mates in the indie-pop band The ACBs and Collin had been playing for years in the Kansas City area in various bands. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records. The album received generally positive reviews and the single “Bully Fight” was featured on Spin.com

Shy Boys – Dim The Light / Brick By Brick – Singles / Polyvinyl Record Co. / Feb. 15, 2019
[Single release follow up to band’s 2nd album and Polyvinyl debut, Bell House. Shy Boys line-up consists of brothers Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were already band mates in the indie-pop band The ACBs and Collin had been playing for years in the Kansas City area in various bands. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records. The album received generally positive reviews and the single “Bully Fight” was featured on Spin.com. In June 2014 the band recorded and released two more singles and one of them, “Life Is Peachy,” was featured on Stereogum. On April 4th, 2018, it was announced that the band had signed to Polyvinyl Record Co.]

Fullbloods – Soft and Virtual Touch / High Dive Records / April 3, 2020
[3rd full-length. All songs written, performed, recorded, mixed by Ross Brown in KCMO. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. Artwork by Nika Winn. Kyle Rausch played drums on 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, & 9, sang on 9. Bill Pollock Played drums on 3 & 5. David Seume played bass on 5. Jerad Tomasino played synth on 9 & 10, sang on 9. Jenni Kornfeld played cello on 4. Leslie Butsch played sax on 10. More info at: http://www.fullbloods.com.]

Shy Boys – Talk Loud / Polyvinyl Record Co. / September 25, 2020
[3rd album from the KC band Shy Boys. New music follow up to the Dim The Light / Brick By Brick, singles released February 15, 2019. Shy Boys released their 2nd album and Polyvinyl debut, Bell House on August 3, 2018. Shy Boys line-up consists of brothers Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were already band mates in the indie-pop band The ACBs and Collin had been playing for years in the Kansas City area in various bands including The Abracadabras, and The I’ms with brother Kyle. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records.]

Koney – Koney / High Dive Records / October 9, 2020

[from Lucas Wetzel’s Pitch Feature: “To bring the songs to life, Konnor enlisted brothers Collin and Kyle Rausch, his roommates in their ramshackle West Plaza house/practice space and his bandmates in chamber pop group Shy Boys. Ross Brown (of Fullbloods) played synthesizer and helped run sound, and multi-instrumentalist Kyle Little contributed on guitar. Fritz Hutchison and Andrew Connor also contributed on several tracks. Recording engineer Mike Nolte flew in from Portland to run the controls at Westend Recordings, and the group set up camp in the studio over a long snowy weekend in 2015.”]

Fullbloods – Playing It Safe / High Dive Records / March 7, 2025
[Fullbloods is a studio project of songwriter and producer Ross Brown (Shy Boys, Koney, Snacky). Live he is joined by his friends and the music is probably better that way. Thanks for listening! // Fullbloods released their 3rd full-length album Soft and Virtual Touch on High Dive Records on April 3, 2020. All songs written, performed, recorded, mixed by Ross Brown (℗© 2019 Bargain Hunt Music / ASCAP) in Kansas City, MO. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. Artwork by Nika Winn. Kyle Rausch played drums on 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9, sang on 9. Bill Pollock Played drums on 3 and 5. David Seume played bass on 5. Jerad Tomasino played synth on 9 and 10, sang on 9. Jenni Kornfeld played cello on 4. Leslie Butsch played sax on 10. More information at: http://www.fullbloods.com.]

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: http://www.geeseband.com]

7. Oddisee – “Tomorrow Can’t Be Borrowed”
   from: En Route – EP / Mello Music Group / May 30, 2025
   [Amir Mohamed el Khalifa (born on February 24, 1985), better known by his stage name Oddisee, is a rapper and record producer from Washington, D.C. He is one third of the hip hop trio Diamond District. He was also part of the Low Budget Crew. He is based in Brooklyn, New York. // Oddisee was born to an African-American mother and a Sudanese father, at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was raised by his stepmother (who was also Sudanese) and father. He grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, as well as Prince George’s County, Maryland. He moved back to Washington, D.C. after high school. // In 2010, Oddisee released Traveling Man on Mello Music Group. His Odd Spring mixtape was listed on the Washington Post’s Best Local Hip-Hop mixtapes of 2010. In 2011, Oddisee released Rock Creek Park, which was ranked as a Mixtape of the Week by Stereogum. Odd Seasons, a collection of EPs released throughout the previous 12 months, was also released that year. // In 2012, he released a studio album, People Hear What They See. The Beauty in All, his first instrumental release since Rock Creek Park, was released in 2013. In that year, he also released Tangible Dream. In 2015, he released The Good Fight. In 2016, he released an EP, Alwasta, and a mixtape, The Odd Tape. In 2017, he released a studio album, The Iceberg, as well as a live album, Beneath the Surface. // Oddisee was originally influenced by Black American jazz traditions and the Golden Age of hip-hop from his older American cousins. Oddisee was primarily influenced by Black American musical traditions. Growing up next door to Parliament Funkadelic’s bass player Gary Shider in P.G. County, Maryland left a deep musical impact on the young Oddisee. He is also influenced by gospel music and the vocal harmonizing traditions of his Black American heritage. In an interview with NPR, he explained why he was influenced by early East Coast emcees such as Eric B. & Rakim, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. He stated that these rappers don’t talk about drugs or murder, and he could relate more to their lyrics.]

Oddisee Discography

Studio albums
101 (2008)
Mental Liberation (2009)
New Money (2009) (with Trek Life)
In the Ruff (2009) (with YU and Uptown XO, as Diamond District)
Traveling Man (2010)
People Hear What They See (2012)
The Beauty in All (2013)
Tangible Dream (2013)
March on Washington (2014) (with YU and Uptown XO, as Diamond District)
The Good Fight (2015)
The Iceberg (2017)
To What End (2023)

Live albums
Beneath the Surface (2017)
Compilation albums
Odd Seasons (2011)

Mixtapes
Instrumental Mixtape Volume One (2005)
The Remixture Vol. 1 (2006)
Foot in the Door (2006)
Instrumental Mixtape Vol. 2 (2006)
Odd Summer (2009)
Odd Autumn (2009)
Odd Winter (2010)
Odd Spring (2010)
Rock Creek Park (2011)
The Odd Tape (2016)

EPs
Good Tree (2008)
Hear My Dear (2008)
Odd Renditions Vol. 001 (2012)
Alwasta (2016)
Odd Cure (2020)
And Yet Still (2024)
En Route (2025)

Singles
“Show You” / “Part of the World” (2006) (with Heralds of Change)
“Once Again” (2006)
“101” (2008)
“Slow It Down” (2012)
“Ain’t That Peculiar (Remix)” (2013)
“Lost Cause” (2014) (with YU and Uptown XO, as Diamond District)
“That’s Love” (2015)

[Oddisee plays recordBar 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO, on Friday, October 3, at 8:00pm with Approach and Negro Scoe]

8. Waxahatchee – “Right Back to It (feat. MJ Lenderman)”
   from: Tiger’s Blood / Merge Records / March 22, 2024
   [Kansas City based Katie Crutchfield’s southern roots are undeniable. The name of her solo musical project Waxahatchee comes from a creek not far from her childhood home in Alabama and seems to represent both where she came from and where she’s going. // Tiger’s Blood was produced by Brad Cook. Engineered & mixed by Gerardo “Jerry” Ordonez. Assistant engineering by Natalia Chernitsky. Mastered by Emily Lazar. Recorded and Mixed at Sonic Ranch Recording Studios. // On March 27, 2020 Waxahatchee released SAINT CLOUD which was in the TOP 20 of WMM’s 120 Best recordings of 2020. On Saint Cloud all songs were written by Katie Crutchfield. Recorded & mixed at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, TX & Long Pond in Stuyvesant, NY. Produced by Brad Cook. Engineered by Jerry Ordonez. Additional engineering by Jon Low. Mixed by Jon Low. Mastered by Brent Lambert at The Kitchen. KATIE CRUTCHFIELD on vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, keys; BRAD COOK on bass, acoustic guitar, piano, keys, synth; BOBBY COLOMBO on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keys; BILL LENNOX on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keys, percussion; NICK KINSEY on drums, percussion; JOSH KAUFMAN on electric guitars, piano, organ, percussion. More info at: http://www.waxahatchee.com.] [Waxahatchee played the Uptown Theatre on April 18, 2024] // [MJ Lenderman released from: Manning Fireworks through Anti records on September 6, 2024 // Mark Jacob Lenderman (born 1999), also known as Jake Lenderman and MJ Lenderman, is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has released three solo albums, and also plays with the alternative rock band Wednesday. He also has played drums for Indigo De Souza. Lenderman’s style has been described as alt-country, classic rock, and indie rock music. // Lenderman was born in Asheville, North Carolina. His great-grandfather was saxophonist Charlie Ventura. He was raised Catholic and was an altar boy. He played basketball and obsessively watched tapes of Michael Jordan. He grew up listening to Mark Linkous and Jason Molina. In his junior and senior years of high school, he began posting his music to Bandcamp. Lenderman studied at UNC Asheville for three semesters.[ // In 2018, Lenderman played the drums for fellow Asheville artist Indigo De Souza on her albums I Love My Mom and Any Shape You Take. Lenderman met Karly Hartzman, lead singer for the group Wednesday, and he joined the band for an EP called How Do You Let Love Into the Heart That Isn’t Split Wide Open (2018). // In July 2019, he released a self-titled album, his first solo album. At that time, he was working in an ice cream shop to support himself financially. // Lenderman toured with Wednesday in early February 2020, until the COVID-19 pandemic ended the tour. During the COVID-19 pandemic, while collecting unemployment insurance, Lenderman wrote the songs that became the album Ghost of Your Guitar Solo, released in 2021. // His third album Boat Songs was released in 2022 on Dear Life Records. It was listed as one of the best albums of 2022 by Pitchfork, The A.V. Club, and The Ringer. After the success of the album, Lenderman signed a recording contract with Anti-. In 2023, he released the singles “Rudolph” and “Knockin'”. // Lenderman contributed guitar and vocals to the album Tiger’s Blood by Waxahatchee, released in March 2024, and was listed as featured guest artist on the album’s lead single, “Right Back To It”. In March 2024, Lenderman performed “Right Back To It” with Waxahatchee on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Lenderman’s next album, Manning Fireworks, released in September 2024. ]

[Waxahatchee plays The Uptown Theatre with Caleb Hearon on Thursday, October 2, in a special benefit for KC Tenants.]

[Kansas City based comedian and actor Caleb Hearon’s debut st763pecial “Model Comedian” is now streaming on HBO Max and his friends Kevin Morby and Katie Crutchfield aka Waxahatchee wrote a special song for Caleb’s special’s into and credits called “35 South”.]

10:30 – Underwriting

9. Royel Otis – “Say Something”
   from: Hickey / Capitol Records / August 22, 2025
   [Hickey is the second studio album by the Australian guitar-pop duo Royel Otis. Explaining the album title, Royel Otis said “…because love bites harder than any other emotion in the world.” // At the 2025 ARIA Music Awards, the album was nominated for Best Rock Album and Group while Jamieson Kerr’s work on “Car” was nominated for Best Video. // Alex Peters from When the Horn Blows called the album “their most emotionally charged yet” saying “the duo have delivered yet another outstanding body of work, one that captures the sting of love lost without sacrificing musical vibrancy. Hickey isn’t just an album about heartbreak. It’s about the strange, beautiful tension of feeling both broken and alive at the same time.”[12] // Royel Otis was formed in 2019 by Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic. They released three EPs, including Sofa Kings, before their debut studio album, Pratts & Pain, was released in February 2024. // Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic’s chance meeting feels almost destined. They were both working at bars and cafes in the same neighborhood (the beachside town of Bondi) before getting together one day in 2019 with their guitars and some song sketches. And without any expectations, they soon spotted it: an unspoken chemistry that resulted in effortless rock wonders, new tunes that somehow seemed as if they’d always existed. The rest of the world would soon follow suit when the pair became true breakout acts both online and in rock clubs alike with early charmers such as “Oysters in My Pocket” (Bar & Grill EP, 2022) and “Sofa King” (Going Kokomo EP, 2023). Then came their soaring debut album called PRATTS & PAIN and the legendary run that catapulted the band to indie-rock infamy, globally. The album was named for the south London pub where the pair would pen lyrics between sessions with GRAMMY nominated Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Fontaines D.C., Caroline Polachek) and bore hits like “Fried Rice” and “Foam.” Preceding the album’s release in February of 2024, was the pair’s Triple J “Like A Version” recording, taking on Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on The Dancefloor.” The performance became a zeitgeist shaping hit, eventually hitting #1 on Alternative U.S. Radio Chart, #2 on Billboard Alternative Airplay, #5 on Billboard Rock & Alternative and rounding out at the #2 position on Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2024 charts, earlier this year. Their twilit cover of the Cranberries’ “Linger,” cut for a Sirius XM Session a few months later, led the band to their first Billboard Hot 100 hit and currently has over 220 Million global streams. With the demand for live shows at a high, the guys played more than 100 sold out shows the rest of 2024, selling over 100,000 tickets across Australia, U.K, Europe and U.S. This included multiple nights in major cities like New York (Brooklyn Steel), Chicago (Metro & The Salt Shed) and Los Angeles (The Bellwether). The pair returned home to Australia later that year as one of the most nominated artists at the 2024 ARIA Awards (Australia’s biggest and prestigious music award shows); and went on to win four awards including “Best Rock Album” and “Best Group.” Since their culmination, Royel Otis have drawn from an endless source of good hooks and spirit — riding on their musical chemistry that exudes into mixes of melody and bittersweet humor. Whether it is an original body of work or taking on their favorite song, the pair have cemented their status as one of the most effortless and endearing indie rock bands to emerge this decade.]

[Royel Otis play Grinders Kansas City on October 3, 2025]

10. 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 (/ˈniːkoʊ ˈkeɪs/ NEE-koh KAYSS;[2] born September 8, 1970) 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,”[8] “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.[49] 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 contains 22 tracks from Case’s discography, plus one new song, “Oh, Shadowless”.]

[Neko Case embarks on a 56-city tour that starts today October 1, 2025 in Woodstock New York and last until January 31, 2026 On her 51str city stop Neko Case plays The Uptown Theatre, 3700 Broadway Blvd., KCMO, on Saturday, January 24, 2026 with Des Demonas].

11. KeiyaA – “stupid prizes”
    from: Hooke’s Law / XL Recordings / October 31, 2025
    [“Take it” is the second single from KeiyaA’s second album HOOKE’S LAW. // After five years of navigating loss, grief, and anger, Chicago-born, NYC-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer keiyaA emerges in the light of reinvention and healing, shaped by years of solitude spent in the unending tide of mess and renewal, returning to share her findings with unapologetic clarity. Her single “stupid prizes,” was re;eased August 20, 2025, accompanied by a self-co-directed music video with Caity Arthur, is a soulful, arresting prelude that marks a powerful next chapter. Known for her penetrating explorations of Black womanhood and liberation, rich harmonies, and fearless experimentation, keiyaA reintroduces her artistry with the same emotional intensity and sonic innovation that defined her 2020 debut Forever, Ya Girl, arriving in the wake of her first theatrical stage play, milk thot. // Speaking about “stupid prizes,” keiyaA says: “i wrote, recorded, and produced “stupid prizes” all in one sitting, at home late at night in my living room in Brooklyn. i sampled Percy Faith, an orchestral composer known for creating rich and luscious scores and show tunes, helping contribute to this classic “American” sound. i sought out to create this sort of bed of irony, to speak and sing about being miserable on top of this beautiful, dreamy and romantic music. which speaks not only to what it can feel like navigating my internal and external worlds, but also what it feels like being a marginalized person in America.” // In 2020, keiyaA released her self-produced debut album Forever, Ya Girl, a genre-defying blend of jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and experimental music that earned widespread critical acclaim. The project went on to receive Pitchfork’s “Best New Music” designation, landed on year-end best-of lists from The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian, and was later named to Pitchfork’s Best of the Decade So Far list. It also drew praise from artists including Solange, Jay-Z, Earl Sweatshirt, Blood Orange, Kimberly Drew, and Moses Sumney. The album announced keiyaA as one of music’s most vital new voices and producers, and the attention it garnered gave her the access to expand on her creative vision—one that has since grown into a thriving garden of projects, performances, and collaborations, each distinct but rooted in her singular artistry. // Since the release of Forever, Ya Girl, keiyaA showcased her dynamism through a Tiny Desk concert and appearances at Solange’s El Dorado Ballroom show at BAM, Wales Bonner’s Togetherness presentation at the Guggenheim, ESSENSE’s Girls United Summit, and MoMA PS1’s Warm Up series. She walked in Telfar’s 20th-anniversary show, contributed music to the brand’s Moose Knuckles collaboration, and scored Nike’s Come Thru series. She also performed at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, as well as in her hometown of Chicago at Pitchfork Music Festival and Theaster Gates’ Kenwood Garden community space. // Earlier this year, keiyaA expanded her artistic expression with milk thot, her first full-length stage production, which premiered at Abrons Arts Center in New York City. The performance combined live music, poetry, and choreography to delve into topics such as self-image, family lineage, and societal consumption. Developed during a residency at Abrons, milk thot marked a significant evolution in her multidisciplinary approach to storytelling. // In 2025 keiyaA will release her much anticipated sophomore album. // KeiyaA released her break through album Forever, Ya Girl through Forever Recordings on March 27, 2020 This album was part of WMM’s 120 Best recordings of 2020. The debut album from KeiyaA originally from Chicago, now based in NYC. Written and produced by keiyaA, featuring additional production from dj blackpower & dj cowriiie. Mixed & mastered by BSTFRND. // Chakeiya Camille Richmond was born July 28, 1992. She is known professionally as Keiyaa (stylized as KeiyaA), is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and a record producer. She independently released her debut album Forever, Ya Girl in 2020. // Chakeiya Camille Richmond was born and raised in Chicago on the city’s south side. During childhood she sang in the Chicago Children’s Choir until switching to the alto saxophone in seventh grade. She cited soul artists including Chaka Khan, Patrice Rushen, jazz musicians like John Coltrane and Miles Davis and R&B groups such as SWV as early musical influences. She also finds inspiration in goth and post-punk/alternative rock artists like Nirvana and Siouxsie and the Banshees. // Richmond attended University of Illinois at Chicago and Columbia College to study jazz and play alto sax before leaving due to disillusionment with the program’s hierarchical nature, as well difficulty balancing school with working full-time. Shortly after she decided to pursue music professionally. // While still playing and performing on alto sax, she collaborated with Chicago musicians including Noname and Vic Mensa. She decided to switch her focus to solo work producing and singing R&B and electronic music. Perform-ing under the name Keiya, she released her debut EP, WORK, in July 2015. It was described as “emotional, sleepy, and yet strikingly optimistic” by These Days magazine. Shortly after its release she moved to New York. She added an additional “A” to her name (KeiyaA) in order to differentiate herself from other performers on streaming sites. // KeiyaA’s debut album Forever, Ya Girl was released in March 2020 and self-produced under her personal label Forever Recordings. It was reviewed by Olivia Ovendon for KEXP as featuring “powerful mantra-esque lyrics, and woozy, heady, immersive beats in captivating fashion.” Esquire described the sound as “downcast grime and smooth R&B.” Pitchfork writer Clare Lobenfeld rated the album an 8.2/10 and praised its “resolute realness that can only happen outside the major label gaze.” Forever, Ya Girl was named to Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian’s “Best Albums of 2020” lists. // Keiyaa resides in Brooklyn.]

12. Jass – “Autumn in The City”
    from: “Autumn in The City” – Single / Manor Records / September 22, 202
    [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. Huge thanks to everyone who came out and supported us.” 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]

13. joel vs. joel – “gotta b in love”
    from: Smile in the Mirror / Enigmatic Brunch Records / August 19, 2025
    [all songs written by joel stratton. mixed by daniel gum. mastered by mike nolte @ eureka mastering. performances by: isaiah petrie (vibraphone 2,3,10); micah ritchie (drums); jon self (lead guitar L channel track 10); doug bybee (synth 4,6); joanna metsker (violin on 7,8,11); drums, vibes, strings recorded by mike crawford; bass, aco guitars, recorded by daniel gum. // oel vs joel is the moniker of Kansas City-based multi-instrumentalist, Joel Stratton. With classical training, but also an instinctive and emotive musicality that can’t be taught, joel vs joel sculpts with complex chord structures, time signatures, deftly fingerpicked guitar, well-plotted bass, vibraphones, percussion, and other eclectic musical arrangements. This is all interconnected with vulnerably delivered lyrics that convey the manifold feelings of one’s humanity. // Some craftsmen work in wood, stone, or metal. Others sculpt with more intangible and ethereal materials: notes, chords, rhythms, riffs, melodies, and human emotion. Both toil over their medium until it outwardly takes the shape of their inner being. The outcome of joel vs joel’s labor is the beautifully crafted debut album, Smile in the Mirror. // Smile in the Mirror is a protestation of struggles with identity, paranoia, suffering, anarchy, catharsis, and love. These innate human feelings are combined with instrumentation that is at times comfortably familiar and at others strikingly and pleasingly surprising.]

[Joel vs. Joel plays Arts on Broadway 3550 Broadway Blvd., KCMO, on Friday, October 3, 2025 at 7:00pm with Charmaine.]

14. Superchunk – “No Hope”
    from: Songs in the Key of Yikes / Merge / August 22, 2025
    [“It’s always been the case that everyone is going through something that you may not be aware of,” says the band’s Mac McCaughan. “This is currently more true than ever—but also the case that we are all going through some things together. In the face of that, what good is art and where is happiness found? (Spoiler alert: I don’t know.)” // In seeking an answer, Songs in the Key of Yikes unleashes a sound that is triumphant and bright in the darkness, Majesty Shredding in overdrive. Lead single “Is It Making You Feel Something” sets the tone early with the band—McCaughan, Laura Ballance, Jim Wilbur, and Laura King—building an anthem out of the potential for joy, diving into slop-polluted waters (“now fakes are faking everything / that once made your poor heart sing”) and emerging with a pearl. // “This song is about not second-guessing yourself in the very second-guessable process of writing words and music,” McCaughan explains. “It’s about the legitimate question of ‘who needs this and what is it good for?’ but also about not setting such a high bar for making art that you never get started. ‘Is it making you feel something?’ Ok, that’s a place to start.” // Songs in the Key of Yikes is a signature Superchunk album: visceral and timeless and catchy as hell—a cathartic balm for these oppressive times that will feel even better once we’ve figured our collective shit out. // Superchunk released their 11th album WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE on February 16, 2028. Superchunk were formed in 1989 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Superchunk is Mac McCaughan (guitar, vocals), Jim Wilbur (guitar, backing vocals), Jon Wurster (drums, backing vocals), and Laura Ballance (bass, backing vocals). Since releasing their first 7-inch in 1989, Superchunk has run the gamut of milestone albums: early punk rock stompers, polished mid-career masterpieces, and lush, adventurous curveballs. Recorded by Beau Sorenson at Manifold Recording, Pittsboro, NC., except “Break the Glass” and “I Got Cut” at Overdub Lane. Mastered by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering.]

15. Britanny Davis – “Sun and Moon”
    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.”]

11:01 – Station ID – Interview w/ Kevin King & Pete Kuhn of The Boys in The Band

Kevin King is originally from Topeka, Kansas. He studied at The University of Kansas, In 2011 Kevin founded Whim Productions where he serves as Producing Artistic Director of Whim Productions. He is a queer playwright based in KCMO and is a playwright-in-residence at the Midwest Dramatists Center, former playwright-in-residence in the Charlotte Street Foundation Studio Residency program, and a member of the Dramatists Guild. His short play The Swallows was selected for the 2019 William Inge Theater Festival New Play Lab.

King’s work has also appeared in the Kansas City Fringe Festival, Alphabet Soup: Theater from Queer Voices (Whim Productions, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019,2020), The Barn Players’ 6×10 Short Play festival (2018, 2019), Midwest Dramatists Conference (2018, 2019), One-Minute Play Festival (2016), Fishtank Theater’s 12 Plays of Christmas (2014), and other festivals. His work ranges from campy to slice-of-life realism, portrayed through a quirky, queer lens. Kevin also works as an intimacy coach.

Kevin King joins us to share details about Whim Production’s “Boys in the Band” running October 2 through October 19, at Whim Space, 415 Prospect, Kansas City, MO. Whim Productions, is Kansas City’s LGBTQIA theater company, and is thrilled to announce the limited run of the 1968 seminal classic, Boys in the Band, written by Mart Crowley. A groundbreaking portrayal of the complex lives of urban gay men, Boys in the Band has been adapted into two feature films and is as affecting as ever for live audiences. Whim Productions, founded in 2011, creates challenging and evocative queer theater. We focus on providing opportunities for LGBTQ+ theater artists to tell their own stories and share the diversity of queer experiences with Kansas City audiences. Info: http://www.whimproductions.org.

Kevin King Thanks for being woth us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Contact: Kevin King, Producing Artistic Director // kevin@whimproductions.org

Whim Productions Presents “Boys in the Band”: The Hit Play that Brought Gay Stories into the Mainstream

Kansas City, MO — Whim Productions, KC’s LGBTQ+ theater company, is thrilled to announce the limited run of the 1968 seminal classic, Boys in the Band, written by Mart Crowley. A groundbreaking portrayal of the complex lives of urban gay men, Boys in the Band has been adapted into two feature films and is as affecting as ever for live audiences.

Publisher Synopsis: New York, 1968. A birthday party among a close-knit group of gay friends. As the drinks flow and a party game spirals out of control, long-buried truths rise to the surface, revealing deep-seated insecurities, desires, and conflicts. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this landmark piece explores identity, self-worth, and the complexity of friendship and chosen family within the LGBTQ+ community.

Content Advisory: Please be advised that this script contains:
Period-accurate language including homophobic, racist, and anti-Semitic slurs.
Simulated alcohol and drug use. Strong themes of internalized homophobia.
Brief nudity.

Ticket Information: Full-price tickets start at $30. Discounted season packages and a limited number of Pay What You Whim tickets are available throughout the run.
Tickets are available now at whimproductions.com.

Run Time: ~90 minutes (no intermission)
Venue: Whim Space, 415 Prospect, Kansas City, MO 64124
Dates and Times:
Thu. Oct. 2, 7:30 pm
Fri. Oct. 3, 7:30 pm
Sat. Oct. 4, 7:30 pm
Sun. Oct. 5, 3 pm
Thu. Oct. 9, 7:30 pm
Fri. Oct. 10, 7:30 pm
Sat. Oct. 11, 7:30 pm
Sun. Oct. 12, 3 pm
Thur. Oct. 16, 7:30 pm
Fri. Oct. 17, 7:30 pm
Sat. Oct. 18, 7:30 pm
Sun. Oct. 19, 3 pm

Cast:
Pete Kuhn – Michael
Kyle Tichenor – Donald
Jean-Jacques Corbier – Bernard
Michael Golliher – Harold
Luke Knopke – Larry
Ken Stewart – Hank
Jake Funke – Alan
Dustin Reckling – Cowboy
Taylor Rivera – Emory

Creative:
Director – Kevin King
Intimacy Choreographer – Kevin King
Fight Choreographer – Freddy Acevedo
Scenic Design – Austin Cecil
Costume Design – Marian McClellan
Lighting Design – Celeste Abrahamson
Sound Design – Celeste Abrahamson
Stage Manager – Taylor Hudson
Production Photography & Videography – Janetta Leigh

Past productions describe Boys in the Band as…

“Crowley is a master of the bitchy one-liner, so the play is littered with quotable bon mots, some of them surprisingly sweet to our older, more jaded ears.” — Marilyn Stasio, Variety

“This play did the most powerful thing that a play can do. It showed us a picture of the truth. The joyous, horrific, wondrous, terrifying, painful truth. It was a play about and for the gay community, an important play that exposed what those men had to endure — sometimes still endure — in hiding who they were and in feeling such monumental shame about who they were. But somehow, it was about even more than that. Somehow, in the long silences that they allowed in those powerful scenes, we sat there collectively holding our breath. Uncomfortable. And reflective.” — Jill Ripa, BroadwayWorld
The Boys in the Band premiered April 15, 1968 at Theatre Four, 424 West 55th Street, Manhattan, New York City

The Boys in the Band is a 1968 American play by Mart Crowley. The play premiered Off-Broadway, and was revived on Broadway for its 50th anniversary in 2018. The play revolves around a group of gay men who gather for a birthday party in New York City, and was groundbreaking for its portrayal of gay life. It was adapted into two feature films in 1970 and 2020.

A sequel, The Men from the Boys, premiered in 2002.

Synopsis – The play is set in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, “a smartly appointed duplex apartment in the East Fifties”, and the backgrounds of characters are revealed in the course of a birthday party.

Harold (Michael Golliher) celebrates his birthday. In the character’s own words an “ugly, pock-marked Jew fairy”, he becomes increasingly morose about losing his youthful looks and claims that he no longer can attract cute young men. In the dramatis personae, he is described as being “dark” with an “unusual Semitic face”.

“Cowboy” (Dustin Reckling) an attractive blond hustler who is “not too bright” and “too pretty”, is one of Harold’s birthday presents.

Alan McCarthy, (Jake Funke) Michael’s married college friend and roommate, is an unexpected party guest. He is visiting New York and anxious to tell Michael something, but hesitant to do so in front of the others. It is suggested that he once had homosexual affairs while in college, but his sexual orientation is never explicitly stated, leaving it to audience interpretation. The dramatis personae describes him as “aristocratic” and “Anglo-Saxon”.
The party is given by Harold’s six closest friends:

Michael (Pete Kuhn) is Harold’s “smartly groomed” “frenemy”, the host, and a lapsed Catholic as well as an alcoholic. He is the catalyst for most of the drama of the play.

Donald (Kyle Tichenor) is Michael’s ex-boyfriend, current friend (though the exact nature of their relationship is ambiguous) who has moved from the city to the Hamptons to spurn the homosexual “lifestyle”, and is undergoing psychoanalysis. He has “wholesome American good looks”.

Bernard (Jean-Jacques Corbier) is an African-American librarian who still pines for the wealthy white boy in whose house his mother worked as a maid. In the dramatis personae, he is “Twenty-eight, Negro, nice-looking”.

Emory (Taylor Rivera) is a flamboyant and effeminate interior decorator. He is often campy in his sense of humor, which serves to irritate others.

Larry (Luke Knopke) is a commercial artist who prefers multiple sex partners and is “extremely handsome”.

Hank (Ken Stewart) is Larry’s live-in boyfriend who has been married to a woman from whom he is separated and is divorcing. He “passes” as straight and disagrees with Larry on the issue of monogamy. Physically, he is described as “solid, athletic, attractive”.

During the party, the humor takes a nasty turn, as the nine men become increasingly inebriated. The party culminates in a “game”, where each man must call someone whom he has loved and tell them about it. Michael, believing that Alan has finally “outed” himself when he makes his call, grabs the phone from him and discovers Alan has called his wife. The audience never learns what Alan intended to discuss with Michael in the end.

According to Crowley, his motivation in writing the play was not activism, but anger that “had partially to do with myself and my career, but it also had to do with the social attitude of people around me, and the laws of the day”. He says he “wanted the injustice of it all — to all those characters — known”. Crowley has also stated, “I was not an activist, then or now. I didn’t know what hit me. I just wrote the truth.”

Crowley made no secret that all characters were based on real people in his life, with Michael reminding him of himself, describing the character as “a complex person who is aware of what is politically correct but has a sort of contempt for it”. He called Donald “a foil for Michael” and inspired by a droll friend he would periodically take wry comments from. In the 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet, Crowley explained, “The self-deprecating humor was born out of a low self-esteem, from a sense of what the times told you about yourself.” In The Boys in the Band: Something Personal, a short documentary accompanying Netflix’s release of the 2020 film adaptation, Crowley clarified that Donald was based on Douglas Murray, to whom the play was dedicated. Harold, the character whose birthday was being celebrated, is a cipher for dancer/choreographer Howard Jeffrey, who died in 1988 of AIDS, to whom the play was also dedicated. Crowley took one of the key lines of the play, “I try to show a little affection; it keeps me from feeling like such a whore”, from a hustler he danced with on Fire Island, telling, “I couldn’t write anything that good!”.

Production history – Off-Broadway premiere, 1968
While Crowley was pitching the script, early agents stayed away from the project, and it was championed by playwright Edward Albee and Richard Barr, who at the time was head of the Playwrights Units in New York. For the production, it proved “nearly impossible to find” actors willing to play gay characters. An old college friend of Crowley’s, 33-year-old Laurence Luckinbill, agreed to play Hank despite warnings from his agent that it would end his career, even though the agent was herself a lesbian. It proved hard for Crowley to find producers and theater owners who were interested.

The play premiered Off-Broadway on April 14, 1968, at Theater Four, and closed on September 6, 1970, after 1,001 performances. Directed by Robert Moore, the cast included Kenneth Nelson as Michael, Peter White as Alan McCarthy, Leonard Frey as Harold, Cliff Gorman as Emory, Frederick Combs as Donald, Laurence Luckinbill as Hank, Keith Prentice as Larry, Robert La Tourneaux as Cowboy, and Reuben Greene as Bernard. The play was one of the early works to present a story centered on homosexuals. In 1968, although only originally scheduled to run for five performances at a small venue off Broadway, it was a fast success and was moved to a larger theater. It went on to have a run in London as well. The premiere’s actors such as Laurence Luckinbill drilled a hole in the set so they could spy on whoever was in the house’s best seats, and in the initial weeks, saw Jackie Kennedy, Marlene Dietrich, Groucho Marx, Rudolf Nureyev, and New York mayor John Lindsay. Despite the success of the play, all the gay members of the original company stayed in the closet after the premiere. Between 1984 and 1993, five of the gay men in the original production (as well as director Robert Moore and producer Richard Barr) died in the ensuing AIDS epidemic.

Off-Broadway and London revivals – The play was revived Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 1996, running from August 6 to October 20, after its initial sold-out run at the WPA Theater. The Boys in the Band was presented by the Transport Group Theater Company, New York City, from February 2010 to March 14, 2010, directed by Jack Cummings III.

A London staging in October 2016 at Park Theatre was the first revival there in two decades. It subsequently transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in the West End. Positively reviewed, including in The Observer, the production starred Mark Gatiss as Harold and Ian Hallard as Michael, with Daniel Boys, Jack Derges, James Holmes, John Hopkins, Greg Lockett, Ben Mansfield, and Nathan Nolan. The production was nominated for four awards in the 2017 WhatsOnStage Awards: Best Play Revival and Best Off-West End Production, with Hallard nominated as Best Actor in a Play and Jack Weir for Best Lighting Design.

Broadway production, 2018 – A Broadway production of The Boys in the Band, directed by Joe Mantello, opened in previews at the Booth Theatre on April 30, 2018, officially on May 31, and ran until August 11, 2018. This production, staged for the 50th anniversary of the play’s original premiere, starred Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto and Andrew Rannells, as well as Charlie Carver, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, Robin de Jesús, and Tuc Watkins. Quinto portrayed Harold, whose birthday sets the premise. All of the actors who were in the 2018 production are out gay actors.

This production won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, and Robin de Jesús was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Reception and impact – When The Boys in the Band premiered in 1968, mainstream audiences were shocked. The play was profiled in the William Goldman book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway, an account of the 1967–1968 season. In the same year, a two-disc, vinyl LP set was released, containing the full dialogue of the play voiced by the original actors. Crowley wrote the 2002 sequel The Men from the Boys.

In 2002, Peter Filichia from Theater Mania contended that the play’s original production helped inspire the 1969 Stonewall riots and gay rights movement.

After gays saw The Boys in the Band, they no longer would settle for thinking of themselves as pathetic and wouldn’t be perceived as such any longer. Now that [characters] had brought their feelings out of the closet, this new generation would dare to be different. And, just as some whites’ view of blacks changed after seeing A Raisin in the Sun, so too did the outlook of many straights after they caught The Boys in the Band. Some whom I personally know felt terrible and–I saw this happen!–actually changed the way they treated gays.

In 2004, David Anthony Fox from Philadelphia City Paper praised this play, its one-liners, and its live performance in Philadelphia. He rebutted criticism that the play portrayed “urban gay men as narcissistic, bitter, shallow”.

In 2010, Elyse Summer in her review for CurtainUp called it a “smart gimmick” full of dated “self-homophobic, low self-esteem characters”. In the same year, Steve Weinstein from the Edge website called it “Shakespearean”.

Whim Productions, founded in 2011, creates challenging and evocative queer theater. We focus on providing opportunities for LGBTQ+ theater artists to tell their own stories and share the diversity of queer experiences with Kansas City audiences.

Whim Productions is dedicated to creating challenging and evocative queer theater. Our mission is to produce works written by LGBTQ+ writers with narratives that center queer characters. We are committed to sharing the diversity of queer lives with Kansas City audiences and providing a platform for LGBTQ+ theater artists to tell their own stories.
Queer Theater. Whimsical Edge.

Producing Artistic Director 𝗞𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 founded Whim Productions in 2011 and has directed, written, & choreographed intimacy in many of our productions. He’s currently tackling the sound design and intimacy choreography for the world premiere of Kissing in the Grocery Store! Kevin’s passion for creating safe, evocative, and inclusive theatre shines in this production.

Kevin King thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Whim Production’s “Boys in the Band” written by Mart Crowley is running October 2 through October 19, at Whim Space, 415 Prospect, Kansas City, MO. Whim Productions, is Kansas City’s LGBTQIA theater company, and is thrilled to announce the limited run of the 1968 seminal classic, Boys in the Band. A groundbreaking portrayal of the complex lives of urban gay men, Boys in the Band has been adapted into two feature films and is as affecting as ever for live audiences. For info visit: http://www.whimproductions.org.

11:21

16. Stephonne – “Worship at the Chappell”
    from: “Worship at the Chappell” – Single / Glory Blue Music / August 15, 2025
    [Co-written with Shawn M. Stewart and produced with Patrick Meagher, the song is a declaration of power, pleasure, and pride—a sonic celebration of being fully and freely oneself. “Worship at the Chappell” is a bold, genre-bending anthem from Kansas City artist Stephonne—an electrifying fusion of disco, pop, and gospel spirit. Inspired by fellow Missouri native Chappell Roan, the track transforms the dance floor into a sanctuary for queer joy, spiritual liberation, and unapologetic self-love. With soaring vocals, provocative lyrics, and infectious grooves, Stephonne delivers a soulful sermon for the marginalized. // Stephonne describes himself as the lovechild of Prince & Billie Holiday. He grew up in KCK and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from Benedictine College, and Masters in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University. Stephonne is a 2023 winner of the Charlotte Street Generative Performing Arts Fellows. // Stephonne is an Alternative/Genrequeer singer-songwriter, cultural producer, and generative performing artist from Kansas City, MO. They synthesize music, written/spoken word, performance and visual art/media into an inimitable art. They share their struggles, triumphs, and journey to self-love through multidisciplinary performance and have sent audiences on visceral and experiential journeys through a multitude of music and video releases since 2015. Bold new 2025 singles and videos continue to push boundaries! New experiences, both sonic and visual, await us from the upcoming sophomore LP, STEPHONNE. // Singer, songwriter, actor, model, artist, activist – Stephonne Singleton keeps very busy, serving as a board member of KC Folk Fest, organizing tribute shows, playing: music festivals, Charlotte Street Foundation, Lemonade Park, Lawrence Pride, Manor Records, Midwest Music Foundation, The AIDS Service Foundation of KC, InterUrban ArtHouse, Crossroads Music Fest, The Black Box, The Folly Theatre, and West 18th Street Fashion Show. Stephonne released his EP SIS: Side B on June 24, 2022. Stephonne released the single “I” on August 21, 2024. Stephonne released the single “I think its Gonna Be Alright” I April 2025. Stephonne released the single, Forgive Me, Father (Sinead O’Connor) on May 21, 2025. // More info at: http://www.stephonne.com]

[Stephonne is currently appearing as Angel in Jonathan Larson’s iconic, Tony Award winning musical RENT running October 2 through October 26 at the Music Theatre Heritage Stage in residence at Crown Center in Kansas City 2450 Grand Blvd. More info at http://www.musictheaterheritge.com]

17. Chappell Roan – “Red Wine Supernova” – (Radio edit)
    from: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess / Amusemet Records / September 22, 2023
    [Kayleigh Rose Amstutz was born February 19, 1998), known professionally as Chappell Roan. She is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for her camp and drag queen–influenced aesthetic. Her debut EP, School Nights (2017), was released by Atlantic Records. After years without success, she was dropped from the label in 2020. Her debut studio album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023), was released through Island Records and received critical acclaim. The album garnered a cult following and became a sleeper hit. // oan rose to prominence in 2024 with the single “Good Luck, Babe!”, which reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a global top-five single. It was a catalyst for the success of her debut album, which eventually topped the charts in the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand and reached number two on the US Billboard 200. Several album tracks subsequently entered various charts, including “Hot to Go!” and “Pink Pony Club”, which both reached the top five in the UK. At the 67th Grammy Awards, Roan became one of only 15 artists to be nominated for all the “Big Four” awards in one night, winning Best New Artist. // Roan’s stage name is an homage to her grandfather, Dennis K. Chappell, who died of brain cancer, and his favorite song, “The Strawberry Roan” by Curley Fletcher. // Kayleigh Rose Amstutz was born in Willard, Missouri, on February 19, 1998, the oldest of four children. Her mother, Kara (née Chappell), is a veterinarian; her father, Dwight Amstutz, is now a retired Naval Reservist who also managed the family’s veterinary practice in Springfield, Missouri, and earlier trained as a registered nurse, working in neurological and burn intensive care units. Her uncle is Darin Chappell, a Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives. // She has described her hometown and her upbringing as conservative and Christian. During her childhood, she attended church three times a week and spent some summers at Christian camps. In a 2023 Variety interview, she said that she struggled with her upbringing and snuck out often: “I just wanted to feel like a good person, but I had this part of me that wanted to escape so bad.” // Roan began playing the piano when she was 10 or 11 years old and began taking lessons at the age of 12. She performed publicly for the first time at age 13, singing “The Christmas Song” at her school’s talent show, which she won. When she was about 14 years old, she auditioned for America’s Got Talent without success. At 14 or 15 years old, she began uploading covers to YouTube, drawing attention from various record labels. She began songwriting as she entered her teen years. She graduated a year early from Willard High School. Roan described missing many childhood experiences in the “messy” beginning of her music career, including her prom and high school graduation. // Roan began uploading on her YouTube channel in 2013, only posting covers and occasional original pieces. Along with her online presence, she also performed around her hometown, as well as Springfield, Missouri, from 2012 to 2015. In November 2014, Roan uploaded her original song “Die Young” to YouTube under the name Kayleigh Rose. She wrote the song while attending summer camp at Interlochen Center for the Arts, which she said “changed my trajectory forever”. She subsequently traveled to New York for several musical showcases, leading to her signing with music label Atlantic Records in May 2015. // In 2016, she adopted the stage name Chappell Roan in honor of her grandfather Dennis K. Chappell, who died of brain cancer that same year. The name is a combination of her grandfather’s last name and a word taken from his favorite song, “The Strawberry Roan” by Curley Fletcher. She has also expressed dislike for her birth name. // On August 3, 2017, Roan released her first single, “Good Hurt”. The song was reviewed favorably in Interview, which praised her “striking maturity and surprisingly deep vocals”. On September 22, 2017, she released an extended play (EP) titled School Nights through Atlantic Records. Also in 2017, she supported Vance Joy on his Lay It On Me Tour. During this time, Roan lived with her parents in Springfield, Missouri, flying with them to Los Angeles or New York City when necessary. In 2018, Roan moved to Los Angeles. She has since stated this was the first time she felt able to live openly as a queer woman, as well as feeling “overwhelmed with complete love and acceptance”, allowing her to begin “writing songs as the real [her]”. From January to March 2018, she toured the United States with Declan McKenna. // Roan began working with songwriter and producer Dan Nigro in late 2018. In April 2020, Roan released “Pink Pony Club”, which she has described as a “hard left turn” from School Nights. The single was produced by Nigro, and its music video was directed by Griffin Stoddard. Roan has cited a visit to The Abbey, a gay bar in West Hollywood, as the inspiration for the song. She said the song expressed her desire to become a go-go dancer in Los Angeles, stating, “truthfully, I’m not confident enough to do that, so I wrote a song about it.” // Roan released two more singles, “Love Me Anyway” and “California”, in May 2020. However, her releases were not profitable enough for Atlantic, who dropped Roan from the label in August 2020. Shortly after, Roan returned to Los Angeles in October 2020 to continue working on her music independently while working a series of odd jobs, including as a production assistant and in a donut shop. That December, USA Today ranked “Pink Pony Club” third on a list of the “10 best songs of 2020”; an accompanying description characterized it as dance-pop that “earnestly [celebrates] queer culture, acceptance and chasing your dreams”. A year after its release, Vulture described “Pink Pony Club” as “the Song of Summer 2021”, calling it a “synthy infectious bangarang”. By August 2022, the song had been streamed more than 10 million times on Spotify. // In early 2021, the success of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” shifted Nigro’s focus from Roan as he worked on Sour with Rodrigo. Roan was unable to find a collaborator whom she liked as much. She briefly moved back to Missouri and worked at a drive-through while continuing to work on her music independently. // By February 2022, Roan had earned a publishing deal with Sony, and reunited with Nigro again to create and release “Naked in Manhattan”. The song was her first release as an independent artist. It was described by NPR as a “queer girl bop” with lyrics that are “tender, nostalgic” and “flirty yet uncertain”. While working with Nigro in an adjacent studio to Olivia Rodrigo, Roan recorded backing vocals on three of Rodrigo’s songs, including “Can’t Catch Me Now”. Roan was selected as the opening act on Rodrigo’s Sour Tour and for Fletcher on her Girl of My Dreams Tour. // In August 2022, she released a third independent single, “Femininomenon”. Earmilk described the song as “so fun and loud but so intricate” and noted it was different from Roan’s past releases. Roan stated that the song, which was produced by Nigro, was an attempt to “get away with being as ridiculous as I possibly can”. An accompanying self-directed music video featured Roan riding a dirt bike. Roan released another single, “Casual”, which she had begun working on with Nigro in 2020. The song, produced by Nigro, criticizes a romantic partner who refuses to commit and was inspired by Roan’s brief relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic that ended with her partner saying they had met someone else. // 2023–2024: Breakthrough with The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess // In February 2023, Roan embarked on the Naked in North America Tour, her debut headlining tour. Each stop on the tour had a theme, with Roan suggesting outfits for fans while making her own camp costumes herself. Inspired by Orville Peck, Roan chose to book drag queens as openers for the tour. Concerts from the tour received positive reviews in The Harvard Crimson and Variety, with Jem Aswad describing it as a concert where “you recognize when a new-ish artist’s career is about to blast off” similar to Lorde in 2013 and Billie Eilish in 2019. In March 2023, Roan released “Casual”, followed later that year by the release of subsequent singles “Kaleidoscope”, “Red Wine Supernova” and “Hot to Go!”. That same month, Roan signed with Amusement Records, an imprint of Island Records and owned by her producer, Nigro, after meeting with nine labels. // On September 22, 2023, Roan released her debut full-length album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, and began her second headlining tour, the Midwest Princess Tour. The tour, ending in the spring of 2024, traveled across North America and had shows in London, Paris, Berlin, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and Amsterdam. Roan donated $1 per ticket sold to the nonprofit For the Gworls and opened each show with drag performers. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was included in various best-albums-of-2023 year-end lists, such as those by The A.V. Club, Time, Nylon, Dork, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Vogue. It was also listed as one of Pitchfork’s 22 Best Pop Albums of 2023 and was named PopBuzz’s Number One Album of 2023. // Roan opened for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour in the United States and Canada from February to April 2024. In Roan’s first week of the tour, her streams rose by 32 percent. Also in February, Roan was a musical guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In March, NPR Music released Roan’s Tiny Desk Concert performance. // In April 2024, Roan released the single “Good Luck, Babe!”, describing it as “the first song of the next chapter”. The song speaks about compulsory heterosexuality, describing a woman trying to deny her romantic feelings for Roan and women in general. Praised by Billboard as a “well-deserved breakthrough”, the song received 7 million streams in its first week, was listed in the Spotify top ten, and debuted at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was Roan’s fastest to hit 100 million streams on the platform. By June, the song became her first top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and by September, it reached a peak of number four, becoming her first top ten song on the chart. Although not included on her debut album, the single’s success was a catalyst for propelling it to worldwide recognition. In June 2024, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess entered the top ten on the Billboard 200 for the first time, with over 40,000 equivalent album units sold. By August, the album had reached number two. // Also in April, Roan performed at Coachella. At this time, Roan saw growing success on Spotify, with her monthly listeners increasing more than 500% from February to April. As reported by Billboard, by June 2024, Roan’s weekly streams had grown by more than twenty-fold from the start of the year. // In June, Roan revealed she had declined an invitation from the White House to perform for that year’s Pride celebration. During the Governors Ball Music Festival, Roan stated, “we want liberty, justice and freedom for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come”, mentioning the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and transgender rights. Roan later revealed that she considered attending, but instead of performing music, she would recite poetry by Palestinian women. Roan said that her publicist was supportive of the idea, but warned her that doing so at the White House would likely compromise her and her family’s safety, which is why she decided to decline the invitation instead. During her performance at the Governors Ball Music Festival, Roan debuted a previously unreleased song titled “The Subway”, continuing to work towards a new album.[88] At a concert in June, Roan spoke to the crowd about dealing with her rapid increase in popularity, stating “I think my career is just kind of going really fast and it’s really hard to keep up. I’m just being honest, I’m having a hard time today. […] This is all I’ve ever wanted—it’s just heavy sometimes.” Following her performance at Lollapalooza in August, she drew the biggest daytime set ever seen at the festival. // In September, Roan performed at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards and won Best New Artist. She dedicated the trophy to queer and trans people. In October 2024, she reached number 1 for the first time on the Billboard Artist 100, coinciding with the biggest sales week ever of her debut album. Roan appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on November 2, 2024, along with host John Mulaney, where she performed and teased a new country-tinged song titled “The Giver”. Roan appeared in the Netflix special A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter on December 6, 2024. In January 2025, Roan was named the winner of the Sound of 2025 poll of musicians and music experts, organized annually by the BBC. // In February 2025 at the 67th Grammy Awards, Roan won her first Grammy Award for Best New Artist. In her acceptance speech, she called for record labels to provide artists with a living wage and healthcare, saying, “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” Roan’s work was also nominated for other awards, with The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess being nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, and “Good Luck, Babe!” being nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. Following Roan’s Grammy acceptance speech, the former music executive Jeff Rabhan wrote an essay via The Hollywood Reporter criticizing Roan’s acceptance speech as naive and saying labels do not have responsibilities to artists outside paying advances and royalties. The piece went viral, and Roan responded by challenging Rabhan to match a $25,000 donation to artists experiencing financial difficulty. // On March 14, 2025, Roan released “The Giver” on all platforms. In June, she embarked on a new tour, titled the “Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things Tour”. It was announced in July that the tour would be coming to New York City; Kansas City, Missouri; and Pasadena, California. On July 31, 2025, Roan released “The Subway”, more than a year after it first premiered at her 2024 Governor’s Ball set. // Roan writes most of her songs with co-writers, most prominently her producer, Dan Nigro, with her song “Kaleidoscope” being the only song from her debut album written solely by Roan herself. After the release of her debut single, “Good Hurt”, her style was described in Interview as “pop sound […] infused with a dark and unsettling tone that underscores her intense, somber lyrics.”In 2018, she described her musical style as a mix of organic and electronic sounds, with a pop tone, and as “dark pop with ballad undertones”. In her songs written while she was a teenager, according to Atwood Magazine, she “brought the hardship and turbulence of our teenaged years to life with a candidness and vividness seldom seen from her peers.” Roan describes her music as “kind of the fairytale version of what happened in real life” as her persona is a larger-than-life version of her real self. In 2024, Billboard described her as an “innovative art-pop auteur”.]

[Chappell Roan plays Liberty Memorial Park on Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4 at 5:00pm.]

18. High Fade – “Street Sweeper”
    from:”Street Sweeper” – Single / RPN Records / September 19, 2025
    [High Fade released SECTEY SAUCE EP on March 21, 2025. // High Fade released Live in London on RPN Records om October 6, 2023. High Fade is currently on a US Tour. Here is what Polaris Hall in Portland wrote about the band: “On a three-man crusade to set dance floors alight with their inimitable brand of razor-sharp funk and disco, Edinburgh’s High Fade captured the attention of a global audience with their music amassing over 30 million views and streams within six months of their first release and, in the process, gaining recognition from music heavyweights including Jack Black, Cypress Hill, Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes, and Brad Wilk from Rage Against The Machine For a band that only started mid-2018, to already have the support of artists including Emeli Sandé, David Paitch and even Peter Andre is a testament to not only their raw musical talent but also the relentless drive and ambition that has seen the band play over 1000 gigs in the last four years. With a forward-thinking approach to grassroots promotion, High Fade have been able to capture the magic of their live performances with a proactive presence on social media and create multiple viral moments for their tracks “Sharpen Up”, “Burnin”, and “Burnt Toast and Coffee”that feed the appetite of new fans across the world.With a more traditional offline approach towards learning their craft and perfecting the HighFade sound, Harry Valentino (guitar/vocals), Oliver Sentance (bass) and Calvin Davidson(drums/vocals) developed their infectious style whilst feeding off the unpredictable crowd inter-actions that come with street shows and busking. It’s this unmatched live energy that sets their performances apart and results in the impressive musical display that comes from just three musicians working together. Indeed, with other acts in the same genre often having upwards of six members, being a three-piece could be a limiting factor for many, but for HighFade it has become an integral part of the band’s DNA, allowing them to put on a show that supersedes anything their fans have experienced before.]

[High Fade plays recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd., KCMO on Thursday, October 2, at 8:00pm with Midnight Thirty.]

11:29 – Underwriting

19. Beth Watts Nelson & Brandon Day – “Gardenia” (Live)
    from: Wahtucna Waltz EP / Rural Grit Records / July 11, 2025
    [Beth Watts Nelson is an award-winning Kansas City based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and lifelong student of music. Building upon a twenty year career in music education she is now the founder and director of Notorious Chorus – a community-based, group singing workshop for adults. In addition to solo and duo performances, she can be heard in several projects throughout the KC metro including Konza Swamp Band, CATGUT, and her 4 piece string band Little Miss Dynamite with Beth Watts Nelson on lead vocals & banjo, Betse Ellis (of The Wilders, Betse & Clarke) on fiddle, Brandon Day (of The Matchsellers) on bass, and Caleb Gardner (of Konza Swamp) on mandolin, guitar & vocals. // Brandon Day attended Olympic College outside of Seattle, working extensively with budding jazz vocalists and small groups. His passion for helping others sound the best they can has lead him through many genres, including jazz, bluegrass, country and western, folk, Americana, classical, and all sorts of fusions. While primarily an upright bassist on call with many jazz vocalists and bluegrass groups in the greater Kansas City Metro, Brandon is also known to sing and play other instruments when needed, including guitar, violin/fiddle and electric bass. He maintains an active performance schedule throughout the year with the bluegrass group The Matchsellers, and Little Miss Dynamite, and with Beth Watts Nelson and teaching students and small groups at Farm School KC, in addition to filling every weekend with guest spots on many of the finest bandstands in town. // Both members of other Kansas City bands (Konza Swamp, Little Miss Dynamite, CatGut, Whiskey Mash) the duo was forged in the rich musical melting pot of the Rural Grit Happy Hour in KC’s Crossroads Arts District. With a focus on vocal melody and harmony, their songs sound as if they had been unearthed with the patina of decades in the songbook of Americana.Together they seek the time and means to provide a genuine and meaningful musical experience to their audiences. // Recording Engineer: Danny McGaw, Northern Sky Recording, Overland Park, KS. Mixed and Mastered: Clarke Wyatt, Gnomes and Goats Studio, KCMO]

[Beth & Brandon play Hammer’s Piano Bar, 3901 Main Street, KCMO on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play Tall Trellis Brew Co, 25600 W. Valley Pkwy, Olathe on Thursday, October 2 at 6:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play First Friday at Folk Alliance International Headquarters, 2018 Baltimore Ave, Kansas City on Friday, October 3 at 6:00pm. More information at: bethandbrandonmusic.com]

11:35 – Interview with Beth Watts Nelson & Brandon Day

Beth Watts Nelson is an award-winning Kansas City based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and lifelong student of music. Building upon a twenty year career in music education she is now the founder and director of Notorious Chorus – a community-based, group singing workshop for adults. In addition to solo and duo performances, she can be heard in several projects throughout the KC metro including Konza Swamp Band, CATGUT, and her 4 piece string band Little Miss Dynamite with Beth Watts Nelson on lead vocals & banjo, Betse Ellis (of The Wilders, Betse & Clarke) on fiddle, Brandon Day (of The Matchsellers) on bass, and Caleb Gardner (of Konza Swamp) on mandolin, guitar & vocals.

Brandon Day attended Olympic College outside of Seattle, working extensively with budding jazz vocalists and small groups. His passion for helping others sound the best they can has lead him through many genres, including jazz, bluegrass, country and western, folk, Americana, classical, and all sorts of fusions. While primarily an upright bassist on call with many jazz vocalists and bluegrass groups in the greater Kansas City Metro, Brandon is also known to sing and play other instruments when needed, including guitar, violin/fiddle and electric bass. He maintains an active performance schedule throughout the year with the bluegrass group The Matchsellers, and Little Miss Dynamite, and with Beth Watts Nelson and teaching students and small groups at Farm School KC, in addition to filling every weekend with guest spots on many of the finest bandstands in town.

Both members of other Kansas City bands (Konza Swamp, Little Miss Dynamite, CatGut, Whiskey Mash) the duo was forged in the rich musical melting pot of the Rural Grit Happy Hour in KC’s Crossroads Arts District. With a focus on vocal melody and harmony, their songs sound as if they had been unearthed with the patina of decades in the songbook of Americana.Together they seek the time and means to provide a genuine and meaningful musical experience to their audiences.

Beth Watts Nelson & Brandon Day released Wahtucna Waltz EP on/July 11, 2025

Beth & Brandon play Hammer’s Piano Bar, 3901 Main Street, KCMO on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play Tall Trellis Brew Co, 25600 W. Valley Pkwy, Olathe on Thursday, October 2 at 6:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play First Friday at Folk Alliance International Headquarters, 2018 Baltimore Ave, Kansas City on Friday, October 3 at 6:00pm. More information at: bethandbrandonmusic.com

Beth Watts Nelson, and Brandon Day thanks for being with us on WMM

Recently Beth Watts Nelson joined us to share her new 3-song EP, “Tall Grass” a compilation of songs inspired by the Flint Hills. “Tallgrass” was composed in Coffeyville, KS. “Western Wind” and “Wild Indigo” were composed in Volland, KS. // All three songs were recorded in one day on site at the Grimm-Schultz Farmstead during my time in residency with the Volland Foundation on April 26, 2025. // For the recording Beth Watts Nelson played Banjo, Guitar, & Vocals, and Betse Ellis played Fiddle. Mixing and Mastering was completed by Clarke Wyatt, at Gnomes and Goats Studio.

Beth Watts Nelson has a twenty year career in music education.

Washtucna Waltz EP was released July 11, 2025
Recording Engineer: Danny McGaw, Northern Sky Recording, Overland Park, KS
Mixed and Mastered: Clarke Wyatt, Gnomes and Goats Studio, KCMO

A partnership forged in the rich musical melting pot of the Rural Grit Happy Hour in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District, Beth Watts Nelson and Brandon Day combine their classical, folk, jazz and choral music backgrounds to create a modern perspective on a vintage sound. Making music that feels equally at home in a swanky cocktail bar, old honky tonk pool hall, or a pin-drop listening room Beth and Brandon seek the time and means to provide genuine and heartfelt musical experiences to their audiences. Award-winning songwriting paired with close vocal harmonies and intimately expressive musicianship

Beth and Brandon combine their classical, folk, jazz and choral music training to create a modern perspective on a vintage sound. With a focus on vocal melody and harmony, their songs sound as if they had been unearthed with the patina of decades in the songbook of Americana. An array of instruments (guitar, banjo and bass) pass between the hands of the duo to bring original and standard tunes to life.

Both members of other Kansas City bands (Konza Swamp, Little Miss Dynamite, CatGut, Whiskey Mash) the duo was forged in the rich musical melting pot of the Rural Grit Happy Hour in KC’s Crossroads Arts District. Together they seek the time and means to provide a genuine and meaningful musical experience to their audiences.

info@bethandbrandonmusic.com bethandbrandonmusic.com

11:42

20. Beth Watts Nelson & Brandon Day – “Wahtucna Waltz” (LIVE)
    from: Wahtucna Waltz EP / Rural Grit Records / July 11, 2025
    [Beth Watts Nelson is an award-winning Kansas City based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and lifelong student of music. Building upon a twenty year career in music education she is now the founder and director of Notorious Chorus – a community-based, group singing workshop for adults. In addition to solo and duo performances, she can be heard in several projects throughout the KC metro including Konza Swamp Band, CATGUT, and her 4 piece string band Little Miss Dynamite with Beth Watts Nelson on lead vocals & banjo, Betse Ellis (of The Wilders, Betse & Clarke) on fiddle, Brandon Day (of The Matchsellers) on bass, and Caleb Gardner (of Konza Swamp) on mandolin, guitar & vocals. // Brandon Day attended Olympic College outside of Seattle, working extensively with budding jazz vocalists and small groups. His passion for helping others sound the best they can has lead him through many genres, including jazz, bluegrass, country and western, folk, Americana, classical, and all sorts of fusions. While primarily an upright bassist on call with many jazz vocalists and bluegrass groups in the greater Kansas City Metro, Brandon is also known to sing and play other instruments when needed, including guitar, violin/fiddle and electric bass. He maintains an active performance schedule throughout the year with the bluegrass group The Matchsellers, and Little Miss Dynamite, and with Beth Watts Nelson and teaching students and small groups at Farm School KC, in addition to filling every weekend with guest spots on many of the finest bandstands in town. // Both members of other Kansas City bands (Konza Swamp, Little Miss Dynamite, CatGut, Whiskey Mash) the duo was forged in the rich musical melting pot of the Rural Grit Happy Hour in KC’s Crossroads Arts District. With a focus on vocal melody and harmony, their songs sound as if they had been unearthed with the patina of decades in the songbook of Americana.Together they seek the time and means to provide a genuine and meaningful musical experience to their audiences. // Recording Engineer: Danny McGaw, Northern Sky Recording, Overland Park, KS. Mixed and Mastered: Clarke Wyatt, Gnomes and Goats Studio, KCMO]

[Beth & Brandon play Hammer’s Piano Bar, 3901 Main Street, KCMO on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play Tall Trellis Brew Co, 25600 W. Valley Pkwy, Olathe on Thursday, October 2 at 6:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play First Friday at Folk Alliance International Headquarters, 2018 Baltimore Ave, Kansas City on Friday, October 3 at 6:00pm. More information at: bethandbrandonmusic.com]

11:45 – More Interview with Beth Watts Nelson & Brandon Day

Beth Watts Nelson & Brandon Day who recently released the EP Wahtucna Waltz. Beth & Brandon combine their classical, folk, jazz and choral music backgrounds to create a modern perspective on a vintage sound. With a focus on vocal melody and harmony, their songs sound as if they had been unearthed with the patina of decades in the songbook of Americana. An array of instruments pass between the hands of the duo to bring award-winning original and standard tunes to life. // Beth & Brandon play Hammer’s Piano Bar, 3901 Main Street, KCMO on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play Tall Trellis Brew Co, 25600 W. Valley Pkwy, Olathe on Thursday, October 2 at 6:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play First Friday at Folk Alliance International Headquarters, 2018 Baltimore Ave, Kansas City on Friday, October 3 at 6:00pm. More information at: bethandbrandonmusic.com

Beth Watts Nelson & Brandon Day, thanks for being with us on WMM

She is now the founder and director of Notorious Chorus – a community-based, group singing workshop for adults.

In addition to solo & duo performances, Beth can be heard in projects throughout KC metro including Konza Swamp Band, CATGUT, and her latest endeavor, Little Miss Dynamite.

Little Miss Dynamite released their debut six-song EP of original music featuring stringed instruments and vocal harmony titled “Grow Up”. The band’s spark was ignited when KC singer, songwriter and music educator, Beth Watts Nelson and co-founder, Caleb Gardner (both of Konza Swamp Band) joined up to sing harmonies together in the garage. The addition of long-time friend and fiddler extraordinaire, Betse Ellis (The Wilders) and the inspired playing of Brandon Day (The Matchsellers) on bass.

Production: Rural Grit Records, 2024 Beth Watts Nelson (ASCAP). Musicians and Instrumentation: Beth Watts Nelson – guitar, banjo, lead vocals; Caleb Gardner – guitar, mandolin, lead vocals; Betse Ellis – fiddle, harmony vocals; Brandon Day – bass, harmony vocals. Engineered and Mixed by Clarke Wyatt, Gnomes and Goats Studio. Album Art by Grady Keller, Mound Creative, All songs written by Beth Watts Nelson except “Circle the Drain” by Caleb Gardner

Little Miss Dynamite played the 21st Annual Crossroads Music Fest, Saturday, September 6, 3:00pm to Midnight, in West Bottoms at Lemonade Park, Stockyards Brewing,

Beth & Brandon played the KKFI Band Auction

Beth & Brandon’s Show Schedule

Wednesday, October 1 @ 7:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Hammer’s Piano Bar – KCMO

Thursday, October 2 @ 6:00PM — 8:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Tall Trellis – Olathe

Friday, October 3 @ 6:00PM Beth and Brandon @ First Friday @ FAI Headquarters
Folk Alliance International, Kansas City

Saturday, October 11 @ 11:00AM — 12:00PM – Harvest Festival – Independence Boulevard Christian Church, Kansas City

Tuesday, Oct. 21 @ 7:00PM Beth and Brandon @ LX Loft Shows – LX Loft Shows, Cuba,

Wednesday, October 22 – Beth and Brandon @ Village Wine Songwriter Night – Village Wine & Spirits, Effingham, IL

Thursday, October 23 — Sunday, October 26 – Beth and Brandon @ FARM – Folk Alliance Region Midwest, Lisle, IL

Sunday, Oct. 26 @ 7:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ House Concert -= TP House, Gurnee, IL

Monday, October 27 @ 7:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Arriba Rooftop Jam – Arriba Rooftop, Chicago, IL

Wednesday, October 29 @ 7:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Evangeline’s St Louis – Evangeline’s Bistro and Music House, St Louis, MO

Wednesday, October 29 @ 7:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Shaved Duck Smokehouse – Shaved Duck Smokehouse, St Louis, MO

Tuesday, Nov. 4 @ 6:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ KC Current – CPKC Stadium, KCMO

Wednesday, November 5 @ 7:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Live Recording Kansas City

Thursday, November 6 @ 6:00PM — 8:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Tall Trellis – Olathe

Friday, November 28 @ 7:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Luminary Walk – Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, Bucyrus, KS

Thursday, December 4 @ 6:00PM — 8:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Tall Trellis – Olathe

Sunday, December 7 @ 3:00PM – LMD @ Stockyards – Stockyards Brewing Co, KCMO

Tuesday, December 30 @ 7:00PM – Waldo Folk John Hartford Birthday Bash
Waldo Pizza, Kansas City

Wednesday, January 21, 2026 — Sunday, January 25, 2026 – Beth and Brandon @ FAI New Orleans – New Orleans, LA

Friday, February 6, 2026 @ 3:00PM – Beth and Brandon @ Force of Nature – Force of Nature Brewing, De Soto, KS

Beth Watts Nelson and Brandon May, thanks for being with us on WMM

Beth & Brandon play Hammer’s Piano Bar, 3901 Main Street, KCMO on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play Tall Trellis Brew Co, 25600 W. Valley Pkwy, Olathe on Thursday, October 2 at 6:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play First Friday at Folk Alliance International Headquarters, 2018 Baltimore Ave, Kansas City on Friday, October 3 at 6:00pm. More information at: bethandbrandonmusic.com

For WMM, I’m Mark Manning. Thanks for listening.

11:53:00

1. Beth Watts Nelson & Brandon Day – “Winter Rain”
   from: Wahtucna Waltz EP / Rural Grit Records / July 11, 2025
   [Beth Watts Nelson is an award-winning Kansas City based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and lifelong student of music. Building upon a twenty year career in music education she is now the founder and director of Notorious Chorus – a community-based, group singing workshop for adults. In addition to solo and duo performances, she can be heard in several projects throughout the KC metro including Konza Swamp Band, CATGUT, and her 4 piece string band Little Miss Dynamite with Beth Watts Nelson on lead vocals & banjo, Betse Ellis (of The Wilders, Betse & Clarke) on fiddle, Brandon Day (of The Matchsellers) on bass, and Caleb Gardner (of Konza Swamp) on mandolin, guitar & vocals. // Brandon Day attended Olympic College outside of Seattle, working extensively with budding jazz vocalists and small groups. His passion for helping others sound the best they can has lead him through many genres, including jazz, bluegrass, country and western, folk, Americana, classical, and all sorts of fusions. While primarily an upright bassist on call with many jazz vocalists and bluegrass groups in the greater Kansas City Metro, Brandon is also known to sing and play other instruments when needed, including guitar, violin/fiddle and electric bass. He maintains an active performance schedule throughout the year with the bluegrass group The Matchsellers, and Little Miss Dynamite, and with Beth Watts Nelson and teaching students and small groups at Farm School KC, in addition to filling every weekend with guest spots on many of the finest bandstands in town. // Both members of other Kansas City bands (Konza Swamp, Little Miss Dynamite, CatGut, Whiskey Mash) the duo was forged in the rich musical melting pot of the Rural Grit Happy Hour in KC’s Crossroads Arts District. With a focus on vocal melody and harmony, their songs sound as if they had been unearthed with the patina of decades in the songbook of Americana.Together they seek the time and means to provide a genuine and meaningful musical experience to their audiences. // Recording Engineer: Danny McGaw, Northern Sky Recording, Overland Park, KS. Mixed and Mastered: Clarke Wyatt, Gnomes and Goats Studio, KCMO]

[Beth & Brandon play Hammer’s Piano Bar, 3901 Main Street, KCMO on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play Tall Trellis Brew Co, 25600 W. Valley Pkwy, Olathe on Thursday, October 2 at 6:00pm. // Beth & Brandon play First Friday at Folk Alliance International Headquarters, 2018 Baltimore Ave, Kansas City on Friday, October 3 at 6:00pm. More information at: bethandbrandonmusic.com]

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

Next week on Wednesday, October 8, we’ll talk with musical genius Ty Faison formerly of Blackstarkids who returns to WMM to share music from his solo debut album UNTIL THE WAR IS WON. ALSO Margo May, Jared Bond and Tim York with all play live in our 90.1 FM Studios. AND FlarethaRebel returns to WMM.

Stay tuned at 12:00 Noon for “Music to Make You Wiggle” with Steve Stemmerman at 2:00pm it’s Jazz Afternoon with Jeff Harshbarger. At 4:00pm we bring you, Dub’s Groove with Warren, at 6:00pm it’s: ON AIR with Nikki Brooks. At 7:00pm it’s VOICES OF KANSAS CITY brought to you by The Kansas City Star and 90.1 FM KKFI.

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

A really big THANK YOU to every one of you who donated during Wednesday MidDay Medley and our Summer Fund Drive for KKFI 90.1 FM. We had 47 individuals donate a total of $3529.00 in support of Community Radio. Special thanks go to my co-hosts and guests: Betse Ellis, Mikal Shapiro, Sandra Draper, Steve Tulipana and Lincoln Dreher!!!

Thanks 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.

For WMM, I’m Mark Manning. Thanks for listening!

Show #1115