BRISTOL, Va. – “Mountain Music Showcase,” formerly held at the Twin City’s train station, is now hitting the road and local radio airwaves.
Earlier this year, Jim Edwards and Liz Marshall co-hosted a series of live musical performances at the restored Union Depot. The shows were recorded and broadcast on ARC-TV of Norton, Va., but stopped in June when ARC merged with NSE Films/MyMar Entertainment to form Appalachian Mountain Streaming.
A late summer restart was short-lived.
“After ‘Mountain Music Showcase’ at the train station was canceled, Liz and I wanted to keep it going,” Jim Edwards said. “So we’re taking it on the road.”
So far, they have recorded live performances in Hampton and Surgoinsville, Tenn., and at the Papa Joe Smiddy Festival at Natural Tunnel State Park in Scott County, Va.
Beginning Saturday, a taped audio version of “Mountain Music Showcase” will begin airing weekly on WIGN-AM in Bristol, Va.
Recordings from the train station shows and the other venues will comprise the musical lineup for their new radio venture.
“All we’re going to play is local bands recorded live. Our focus is to showcase local talent and promote Bristol as the birthplace of country music,” Edwards said.
Edwards, Marshall and new co-host Linda Wright – a staff writer and program host on worldwidebluegrass.com – plan to continue recording at area events and packaging that music for the radio show.
Edwards said the group also hopes to find another route to televise the musical performances.
The show is scheduled to air from 9-11 a.m. each Saturday, said Rick Mitchell, president of WIGN.
“This is wonderful programming and we’re glad to have them be part of WIGN,” Mitchell said. “We already have shows like Sounds of the Mountain Empire that showcase strictly Christian artists who are not signed to a label.”
The trio’s “down-home” style will offer listeners an alternative to pre-programmed radio shows, Mitchell said.
Located at 1550 on the AM radio dial, the station can reach eight states with its 35,000 watts of broadcast power, Mitchell said.
“We want to build this from the ground up and become the WSM of this end of the state,” Mitchell said, referring to the Nashville station that is the radio home of country music’s Grand Ole Opry.
dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532
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