Archive for March 12th, 2012

 

Radio Face

Linda Burton posting from Austin, Texas — KUT radio, Austin, Texas, 90.5 on your radio dial. http://kut.org/ Check it out.

This public radio station is the face of Texas. Give it the Yellow Rose, the Lone Star, the Bluebonnet Blue Ribbon for excellence. I confess to being a devoted NPR listener; heck, before I left home I made a list of all the public stations in all the capital cities so I could tune in as soon as I arrived.

KUT has entertained and guided me from Day 1 in Austin. Good programming, enough talk, enough news, and laudy miss maudy there is music music music. It’s not a blues station, like some I’ve loved, or a jazz station; nor does it dote on country, or folk, or bluegrass, or latin. It does everything.

Listening to the Eklektikos show a few days ago while computering, I heard Emmylou Harris and Johnny Cash, Bob Marley and Bruce Springsteen, Asleep at the Wheel and The Shins, Alejandro Escovedo and Alabama Shakes, with NPR news at 11 followed by a live in-studio performance by Dr Dog, that psychedelic-indie rock band out of Pennsylvania in town for SXSW,. Dr Dog’s performace was a little off, for which they apologized. “Morning voice, huh?” was the astute-yet-forgiving comment. I felt like they were sitting in my living room. Connection.

KUT is thick in the community, involved and offering opportunity for involvement. It’s been around since 1958, licensed to the University of Texas at Austin, a service of the College of Communication. Committed to supporting civic and cultural life in Central Texas, its mission is simply stated — to create experiences that deepen understanding and connect people. “We are committed to authenticity, craft, context and the unique power of the human voice in all its forms.”

Check it out. And remember, this is a publicly supported station. Make a donation. Become a member. See the little blue button at the top right of their site.  http://kut.org/