I was standing in a sold-out room of 900 people listening to an artist being embraced by a legion of hard core fans singing along to every one of his lyrics. It’s a scene that has played out many times at Anthem, but this show was different.
Kane Brown was a big star…and he did it (mostly) without much assistance from country radio – including KSUX. We started playing “Used to Love You Sober” about 3 weeks earlier, but to think most of that venue was aware of that fact would be silly. I stood there among devoted fans drinking my Bud Light thinking “How is it that I had never heard of this guy until it was announced that he was coming?” “Am I out of touch with country music fans?” and “How did we miss this guy?”
I took some solace in the fact – most of country radio missed him too. KSUX became just the fourth reporting station to play Kane Brown but it was abundantly clear to me (and KSUX rock star talent Josie Cooper) that we needed to do a better job of new music delivery that goes beyond the Top 40 in country radio.
So, with that epiphany, the idea of “Friday Night Spotlight” was hatched on KSUX – Fridays at 7pm. Our good pal Brad Streeter from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City joins us on the homegrown specialty show. (Brad gets the nod because honestly he brought artists into Siouxland like Kane Brown, Ryan Hurd, Big Smo and others I not only missed but didn’t know existed until they were announced).
It’s been so great this past year to discover new artists. I hope this new endeavor adds some spice to the station, my personal library and hopefully, yours.
Some of the musicians that make the cut for week one include the Josh Abbot Band (in concert February 26th), LANco, Kane Brown, Steve Moakler, Jordan Rager, Brandy Clark and Lindsay Ell.
We’ll also do deeper than the radio hits from Charles Kelley, Tim McGraw and Sam Hunt.
That’s all in episode one.
If you have suggestions for airplay, just call us at 712.274.1057, contact me on Twitter at KSUXTonyM, or just reach out to Josie Cooper or Tony N Candice on Facebook.
To borrow a line from a country song, you can learn a lot when you escape the interstate of Top 40 songs and take a back road where you’re bound to experiences a few fun surprises.
It’s sure to be an enjoyable journey.