“The Music Place” – Radio For The Discerning Audio Palate in Roanoke

Since October local radio station WVMP- FM 101.5 has been airing the kind of music that, in the words of the station’s market manager, Tom Kennedy, “is not played anywhere else. It’s the music for the discerning audio palate; it’s the music that is centered on songs rather than artists,” said Kennedy.

The response of WVMP’s target audience–Roanoke’s cultural arts community–was, in the words of the station’s program director, Sarah Ripley, immediate and enthusiastic.  “From the very first minute we signed on, we got a great response from people who have said one thing over and over again: ‘Where have you guys been?  We have been waiting for something like this for so long!’”

“By and large, most of the lyrical content and most of the songs that are played on “The Music Place” [as WVMP bills itself] have some poetic insight into the human condition and its ability to relate its struggles and the challenges of living in the 21st Century,” Kennedy explained. “And it’s using a 19th Century art form [banjos, fiddles, bluegrass music, bluegrass idiom, acoustic music, string-band music] to express that 21st Century sound, and that’s one of the real charms of it.”

While Ripley feels that the station’s audience could be described as progressive in nature, and classifies their format as “Adult Album Alternative,” she says “We don’t like to put it in a box.  It’s not a radio station; it’s a state of mind.  It’s about more than the music . . . Music is a big part of it but it’s not all of it.”

WVMP’s mission is to promote the cultural arts community in all its many aspects including visual arts, dramatic arts, and musical arts. As part of that mission, the station works closely with Studio Roanoke, the small theatre space on Campbell Avenue. Ripley calls it “a big cultural contributor to the city.  So we want to help them out as much as we can . . . They’ll send people down and talk about their events on-air.  We’ll do interviews with them.  They have a play coming up and the director of the play will come on my morning show and talk about [it].”

Ripley is the morning DJ, followed in the afternoon by Sam Hensley.  In addition to keeping listeners abreast of community events, WVMP also features specialty programs.  Airing from nine to eleven Sunday mornings, “The Acoustic Café” features acoustic music that, in Ripley’s words, “could be more Americana . . . singer-songwriter style.  We usually have a guest on there as well.”  Sunday evenings are given over to “The Grateful Dead Hour” and “Blues with Feeling,” a locally produced program hosted by Kerry Hurley.

Nationally-syndicated “Etown,” airing Monday and Friday evenings at nine, is recorded live in front of an audience, and presents a mix of different acts–contemporary groups (e.g. Bare Naked Ladies), classic artists (Bob Dylan), and up-and-coming bluegrass and pop artists–as well as specials about community involvement.

“The Putumayo World Music Hour,” broadcast Thursday evenings, features music worldwide, with each program typically focused on a different area of the world.  “We’ll have Brazilian music, or reggae, or music from certain regions of Africa or Asia,” says Ripley.  “It’s a really unique program, and we’re proud to have it on our station.”  The station also presents in-studio performances.  These happen as the performers’ schedules allow. Examples of the in-studio performances can be found at WVMP’s website: 1015themusicplace.com

Plans are also in the works for a live, locally produced public affairs program to air on “The Music Place,” beginning in February.  “It will be concentrating on those issues that are germane to the people in Roanoke and contribute to, or detract from, the quality of life,” Kennedy explains.  “Hopefully we’ll have conversation and discussion spotlighting those sorts of issues and investigating the reasons why and the possible solutions for it.”

Looking toward the future, Kennedy and Ripley are very optimistic about what’s in store for the arts community in Roanoke. Kennedy is encouraged by this area’s support of the arts, saying “you don’t find communities capable of supporting places like the Performing Arts Center. You don’t find places capable of supporting the Music Lab for Kids, the Mill Mountain Theater, [and] Studio Roanoke.”

He continues, “There’s obviously a very, very passionate core of people within this community who are deeply involved in all sorts of activities and support them. There’s no reason in the world that, within the next dozen years or so, Roanoke can’t become a major destination spot for the arts community from all over the country. I like to think of Roanoke as potentially becoming the next Woodstock.”

Clearly the founders see the addition of WVMP’s “The Music Place” to the Roanoke area as part of the progress toward that possibility.