A “fall refresh” is how 89.3 The Current is describing a series of recent changes, which include ending the Saturday night all-request show Radio Free Current and the Local Current, Purple Current and Rock the Cradle streams. At the same time, longtime DJs Barb Abney and Bill DeVille will pick up more airtime on the Minnesota Public Radio station.
The changes are due to a number of factors, including federal funding cuts to public media and a shift in listener habits due to streaming services, said program director Lindsay Kimball.
“I think now is a good time to make these changes that we’ve kind of been sitting on,” Kimball said. “So all these little nudges have kind of come together.”
Here’s a look at what’s going down.
Thursdays
Producers at The Current have started an on-air new album listening party at 9 p.m. Thursdays, two hours before those records go live on streaming services. Pre-recorded messages from the artists behind the records air between songs.
“Some of the artists will set up every song and tell us a story or other information about it,” Kimball said. “A lot of times you get this deeper context that helps you really understand an album. And the cool thing is, you’re hearing it for the first time, but you’re not just hearing it for the first time. You’re hearing it for the first time presented to you by the artist.”
Neko Case, Big Thief, Polica, Mumford and Sons, Bon Iver, the Head and the Heart and Avett Brothers are among the acts who have participated. Brandi Carlile is on the schedule this week. An abbreviated version airs at 8:30 a.m. Fridays.
Saturdays
Sheroes Radio, a weekly show amplifying diverse female voices hosted by Carmel Holt, will now air an hour earlier, at 6 a.m.
The 7 a.m. hour will now feature DJ Jake Rudh’s Transmission. The weekly post-punk, new wave and indie show previously aired at 10 p.m. Thursdays. Two hours of the retro rock program Teenage Kicks follow.
“Weekend mornings are actually pretty strong,” Kimball said. “Weekends in general are pretty strong. If we’re putting a lot of work into these shows we’re thinking about when’s a good place (to air them).”
Barb Abney’s show “Radio Free Current” has been discontinued. (Courtesy of Barb Abney)
Abney’s final Radio Free Current aired over the weekend, but she’ll still host from 7 to 10 p.m. She’s also picked up a new shift, from 9 p.m. to midnight on Sundays.
Radio Free Current was one of the station’s oldest specialty shows and began as an annual event, Kimball said. After Twitter launched in 2006, it opened a new avenue to take requests and Radio Free Current went weekly. This was years before Spotify and other streaming services took off.
“At that time, if you wanted to hear a song, maybe you downloaded it on iTunes. Or you could request it and there was definitely a space for that. That’s one of the reasons why that show has been so awesome and fun. But it’s become less special, because, for the most part, we all have access to every song at our fingertips.
“The other thing is, I’m thinking about my staff. Barb knows so much about music and I felt like I haven’t been able to give her the opportunity to schedule her own music and then just be herself on the air. She tells stories about these artists, these stories about the songs, and really, leans into what she does best.”
Sanni Brown’s classic hip-hop and R&B show The Message will now air at 10 p.m. followed by an hour of Carbon Sound, the station’s hip-hop and R&B program.
Sundays
Bill DeVille’s United States of Americana — which focuses on folk, alt-country and similar genres — is gaining an hour and now airs from 7 to 10 a.m. Sundays.
In January, The Current will launch a new 6 a.m. show focused on emerging country singer/songwriters.
“It’s going to lean into the genre of country that’s not on radio,” Kimball said. “It’s the stuff that’s blowing up on streaming and selling tickets everywhere. It’s singer/songwriter and country stuff that’s not pop country, not mainstream country. It doesn’t fit on United States of Americana and it’s not getting played on (local country station) K102.”
Streaming
The Local Current (artists from the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota), Purple Current (all things Prince) and Rock the Cradle (children’s music) streams will conclude at the end of October.
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“We’ve had those around for quite a while,” Kimball said. “As we think about how we prioritize where we’re putting our effort and what new streams that we’re working on, we also have to ask what are we going to stop so we have capacity to launch some new things. I would say music discovery is probably our biggest thing. We want to do streams that focus on seasonal components and streams that align with celebrating music and music discovery.”
To that end, the station launched a Halloween stream earlier this month and a Holiday stream will follow in November. They join the Current’s live stream, a 20th anniversary stream and full streams of Teenage Kicks and Carbon Sound.
The station also offers a Latin music stream (Ritmofonica) and one focused on amplifying women in music (The Siren).
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