Radio Operator: Inside the Making of an Audio Feature

Original image of Barnaby Bright by There Stands the Glass.

My work with KCUR resumed with a feature about the Folk Alliance International Conference told through the perspective of the locally based band Barnaby Bright.  A few additional details and insights related to the construction of the story follow.

*The text and the audio components of the feature are distinct items. I encourage you to consume both elements.

*The principal characters in the story were uncommonly accommodating.  They’re lovely people.

*Longtime readers of There Stands the Glass understand that I’m not particularly fond of pop-tinged folk.  Yet I can’t get Barnaby Bright’s hook-laden songs out of my head.

*Fun bit of trivia: the notable operatic tenor Ben Bliss is the brother of Barnaby Bright’s Becky Bliss.

*I hadn’t previously realized that Barnaby Bright’s Nathan Bliss is an astounding musician.

*More bands would benefit from the addition of harmoniums.

*Carlos Moreno’s excellent images compensate for my incompetence as a photographer.

*Partly because I was required to self-isolate this week due to illness, KCUR editor Luke Martin did almost all of the heavy lifting.

Uptown Folk

Original image of Jake Blount by There Stands the Glass.

God willing, the actual purpose of my enormous time investment and, alas, personal health sacrifice at last week’s Folk Alliance International Conference will soon materialize.  Until then, I’ll share a blind item.

Jake Blount’s official showcase was packed.  I fruitlessly inquired about empty seats as I shuffled from the back of the room toward the stage.  I wound up sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with fans who claimed spots on the floor up front.  Discomfort was rendered irrelevant by Blount’s brilliance.  

Blount opened his enthralling set with a lament about the Middle Passage delivered over a grim drone.  I soon became aware of discontented harrumphing from a man seated immediately behind me who apparently didn’t care for Blount’s unconventional approach.

The protest wasn’t out of place.  I was almost certainly among a small minority at the conference who wanted to hear sonic disruption.  I turned to identify the malcontent at the conclusion of Blount’s set.  I was amazed and delighted to discover the dissenter was an octogenarian folk legend.

For the record, here’s a ranked listing of the artists responsible for my ten favorite performances at the conference: Jake Blount, Verónica Valerio, Sara Curruchich, Jennifer Knapp, Kris Drever, Kitty Macfarlane, OKCello, Barnaby Bright, Harry Manx and Talibah Safiya.