Kansas City PBS has announced a new half-hour special celebrating the 20th anniversary of 90.9 The Bridge, a local non-profit, music discovery radio station. PLAYBACK: 20 Years of Music Discovery will feature local artists performing a collection of cover songs from 2001, the year The Bridge first went live. The new show premieres Thursday, Aug. 26, at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 19.1. “The Bridge has been not only an integral part of the Kansas City music scene for the past twenty years, but an integral part of Kansas City itself,” said Kliff Kuehl, President & CEO of Kansas City PBS. “We’re incredibly excited to bring audiences and music lovers a true 2001 cover song celebration, marking the year The Bridge first connected with listeners 20 years ago.”
Kuehl spearheaded Kansas City PBS’ acquisition of the Triple-A (adult album alternative) radio station in 2013 through an agreement with the University of Central Missouri. For the past two decades, the listener-supported, non-commercial NPR music radio station, has contributed to the Kansas City music community by connecting artists with audiences. PLAYBACK will feature live performances by local artists Sam Wells, The Way Way Back, Katy Guillen and the Drive, Making Movies, Calvin Arsenia, Ben Muñoz, Simon "Pushki" Huntley, Greeting Committee, Jessica Paige, Nathan Showalter, Colleen Dieker and Jeff Harshbarger.
“Twenty years is a big milestone for our station, and we wouldn’t be here without the Kansas City music community,” said Bryan Truta, senior director of radio operations for The Bridge. “PLAYBACK came together as the perfect opportunity to honor these big songs in history, turning 20 alongside us, through the lens of local artists.”
The Bridge has provided a platform for diverse voices and served as a center point for Kansas City’s music culture. In addition to special programming aimed at community support and in-studio 909 Sessions combining live musical performances with artist interviews, The Bridge airs seven weekly music discovery shows: Mornings with Bryan Truta, Eight One Sixty, Revival, Sonic Spectrum, The Z Show, Go DJ! and Recently Released.
“As we’ve been working through the past few years, we hope to continue to grow more diverse and evolve in the amount of new music discovery that we’re presenting,” Truta said. “We’ve brought new sounds and genres and styles into the station. In Kansas City, we have a vibrant music scene — from rock to folk to hip-hop — we hope to continue to give exposure to those artists and show the world what Kansas City has to offer.”
90.9 The Bridge and Kansas City PBS will also host a live screening of PLAYBACK and a concert at Lemonade Park on Thursday, August 26, at 7 p.m. For more information and tickets, visit https://bridge909.org/playback.
Support for this program is provided by Sandy and Byron Whitaker and BOK Financial.