Middle Western Radio, Somewhere in the Midwest (2025)

19/02/2024

Ep. 2 - Wild Foreboding Companions: The Legend of Canidae will debut live on Wednesday night at 7 pm CT on Stationhead.

We’ll take a look at 3 famous canids that have woven themselves into the very being of songwriting & storytelling across country, folk, and bluegrass. We’ll trace their biological roots back to the days of Lewis & Clark exploring the wild frontiers of days gone by while trying to figure out how 3 very similar “Canids” could have vastly different implications when placed into a song.

Why does a coyote immediately spring up thoughts of wild sagebrush and nostalgia while the mere mention of a wolf sends shivers down your spine as their foreboding nature comes scratching at your back door. And then we’ve got the dog, evolutionarily a hop skip and jump away from the previous two, yet firmly affixed to man’s side through it all - the ever loyal companion.

The Legend of Canidae grows and within the hallowed halls of music - their presence is immense.

Join us Wednesday for a wild tale!

15/02/2024

Episode 1 - The Streaming Wars aired last week and is now available on the Stationhead channel for anyone who might have missed it.

Link is in the bio!

I’m hopeful the new format of Middle Western Radio - a little more podcast than radio show and a little more radio show than podcast - makes for an entertaining listen no matter when you tune in.

Recording a show live with all of you each week is going to be a blast but if you’re listening after the fact - it makes great driving entertainment as well.

I hope the mix of songs, stories, statistics, and trivia hit the sweet spot and that everyone left feeling a little more informed about the tumultuous and unpredictable nature of streaming music in the 21st century.

And remember - your favorite artists are making literal pennies from your streams so be sure to support them with merch purchases, physical record sales, or show tickets.

Stay tuned to the socials for an announcement about next week’s show. It’s going to be a hoot! Or a howl. #🐺

06/02/2024

We are 48 hours away from the official launch of Middle Western Radio on Stationhead and to say I'm excited is an understatement.

I'm incredibly proud of the new medium I'm hoping to unveil Wednesday night. This is truly a mashup up of a podcast & radio show with the added bonus of getting to experience the recording of each episode live, participating with chat and sharing laughs & jokes along the way.

I've spent countless hours researching, writing, and developing this episode in the hopes that it brings you a compelling story, great music, and above all, an entertaining listen.

On Wednesday we will take a deep dive into what I'm dubbing "The Streaming Wars." We'll trace the history of music streaming as we know it all the way back to it's birthplace on a humble website called MP3.com. From there we'll check in on old friends like Pandora, Limewire, & more; all while enjoying a selection of country, folk, & bluegrass tunes that weren't available on AMP.

I'll pull back the curtain of the "Big Three" while trying to put a finger on why streaming got so convoluted...and where it goes from here. There's twists and turns along the way and as you'd expect, nothing is as meets the eye. Because on the wild frontier of the Streaming Wars, just about anything goes.

If you're curious about MWR or what the show is all about, than download Stationhead and link your Spotify/Apple Music account so you can join in on the fun. It's like settling down for the premiere of your favorite tv show each week, except you just get to listen along and hang out with a bunch of new friends.

I'm hoping to see many of ya'll Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT for the live recording of Episode 1 Songs We Couldn't Play on AMP: The Streaming Wars.

18/01/2024

Our first dabble into Stationhead tonight was a success!

Wow - what a fun platform - here are some of the highlights.

1.) Chat seems more fun and easier to use!

2.) If you hear a song you like, you can "like" it and add it directly to a playlist in Spotify or Apple Music. Amazing for instantly saving songs you hear that you love in real time!

3.) There's a song request feature that ended up spontaneously creating a brand new tradition for the show in only the first episode. First off, Isaac requested the Marty Robbins song which ended up being a great way to close things out but then Duncan jokingly requested Celine Dion - which was met with huge support from the chat - so we played it. Needless to say it was a roaring success and we discovered that I can overdub my voice during songs. Anyway - save your guilty pleasure songs that live in the "beyond" category because here on out we're closing every episode like that from now on!

4.) You can still call in and co-hosting seems like it will be even more fluid.

5.) All episodes will be archived shortly after airing allowing you to listen to them later like you would a podcast...if your podcast had music sprinkled in, trivia to ponder, and plenty of stories, metrics, & laughs.

To sum it up - I love Stationhead for what it can make this show. I teased a few possible upcoming episodes including "Coyotes" "States" and "Paranormal Country" but take a listen to the episode to hear more.

Thanks so much for the support on this first Test Show. I hope we can get an even bigger audience for the first official show which will be February 7th. In the meantime stay tuned for more test shows soon.

Thanks ya'll -

Joe

28/12/2023

New year. New look. Same sound. Same night.

Big things are just around the corner for Middle Western.

Come the New Year, MWR is officially heading to Stationhead!

If your Wednesday nights have been quiet, that should change soon.

The very best in country, folk, bluegrass, and beyond will be coming to you live from the Midwest with music, stories, metrics, and more.

More info coming soon - hold tight friends.

26/10/2023

And that's it.

The show finale of Middle Western Radio on AMP finished off tonight with a bang. Tons of bonus tracks and a great crowd to end our last Wednesday night together on AMP.

We featured a slew of old and new hits that gave us a lot of advice, ways to think about life, or just a reason to vibe.

Struwve took the crown as tonight's trivia winner answering questions about the history of the show.

Thank you so much to everyone who tuned in at any point across the last 41 episodes. It's wild to think about where the show started and where it's ending today here on AMP. It became the creative outlet I never knew I needed - a chance to share music with others and revel in everything country, folk, bluegrass, & beyond.

Moving forward the show will be transitioning to a platform called Stationhead. It will look a little different. Imagine a podcast but with music. But I've already said too much. Stay tuned for more on that later.

For now - let's celebrate all that was the last year or so of the show. This chapter closes but I can't wait to see what's next.

24/10/2023

Hard to believe tomorrow night will be our final episode on AMP.

There is a future for Middle Western Radio, it just exists elsewhere.

For now let’s celebrate with all sorts of feel good, crowd favorites for one last show on the platform. If you’ve never listened and thought “I’ll listen next week” there won’t be a next week…at least on AMP so download the app to join in on the fun at 7 pm CT tomorrow night!

There’ll be songs you know and songs you don’t, old songs, new songs, and every year in between. We’ll hit country, folk, bluegrass, & beyond along with a few trivia questions to boot.

I’ll talk about the future of the show tomorrow night as well. It’s cause for celebration not mourning so let’s go out the way we came in - jamming together on Wednesday nights.

Let’s get a big crowd for the final AMP show - see ya tomorrow for “The Last One.”

18/10/2023

If last week was “The Beginning of the End” than I suppose this week’s show could be titled “The Middle of the End.”

We’ve got just 2 episodes left of Middle Western Radio on AMP and I’m so pumped about the line up tonight.

As always we’ll traverse decades, genres, and sounds as we hit 14 crowd favorites from the last year of the show. Come celebrate what MWR has become and what it might be!

See ya tonight at 7 pm CT only on the AMP app!

12/10/2023

Well folks, it's the beginning of the end on AMP as the app announced last week they are shuttering the program come the end of October.

It was the first of our 3 show finale as we look to celebrate all that MWR has become over the last year.

We took a chance to replay some of the most well received songs across the last 38 episodes - we bounced old to new, country to folk, and even managed not 1 but 2 bluegrass tunes tonight.

Thanks for all the support over the last year or so of the show. It has truly grown into something all its own and I'm so proud of the MWR brand and family we've built.

There are bigger and better things on the horizon, that I can promise. For now, let's enjoy these final 2 shows over the next 2 weeks.

Shout out to a 5 way tie for 1st place tonight in trivia between Devin, Grace, Mason, Ashley, and Beth!

We'll see ya next week for Ep. 40!

11/10/2023

🚨Please Read🚨

For those of you who might not have seen, AMP very unexpectedly announced it is shutting down at the end of the month.

This took us all by surprise - it was not a choice of myself or any of the other creators. It’s still a bit unclear as to why this is taking place but I’m determined to make the most of the last 3 episodes of MWR on AMP.

I’ve kept track of any hand clap someone has made over the last year and am building the 3 final AMP episodes of songs that are crowd favorites. I’ll slip in a few new ones that I’m excited about but for the most part will stick to the ones you all know and love.

So grab your dancing shoes and get ready to vibe with the best that country, folk, and bluegrass has to offer as we say farewell to the platform that brought us all together almost a year ago.

There are exciting things on the horizon but for now let’s go out on AMP with a bang!

Let’s get a huge crowd for these last 3 shows! See ya Wednesday at 7 pm CT!

04/10/2023

7 icons of the country, folk, and bluegrass world. 7 new school acts doing similar sounding things. Mimicry ain’t a bad thing and the song pairings you’ll hear tonight will prove it. Tune in for Ep. 38 later this evening!

27/09/2023

🚨No show tomorrow night!🚨

But stay tuned to the story throughout the next week with plenty of new music recommendations and some MWR originals “If you like *insert mainstream artist here* than check out *insert similar sounding lesser known artist here*.”

For now I’ve got this new song on repeat.

See ya next week.

21/09/2023

Decades Show #4 is in the books!

Got a little emotional tonight hanging out and enjoying the tunes. Spending Wednesday night with everyone is such a fun way to kick ourselves over the midweek hump and I can't say thanks enough to those of you who find time in this insane world to spend a bit of it with the show.

We traversed 70 or so years of music history across country, bluegrass, and folk and highlighted some of the hits along the way.

Lord Huron's "Fool For Love" was a sleeper hit tonight along with Colby Acuff's "River Runs Through It" and "The Wind" by Zac Brown Band. Paired with classics from Shania Twain and Natalie Imbruglia - it was an episode to remember.

Shout out to Tiff who was our big winner tonight in trivia all about prices of "the good 'ole days."

See ya for the next episode ya'll!

20/09/2023

Our 4th Decades Show rolls into town tonight.

Each half of the show will feature one song per decade from the 60’s all the way to the 2020’s. As we go we’ll trace the history of country, folk, & bluegrass music across those decades and how they evolved & grew. The stories of those genres is fascinating!

Study up on those prices when gas was cheap and a loaf of bread cost less than a postage stamp…it might come in handy for trivia.

See ya tonight at 7 pm CT!

13/09/2023

See ya tonight!

07/09/2023

Well shoot - that might have been the best episode in the history of MWR!

Quick backstory - last minute I decided to pivot and I scrapped my original plans for a steel guitar only episode. Lately I've been loving the sound of a pedal steel and wanted to feed my indulgence with all steel, all the time.

I tried some new hashtags and promoted that in the title and voila - we got some new listeners AND out of nowhere we had calling in live on the show, a guy who is friends with one of the best pedal steel players on the planet and owner/inventor of an all analog pedal board used by some of the biggest musicians on the planet - ya ever heard of Vince Gill???

A huge shout out to Sage Benado for stopping by the show and then additionally for calling in and sharing your story & product with Middle Western Radio. It was a treat to hear from someone firmly planted in the industry. To think we were a few people removed from the likes of Chris Stapleton is pretty wild. Go support Benado Effects if you're in the market for a pedal board!

Beyond that we had our first listener from Idaho swing by along with the rest of our usual suspects making chat fire up most of the episode.

We traced the history of the pedal steel from its' humble beginnings on the Hawaiian Islands, to the "Frying Pan" and up towards the modern pedal steel we know and love.

Along the way we listened to 90's h***y tonk country, modern folk, finally featured some Bon Iver (perfect for that snowy winter day in front of a fire), and ended our "One Last Song" feature with an ode to Jimmy Buffett - gone too soon - while hearing pedal steel on every single tune.

I can't thank you enough for the support and listens. Hump Day ain't got nothing on Middle Western Radio.

Stay rootin' tootin' ya'll.

See ya next week.

Middle Western Radio