An on-air talent’s ode to Benny Smith and WUTK
Today I am in New York City. Yesterday I was in Philadelphia, tomorrow I will be in Boston. This marks the beginning of the end of a two-month tour that started at Scruffy City Hall with Knoxville’s Finest Rock ‘n’ Roll band (according to this publication’s most recent poll) Connor Kelly & The Time Warp. Together, The Time Warp and I have covered over 10,000 miles and counting, just this year alone. It’s a journey that began far earlier than that.
My introduction to the independent Knoxville music scene was probably Waynestock five or six years ago. Though perhaps it was Rhythm N’ Blooms. Or maybe it could have been just a Pinklets concert. Either way, I’m certain that the show was sponsored by WUTK 90.3 The Rock, because all of them were. I remember seeing that little orange 90.3 FM logo on every show poster I saw as a high-school student trying to get involved in Knoxville’s live music scene.
It wasn’t long before I started my own band and started putting on my own shows. And my first order of business was figuring out how to get that little orange logo onto MY show posters. I went to wutkradio.com and sent an email to every contact at the radio station that I could find, until eventually someone gave me the real email for the station’s general manager Benny Smith. He connected me with the host of WUTK’s “Locals Only” show, and I was able to submit my music. I will never forget the first time I heard one of my songs come on while I was driving in my car. Though it may be true that radio isn’t the biggest powerhouse in music and advertising anymore, there is still an unmatched excitement that comes with getting airplay. It made me feel like anyone in the world could be listening to the thing that I had created. Which only cemented my desire to create more.
Shortly after, I set out to get WUTK to sponsor one of my shows. It wasn’t until my first New Ground Music Festival in 2019 that I was able to land it. In doing so, we scheduled two in-studio sessions with “Locals Only” where I would get to bring a band into the station to talk about the festival and highlight their music. Walking into the basement of Andy Holt Tower for the first time was like stepping into a musical museum. Posters lined the walls, floor to ceiling, of shows I’d been to, as well as of shows I could only dream of having attended. Stickers and signatures covered every door, with names of artists I’d looked up to my whole life – and now I was standing in the same place they once were. I brought Cam Cool and Willa Mae onto the radio for the first time, and their reactions and excitement levels were the same as mine. As a matter of fact, every artist I’ve brought onto the radio ever since has felt that same sense of history and possibility.
A little over a year ago, I became a co-host of “Locals Only,” the very show that got me into radio and live music to begin with. I get emails and messages every week from bands looking to get their first airplay, the same way I once was. It is a true joy to get to share their music with Knoxville, and the world, and get a chance to meet them and learn about their stories and their dreams. Through WUTK, I have been able to support so many amazing local musicians, including Connor Kelly & The Time Warp, the band I now manage and tour alongside, and we have gotten to add our own posters and stickers to the museum walls.
The partnership and personal connection The Time Warp and I have built with WUTK is like nothing we can get from TV, social media or otherwise. Radio produces that feeling musicians crave and the focused incentive they need, both of which unfortunately are being lost as the medium’s popularity declines. It is a blessing to have one of the last truly independent college-radio stations left in the country in our hometown. Through all the ups and downs of touring, we know that every week (maybe even every day) our music is being broadcast on 90.3 FM to somebody somewhere. And we know WUTK will be there to help pack out our next Knoxville show, promote the next tour and sponsor our next festival because they have been doing it for over 40 years – for us, for Superdrag and the countless other bands that came before us and for all the bands that will come after us.
I thank WUTK, Benny Smith, and “Locals Only” for believing in me and my dreams. College radio is a necessary and powerful stepping stone for musicians, and I urge you to get involved with or support its mission any way you can. Support local radio, support local music and keep the dream alive!
