Did I Mention the Blue Plate Special?
Not as much as I should.
Knoxville is and will always likely be a small city. We'll never have a Chinatown or a Little Italy. We'll never have the tallest buildings or the most bustling streets. We'll have art, but not in the volume and of the stature of other cities. There will never be direct Knoxville to Paris flights and no one from Europe is likely to make a stop in our town the centerpiece of their North American vacation.
Yet, there are many great things about Knoxville. Some of those are very unique even when held alongside our larger sisters. (That doesn't make them sound so good after all, does it: "She's our larger sister, but we still love her.") One of the unique features of our little town is the musical heritage along Gay Street. Is there a street in America that has seen more live music broadcast over the radio?
Starting with WNOX in the 1930's, live music broadcast over the radio has become part of our heritage. Though it died out for a few lost decades, it has returned in recent years in the form of radio station WDVX. The brainchild of Tony Lawson, with humble beginnings in a travel trailer, WDVX is now located on the corner of Gay Street and Summit Hill in the same space as the Knoxville Visitor Center. Daily concerts are broadcast at live at noon each weekday (and recently on Saturdays) in the form of the Blue Plate Special.
I've been fortunate enough to be a WDVX listener since the first weekend they were on air. I've also been able to attend many Blue Plate Specials over the years, though not nearly as many as I would like because of that little inconvenience called, "making a living," which keeps me away most days. If you haven't listened to them, do. The mornings are bluegrass heavy, while the afternoons are more Americana and the rest of the time is a mix of those and classic country (AKA real country music). It's a good station that will serve up Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead. And did I mention commercial free? It's at FM 89.9 outside the city and 102.9 downtown. It's always waiting at http://www.wdvx.com/.
Brothers Burn Mountain, WDVX, Knoxville, November 2010 |
Brothers Burn Mountain, WDVX, Knoxville, November 2010 |
Kevin Gordon, WDVX, Knoxville, November 2010 |
Here's a video of Brothers Burn Mountain:
Here's a video of Kevin Gordon:
Labels: Blue Plate Special, Brothers Burn Mountain, Downtown Knoxville, Kevin Gordon, WDVX
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