Live Lunch: A side of music with your sandwich
If you would like to add a little zest to that brown-bag lunch, consider WFPK Radio Louisville’s Live Lunch series.
The free noontime concerts take place on Fridays in the intimate performance studio of Louisville Public Media, 619 S. Fourth St. The series includes local talent as well as touring acts, and host Laura Shine works in brief interviews with the artists.
The concert series began in 2000, shortly after Louisville Public Media moved into its Fourth Street digs from the Louisville Free Public Library. “We have a gorgeous performance studio that holds 75 people, has its own control room and sound board, so it was really a no-brainer to do something like this,” Shine said. “The idea was inspired by other radio stations doing similar shows in their studios.”
Shine said that performances are often booked to coincide with an artist’s upcoming CD release or show, but some performers are simply passing through town. “It’s a good way to introduce them to our audience,” she said. “Each performer gets an entire hour of on-air time. Consider that next to the three- to four-minute song once a day or week they would normally receive for airplay. It’s pretty substantial.”
Past performers have included Bodeco, Sam Bush, Old 97’s, Ben Sollee and Keller Williams, to name a few. “The most memorable performances are the ones where you can feel the energy in the room … or the ones where something went dreadfully awry and you can’t forget it!” Shine said.
She went on to cite recent performances by Washington, D.C. , indie band These United States, “who blew everybody away with their live performance,” and Dark Side of The Wall: a Pink Floyd Tribute, which performed all of Dark Side of The Moon. “It was mind-bendingly great!” Shine said.
The doors open at 11:30 a.m., and seating is limited. Special deals are available for WFPK members at certain pledge levels. If you can’t make it to the show, the concerts are broadcast live on 91.9 FM and are posted on WFPK’s Web site.
For more information and a schedule of upcoming performances, click here.
- by , Louisville Reporter for HelloMetro
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Since graduating from Western Kentucky University with a journalism degree, Lisa Jessie has worked as a copy editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader and The Cincinnati Enquirer in the 1990s. She was also an assistant business editor at The Courier-Journal. She lives in Louisville, KY, with her cats, Desdemona and Willoughby.
