Baltimore’s local public music station, WTMD 89.7 FM, will celebrate “Public Radio Music Day” on Wednesday, Oct. 25, on-air, online, and in-person with free community events at its studio in Towson.
This is the fourth annual celebration of Public Radio Music Day, which brings together noncommercial music stations, artists, and fans to recognize public radio’s service to the community and role in the music industry locally and nationally.
“The 2023 Public Radio Music Day Theme is ‘Building Communities through Music’. If you build it, they will come. WTMD built the largest, free concert series in Baltimore, First Thursday’s, where 40,000+ people a year come to gather and enjoy music together,” said Carrie Evens, WTMD’s program director. “WTMD builds platforms for Charm City musicians by championing Baltimore artists on-air, every single day of the week. WTMD builds space for growth by regularly opening our doors for cultural gatherings. If you build it, they will come.”
This year’s theme – “Building Community Through Music” – highlights the contributions public radio stations provide to music education, artist discovery, and preservation to the local music culture.
“WTMD is proud to be a part of Public Radio Music Day and will continue engaging music fans, artists, and musicians through on-air, studio sessions, fan and artist stories, special programming, and curated playlists,” read the press release announcing WTMD’s participation in the national celebration. “On October 25, WTMD will join stations across the country in hosting special broadcast and programming to connect their community with local musicians and artists; school music programs; and advocate for the continued support of public radio music stations.”
WTMD hosts approximately 25 shows and events per year which are free and open to the public, including the First Thursday concert series which ran from June through September this year.
On Oct. 25, to celebrate Public Radio Music Day, the radio station will begin the morning with Annapolis musician Carly Winter on the WTMD morning show during the 9 a.m. hour.
After that, WTMD will welcome listeners and fans to its studios at 1 Olympic Place, Towson, Md 21204, for the following:
- A Live Lunch performance one of the most buzzed-about new artists on the scene, Genesis Owusu, the Ghanian-Australian phenom who will make his Maryland debut from 12-1 p.m.
- A Public Radio Music Day Happy Hour featuring light refreshments, a special performance from Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie from 4-6 p.m. (music kicks off at 5 p.m.) and a first look at the WTMD’s new exhibit “Albumania,” a series of classic and obscure album covers transformed into clever, satirical works of art by Baltimore’s own Matt Muirhead.
All events are free and open to the public, but RSVPs are required. You can register by clicking this link, then clicking on the Public Radio Music Day icon.
You can listen to coverage of the events live by clicking this link. The day’s performances will also be livestreamed on WTMD’s YouTube channel or this NPR link.
