Radio show a hit at festival

Photo by AP Photo / Dave Martin

Warren Haynes of Gov't Mule performs during the Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn., Saturday, June 13, 2009.

Wayne Bledsoe's Day Two at Bonnaroo

MANCHESTER, Tenn. - Bonnaroo attendees come from all over the world to join more than 70,000 fellow music fans on 700 acres in Coffee County. On Saturday, the festival got a sampling of one of Knoxville's success stories. From noon until 8 p.m., the Other Tent, as it is known, became the "Tennessee Shines" show. The live radio show is typically held monthly at the Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville and broadcast over WDVX-FM.

The Steeldrivers, Cherryholmes, the Tony Rice Unit, the Del McCoury Band and the David Grisman Quintet performed during the eight-hour stretch, with "Tennessee Shines" host Jim Lauderdale acting as emcee.

The event was broadcast by both WDVX and Nashville's WSM, the station that also airs the Grand Ole Opry.

Most fans in the audience hadn't heard of the show before.

Nikum Ranpuria and Jen Alexander, both 24 and from Cincinnati, said they are both bluegrass fans.

"This is what we were looking for at Bonnaroo," said Ranpuria, as the Tony Rice Unit played. "We're much more into this than the Beastie Boys and Snoop Dogg."

Alexander said the two had decided to come to Bonnaroo because Phish was playing.

"But we've checked out all the bands," said Ranpuria. "This stage has the best collection."

Backstage, Lauderdale said he was excited about "Tennessee Shines" in general.

"I can't even put it into words," he said. "It just keeps growing and expanding. I get to enjoy seeing all these great bands and singer-songwriters. We're getting the cream of the crop."

Lauderdale said many musicians have heard about the show.

"They all want to do the show," he said, "even folks who live far away. It's just a question of scheduling."

Lauderdale typically performs with some of the acts, but he didn't do that for Bonnaroo. Instead, he was heading over to be a guest on Elvis Costello's show later in the evening.

Behind the tent, Tony Lawson, general manager and one of the founders of WDVX, did an on-air interview with Jere and Cia Cherryholmes in the WDVX camper - the station's original studio. Now the camper is used for remote events.

Lawson agreed that artists seem anxious to perform on the show, despite the pay being far less than the acts would typically earn.

Lawson said the goal for "Tennessee Shines" was to get the station syndicated on at least 25 radio stations around the country in early 2010. WSM has expressed interest in being the first.

"When you think about a show like "Tennessee Shines" you have to think about a show like the 'Grand Ole Opry,' " said Lawson.

Paige Travis, publicist for AC Entertainment, which co-promotes both Bonnaroo and "Tennessee Shines," and Manya Whitney-Miller, "Tennessee Shines" producer, said the idea of bringing the show to Bonnaroo was mostly to raise awareness of it.

"It's just to let people know that there is something happening in Knoxville," said Whitney-Miller.

Down in front, the crowd spilled out well beyond the shade of the stage.

Kathyrn McGuire, 20, and Joey Pierce, 22, of Ashland, Ky., said they had just realized the show was being broadcast.

"I think it's great," said Pierce. "And I think it's good to let people know what's going on at Bonnaroo."

Wayne Bledsoe may be reached at 865-342-6344.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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