Longtime St. Louis, Missouri broadcasters Walter and Willa Volz have found a new home for their long running program, Bluegrass Breakdown. After nearly 25 years airing on KDHX, the hosts left amidst something of a mutiny of on-air talent, leaving the station without most of their volunteer hosts.
But it seems greener pasture await the Volzes, with a new home at The Bluegrass Jamboree, surely among the most popular streaming radio stations online, who cybercast 24/7, 365, much of it hosted.
Their show, now christened StL Bluegrass Breakdown, will air live Sunday evenings from 6:00-8:00 p.m. (CST). Walter and Willa wanted to be able to offer their show live in order to entertain requests from their long time listeners, and after some initial technical issues, have it all worked out.
So everyone is invited to join them at The Bluegrass Jamboree, which was named Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year at the recent SPBGMA National Convention in Nashville.
To listen, either visit the site directly, or download the iOS or Android app to groove on the grass wherever you go.
The popular weekly radio program,Bluegrass Breakdown, hosted for nearly 25 years in St Louis, MO on KDHX, will no longer be airing new episodes over a dispute with station management. Hosts Walter and Willa Volz pulled their involvement after station management fired 14 volunteer show hosts in a loosely organized strike against these decisions.
Walter tells us that dissent within the ranks of the station’s many volunteer hosts, which includes the Volzes, started when a 36 year veteran, Tom “Papa” Ray, was removed following a charge of bullying. When a number of other hosts spoke out in support of Ray, they were fired as well. A great many listeners shared their outrage over his removal, as his show The Soul Selector had a large following in the area.
The Volzes aired their last episode earlier this month, one they had broadcast live each week in order to continue to fulfill listener requests in real time, even in the digital age.
“Our show, Bluegrass Breakdown, aired its final broadcast on October 1, 2023 after 24 years and 9 months on KDHX, as we joined our fellow DJs on strike to show our solidarity with those who were terminated. No one really knows why the staff is doing this, outside of the so-called ‘strategic plan’ to be more diverse, and be more involved with the community.
The community and supporters of the station are against what’s happening, but they continue removing DJs. The staff claims the station is in the best fiscal shape it’s ever been in, but it seems to me a staff of seven will struggle to get everything that needs to be done, done.”
This situation crystalized just ahead of the KDHX fall pledge drive, which Walter says went very poorly for the station. He tells us that many listeners have reacted by discontinuing their financial support. As a public radio station, KDHX depends on local contributors for a large measure of their funding.
We had reached out to both the KDHX Board of Directors and Executive Director Kelly Wells for comment on these issues, and whether there might again be a home for Bluegrass Breakdown on KDHX, but have received no response.
Walter and Willa are in discussions with a number of online bluegrass radio networks, so long time fans of Bluegrass Breakdown may yet again hear their voices spinning tunes over the air in the near future.
CBA Bluegrass Breakdown editor/graphic designer, Jason and Gina Dilg
Long-time readers of the California Bluegrass Association member’s monthly newsletter, the Bluegrass Breakdown, noticed big changes during the pandemic including a smaller footprint with fewer columns with a professional-looking glossy print finish, but as the familiar song lyric goes, “That’s all in the past dear, it didn’t seem to last.” I spoke to CBA chairman Pete Ludé, and new Breakdown editor/graphic designer, Jason and Gina Dilg, to hear what readers can look forward to.
It’s important to credit the late Mark Varner for his long-term, extensive work in putting together an amazing and award-winning newsletter. After Mark’s departure, CBA member Patrick Campbell stepped up as editor when resources were scarce, and kept things going. Now to the Q&A.
Hello Pete. Tell us about the changes and your vision for the CBA Bluegrass Breakdown.
At the start of the pandemic, CBA – like most organizations – faced some unexpected financial challenges and tough choices. Since in-person communication became so difficult, we decided to focus on digital communication. We scaled back the Bluegrass Breakdown and began producing regular webcasts, expanded social media, and an entirely new website and membership management system. When we emerged from the tough times in good shape, the CBA board decided it was time to beef up the Bluegrass Breakdown as a high-quality print publication. The Breakdown has been continuously published as a monthly publication since 1975, so it has a rich history and a lot of fans. Beginning this January, we went from the scaled-back 4-page format, to 12 to 16 pages to include more compelling long-form stories. We’ve received encouraging feedback from both our membership and advertisers.
To accomplish this vision, CBA went on a search to find an editor and graphic designer to create a fresh, fun, and accessible publication. We were very fortunate to find Jason and Gina Dilg, who took over this role last October, and have brought a new and exciting perspective to the newsletter. In the process, it became clear that there are many untold stories about the people who pioneered bluegrass and old-time music here in California, and about the vibrant current scene of musicians, luthiers, songwriters, and so much more. It is important to tell these stories, and now with our new team and expanded publication, we have a platform to do it.
How can people get a physical copy or a link to read online?
The best way is to become a member of the California Bluegrass Association, and you’ll get the paper or digital version each month. Membership is still only $25 per year for individuals, or $30 for your whole family, plus many other benefits which you can find out about at www.CaliforniaBluegrass.org. For now, non-members can also access the digital (pdf) version of the Bluegrass Breakdown by looking for the orange Bluegrass Breakdown button on the web site home page.
Hey Jason. How did you get into BGOT music?
I was a recovering classical violin dropout when I saw a production of the play, A Lie Of The Mind, at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, way back in 1991. The music, originally scored by the Red Clay Ramblers, was performed that night by local musicians on mandolin family instruments. I was entranced by the music — I don’t really remember the play!
Jason on Banjo at the Lyons, Colorado Old-Time Square Dance
What excites you about working on the CBA Breakdown?
So many things.
It’s an exciting time to be here! We’re all shaking off a few years of social isolation from COVID. I think it’s interesting that the Bluegrass Breakdown’s founder — also CBA’s co-founder and first member, the recently passed Carl Pagter — knew this publication would be essential to bringing together bluegrass musicians across such a big state when he started the organization. So we’re using the Breakdown and the advantages that longer format stories than social media can easily accommodate to help us reconnect to each other and live music — jams and performances — which is an ethos that has run through CBA from its inception. It’s exciting to be a part of that, and I hope that’s reflected in the content and tone that we’re setting as we expand the publication from the four-page newsletter it became during the pandemic.
We’re also highlighting the trends and changes in the community and the broader bluegrass world, including a “big tent” view of the music in line with Carl’s vision, and our mission. We’ll be diving deep into old-time, gospel, and other forms of early American folk; shining the light on the role of nonwhite and female musicians past and present; and documenting the inspiration and love that pours from this community year after year from programs like the CBA Campouts, Youth Program, and the famous Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley. I’m excited to be doing some of this writing and also working with other great writers from the industry in this work.
Hi Gina. What is your musical connection to old-time/bluegrass music?
I’ve actually been involved with old-time and bluegrass music since I was little and living in Albuquerque NM. My folks were learning banjo and fiddle, and gave my sister and I fiddle lessons and drove to the East Coast for fiddlers conventions every summer, listening only to old-time string band music the whole time. They had square dance band practices in the house every week growing up. I went to college in Fredericksburg, Virginia, which was a music community heavily influenced by the Seldom Scene, and then moved to Colorado where I was quickly immersed in the music there. I loved that I could bounce between old-time and bluegrass music, and living in Lyons surrounded me with some of the best musicians in the business, and put me right at the heart of the Rockygrass festival.
Here is Gina fiddling at the 2018 Floyd Get Together Square Dance with Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison DeGroot
Talk about your trad music art and how that might influence your work on the Breakdown.
The layout work for the Breakdown comes fairly easily after my work for the Floyd Country Store and County Sales, and I love to create appealing aesthetic pieces that help tell a story. I imagine though when you say “trad music art” you might be referencing the illustrative series I started during the pandemic that took off as a sticker and merch phenomenon. We got caught up in Casper, Wyoming for three weeks in midwinter of 2020, and without a whole lot to do, I created three illustrations of Benton Flippen, Ola Belle Reed, and Jean Ritchie, and ordered them as stickers. Since then I’ve added 14 other illustrations of traditional music artists and put them on everything from shirts to keychains and magnets. I’m not entirely sure how this will influence my work on the Breakdown, but I hope that it allows me to envision engaging ways to create and arrange content that works in harmony with the great articles from our writers and editor.
To conclude, Jason had this to say about upcoming issues of the Breakdown.
Each issue of the Breakdown is crafted around a central theme — in the spring we’ll preview the 2023 Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley and spotlight CBA’s youth programs; this summer we’ll profile some of California’s amazing luthiers — with original articles and interviews giving the reader a fresh, well-rounded perspective on the many facets of this music and community.
Here’s a memory and preview of this years festival headliner, Molly Tuttle.
