Honed over four years as a specialty radio show on Apple Music Country, Record Bin Radio re-launched today as an eclectic rock, rhythm, and roots Internet station, broadcasting 24/7 with creator/host/producer Kelly McCartney at the helm.
A combination of free-form, AOR, and Triple-A, in radio-speak, the new station holds as its North Star an Etta James quote: “I wanna show that gospel, country, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock & roll are all just really one thing.” It's a sentiment echoed and exemplified by artists like Jon Batiste and Norah Jones, yet most of music's gatekeepers continue to silo songs by genre, whether on the radio or on playlists. McCartney believes — and is banking on — the idea that a lot of people prefer a mix of music they remember and music they discover, all chosen by a trusted curator.
“I started my career working with rock bands and singer/songwriters before, eventually, finding a home base in the Americana community,” she says, adding, “while my childhood was soundtracked by 1970s radio playing Wings, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, and Linda Ronstadt. To me, those are all just colors on one musical spectrum.”
Indeed, the way those classic albums were written and recorded has held up so well over the past 50 years that they can sit comfortably next to contemporary versions made by artists like Olivia Dean, Hayley Williams, Leon Bridges, and Ledisi, as well as some of the bridge artists who came into their own in the '80s and '90s, including John Mellencamp, the Pretenders, and Crowded House. Record Bin plays all of that, while also reaching even wider to include some world beat, jazz, downtempo, and hip-hop.
“Because I hand-pick every song in the library, there's nothing too chaotic, edgy, or harsh, so it flows pretty seamlessly,” McCartney notes. “You can be listening to Art Blakey one minute then find yourself at Lucy Dacus without having noticed that you ticked through a bunch of artificial genre boxes in between. That's why I call it 'Radio without Borders.'”
It's not just what Record Bin plays that makes it different; it's also who. The station's library of music is balanced gender-wise, and the intentional inclusion of diverse styles also leads to a natural integration of diverse voices, as well as an organic lesson in historic influences.
“American music IS Black music,” explains writer, sociologist, and MacArthur Fellow Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom. “Audiences are tuning into this irrefutable truth, and Kelly is a willing, capable guide.” A lover of music and a student of history, McMillan Cottom trusted McCartney enough to guest on the Apple show, then sing its praises as a safe listening space in a subsequent interview.
“I've never been a flag-waver,” McCartney offers. “Whether with Record Bin or elsewhere, my approach to diversity starts with normalization. And that's across every category — race, gender, and orientation, of course, but also levels of success. I love Bonny Light Horseman as much as I love REM.
“That said, I'm very excited about She Rocks Sundays.”
Each week, She Rocks Sundays interrupts Record Bin's regular programming to play 24 hours of female and non-binary artists from across the rock-rhythm-roots rainbow with episodes of Carmel Holt's SHEROES sprinkled in.
During its 95-episode run on Apple Music, Record Bin Radio hosted stars and upstarts from the roots/rock arena, including Hozier, Brandi Carlile, Brandon Flowers, Gaby Moreno, Allison Russell, Rickie Lee Jones, and Taj Mahal, while it also honored legends like Nina Simone, Tina Turner, the Kinks, and Sinéad O’Connor with dedicated specials. In its return, Record Bin is all that it has been and more, with a continuing commitment to weave the past, present, and future of great music together into an exhilarating patchwork of generations, genres, and geographic regions.
McCartney concludes, “This moment in time feels particularly hostile to artists, which is why Record Bin Radio presents such a wonderful opportunity to not only break down the artificial boundaries that keep songs segregated, but to also drown out the artificial creativity to keep songs alive. ¡Viva la música!”
