After an expansion to the San Francisco Bay Area with a new radio broadcast earlier this year, KEXP has announced the launch of a new Bay Area music show, Vinelands, the globally-renowned station’s first radio show to originate outside of Seattle.
Vinelands will be a cross-genre exploration of music of the Bay Area and Northern California, hosted by Kelley Stoltz and Gabriel Lopez, airing Saturday nights 6-9 PM Pacific on 92.7 FM and live streaming via KEXP.ORG and the KEXP Apps exclusively in Northern California. Hosts will rotate bi-weekly, giving a broad perspective on local music from distinct points of view. KEXP listeners outside of Northern California will continue to hear Audioasis, the Pacific Northwest local music show, on Saturday nights.
Kelley Stoltz is a San Francisco-based veteran of the Bay Area music scene, having been involved as a musician, record store clerk, and producer for nearly three decades. Gabriel Lopez, based in Oakland, found his love of radio on UCSC’s student station KZSC 88.1 FM, and more recently has presented shows for local online radio stations Lower Grand Radio and Hyde FM.
“I am really looking forward to sharing my favorite songs and artists from the Bay Area’s rich history to the present day,” said co-host Kelley Stoltz. “I remember it was such a thrill when my songs first got played on KEXP 20 years ago, and I’m so glad I get to share that feeling with other musicians here in the Bay Area.”
“My main goal with Vinelands is to build a bridge between KEXP listeners and the rich musical history of The Bay,” said co-host Gabriel Lopez. “This is a place that birthed Sylvester AND The Aislers Set, SOBxRBE AND King Woman. It is truly an honor to give some shine to a place I am truly grateful to call home.”
Vinelands will be broadcast live each week from the studios of KQED, made possible by a new partnership between the two organizations. KEXP’s Bay Area staff members will also co-locate at KQED, additional KEXP radio programs will broadcast from the studios when hosts are in town, and discussions have begun on potential future programming collaborations.
“KEXP was built on the support of our local music scene in Seattle,” said John Richards, Creative Director for On-Air and host of The Morning Show on KEXP. “Our local scene responded by supporting and championing us in turn. We have always been lucky to be rooted in an area that has an amazing and diverse music community, and we see the same opportunity in the Bay Area. We want to champion and give a voice to musicians who may have never been played on the radio before. We want this community to have a home on the air. That will begin with Vinelands, and with stellar curation from Gabriel and Kelley.”
