Zee Underscore joins Chris live in the studio for the world premiere of her new single, “You Don't Deserve Me.” 

On the new track, the Cincinnati-to-KC transplant shows us how liberating it feels to reclaim one’s sense of self-worth. 

Underscore mentions on Eight One Sixty that “You Don’t Deserve Me” was born out of a situationship from last year. “I completely lost myself, and I found myself giving everything to this man who I thought was the love of my life, and he was actually just sucking the life out of me,” she said.

“You Don’t Deserve Me” is a fiery anthem that shows an artist capable of throwing down acute bars in the same breath as layered lilts over a thick, synthy dancehall groove. There’s plenty of catharsis in the song’s euphoric sonic vibes, with potent affirmations of self-love: “When I am looking in the mirror / I can’t help but think, ‘Girl, you’re so gorgeous’ / I used to question all my power / now I understand you got the forces for anything and everything you wanna do / If you’re curious, just know it starts with you,” the bridge asserts.

You’ll only be able to hear “You Don’t Deserve Me” via this episode until it’s released this Friday, Aug. 8, OR by purchasing it now via this link!

You also have a few chances to catch Zee Underscore live in the KC area soon – this Thursday, Aug. 7 and Aug. 21, she will be hosting the Tiny Shell Sessions Season 2 at Namaste& (formerly Midtown Kava), then Tomato Fest at KC Farm School on Wednesday, Aug. 13 at 5 p.m.

Nathan Reusch (AKA Bobcat Attack) joins Chris for the world premiere of his debut EP, “Year of the Bobcat”!

We welcome into our studios Sara Morgan and Kelly Hunt. Sara and Kelly have formed a new dynamic duo project called Of a Feather. They’re leaving for a 12-date national tour this week and will release their debut single “Wild Cotton” this Friday, but we’ll give it a spin on the show tonight! We’ll also play music from their solo catalogs and hear stories of how this duo came to be.

After that part of the show, we’ll dive into some new releases from KC bands and musicians, including Beth and Brandon, The Magi, Kari King, and Monster Planet.

We will be celebrating our favorite things from the first half of 2025.

From the first six months of the year we logged 925 releases from KC musicians via singles, EPs, and LPs - it’s been a very busy year.

On the radio show today at 6PM we’ll try and get through a dozen songs, as a small sampling of our favorite releases. Tune in and you’ll hear music from Flora from Kansas, Saving Miles Lemon, Honeybee, Good Saint Nathanael, Waxahatchee, Kemet Coleman, The Royal Chief, Ish1da featuring Les Izmore, Leonard Dstroy featuring Aaron Alexander, The Casket Lottery, June Henry, and Via Luna.

Find us on your radio dial at 90.9FM or stream us from The Bridge site or app. If you miss the live broadcast, stream it from our archive on The Bridge site or app.

Do you love lists? Here are my lists of my favorites of the year, so far. As always, many thanks to our amazing music community for sharing their gift of music with us!

••10 EPs••

Beth Watts Nelson - Tallgrass

Champ - Sampler

Flora From Kansas - Homesick

Honeybee - Midtown Girl

Jass - April Showers

malekazrael & the Vibez - Feels Like...

Saving Miles Lemon - You're A Star

Sisters Of... - Marie Michel

T.A. Rell - Love Pages: Pt. 1

The Royal Chief - Fire

••15 LPs••

David Luther - Who You Are

Eddie Moore - In The Kitchen

J Taylor - Fall Of A Rebel Angel

Jackie Myers - What About The Butterfly

Julie Bennett Hume - The Lorelei

Kemet Coleman - King Kemet

Lnrd Dstroy x Chromadadata - Enter the Scribbleverse

Medici and The Human - It Was A Blur

Samantha Fish - Paper Doll

Stik Figa - A Small Fortune

Stranded in the City - Family Function

The Freedom Affair - The Freedom Affair

The MGDs - Hold On

The Village Prairie - Before The Devil

TheBabeGabe - HONEYPOP

••35 SINGLES••

Bobcat Attack - Bend, Don’t Break

Forever Star - Blade Silver Metallic

Good Saint Nathanael - Glad You Were Made

Hembree - On the Line

Hermon Mehari and Tony Tixier - This Is Our Fantasy

Hidden Murals - Rose Boy (Triptych #2)

Ish1da and Les Izmore - Handmedowns

IVORY BLUE - Rhythm of the Radio

Jamogi - Do It To Me

Jocelyn Nixon - You Ain't Right, You Must Be Wrong

Josh Moncure - Berry Skies

June Henry - Twice

Kadesh Flow - Thesis Statement

Kat King - Somersaults

Kate Cosentino - Throw Myself At The Wall

Kristopher Bruders and Danny McGaw - Frenemies

Lauren Lovelle - Anxiously Attached

Lydia Alem - 3 A.M.

Mad Joy - Used To It

Me Like Bees - Bless My Bones

Nan + The One Nite Stands - Sick

OLIVIA FOX - My Type

Pheenix leeor and Les Izmore - KC Delectare

PURE XTC - Drive

Ryan Manuel and Kierston White - The Hammer Going Down

Sada K - Space

Savanna Chestnut - Trailer Number 3

Say That Again - New Strokes

Season to Risk - Echo Chamber

Tech N9ne and Kevin Church Johnson - This I Know

The Casket Lottery - Bell Penny

The Greeting Committee - Get Over It

They're Theirs - Midland Empire

Via Luna - Another Paralyzer

Waxahatchee - Mud

We’ll dive into a stack of new releases from KC bands and musicians.

Tune into the show and hear music from these acts, and then go catch them live:

• MoonShroom, July 9 for The Early Show , free at 6PM at Boulevard Beer Hall

• Suzannah Johannes, solo on July 19 at Hillsiders, then an album release show on September 11 at The Ship

• Significant Brother, the new project from Alex Ward of Hembree, Hembree's 10th Anniversary show on Aug 16 at Liberty Hall

• Flooding with The Casket Lottery and The Appleseed Cast on August 30 at recordBar

• The Royal Chief, one of 30+ acts playing on September 6 at CMFKC/Crossroads Music Fest

• Barnaby Bright, October 4 at Cottonwood Falls Music Fest in Cottonwood, KS

We’ll also be playing new music from Joshua James and The First Aid Kit, Sam & Fiona Arjes, Dorothy June, Asia Tsion & The Royal Chief, and Lee Walter Redding (he has 999 followers, go be his 1000th!).

We’ll be celebrating Black Music Month and playing new and recent releases from great KC musicians, emcees, and producers.

We’ll hear from a Grammy winner, musicians touring the world, some acts that just played Kansas City Folk Festival, Lawrence Pride & Boulevardia, an act that was just announced on the lineup for CMFKC/Crossroads Music Fest on September 6 and from musicians playing out this weekend for Make Music Day and for the FIFA World Cup Kansas City Kickoff Celebration - all the things!

Tune in at 6PM on Tuesday and hear music from The Royal Chief, Pheenix leeor + Les Izmore, ConductorWilliams, Justus West, Tre Mutava, Craig Smith, Chavonna Adams, VCMN, Lydia Alem, Joshua Moncure, Jass, Kemet Coleman, and TheBabeGabe.

It’s all about Make Music Day, happening this Saturday, June 21. Every year, Make Music Day is celebrated on the same date, June 21, and is observed in over 1,000 cities and more than 120 countries. Here in KC, over 70 musicians will play FREE shows in 40+ venues and parks across the KC Metro.

MMD invites musicians of all types to be part of the day; some are established and have been playing for years, some are new musicians just getting their start. We’re excited to share some of their music and stories on the show today.

Tune in and hear music from these acts, then plot your agenda for Make Music Day:

• Molly Hair, 1PM @ Brookside Court Park (6300 Brookside Blvd)

• Lizzi Leigh, 12:30PM @ The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures (5235 Oak Street)

• Beth Watts Nelson, 2 performances, 10AM @ Trailside Center (9901 Holmes) & 1PM at Kansas City International Airport

• Kate Whitefield, 10:30AM @ The City Market (20 E. 5th Street)

• Anna-Ray, 2:30PM @ The City Market (20 E. 5th Street)

• Maddie Lai, 2 performances, 10AM @ The City Market (20 E. 5th Street) & 4PM @ PH Coffee (2200 Lexington Ave)

• Les Izmore, 7:30PM @ Lemonade Park (1628 Wyoming St.)

• Jacquelyn Michele, 10AM @ La Placita, (1120 Central Ave KCK)

• Just Angel, 1PM @ 6340 Walnut

• Lydia Alem, 2 performances, 2PM @ Quercus Courtyard (1712 Oak St.) & 4PM @ Manor Records (5540 Troost Ave.)

• Gracie Caggiano, 3 performances, 10AM @ Manor Records (5540 Troost Ave), 1:15PM @ Union Station, 3PM @ Bar K (501 Berkely Pkwy)

One story we’ll share on the show is about a KC musician named Anna-Ray. Anna-Ray is an example of what makes Make Music Day so special. She is a perinatal stroke survivor, has cerebral palsy, is legally blind, has spasticity and hemiparesis, she can’t use her right hand to play the piano, and she is STILL making beautiful music. We’ll hear a piece from her called “I Left It All” that was composed by Ryan Chesser, specially written to be played only with the left hand, and THEN you can catch Anna-Ray perform this Saturday at 2:30PM at The City Market, 20 E. 5th Street.

A special hat tip for Heidi Lynn Markle from Kansas City Parks and Recreation for curating this massive day of music! We’ll also do a brief BLVDIA recap at the top of the show.

We welcome into our studio Lauren Lovelle. Lauren and her band, The Midnight Spliffs, are playing Boulevardia this Saturday at 4:20PM on the Holladay Hill Stage. On the show, we’ll debut music from her and talk about how her band is getting ready for the fest. She’s also picked out some acts that she’s excited to see at the fest, including Hembree (debuting their new single!), Lorna Kay, and The Freedom Affair. And, as it’s her first time on the show, we will do a 7 Questions Segment.

On the show, we’ll also hear new music from other acts playing Boulevardia, including Tech N9ne (featuring Kevin Church Johnson), The Greeting Committee, Jackie Myers, and Chalis O'Neal.

We’ll also remind you about logistics for the fest, like that gates open and music starts at noon, there is FREE parking at Crown Center for the fest, there’s a 2-hour Taylor Swift dance party at the Silent Disco with DJ Dawna and Lana Luxx from 1-3PM, that there is a Daisy Buckët Drag Show curated by Musicbyskippy that features a cast and crew of 20 people (!!!) at 4:50PM, and so many more things.