HWY 261

For the first episode of 2025, The Reverend and Sterling spin songs on CD and vinyl from various soundtracks that have some musical connection to Texas. Soundtrack albums represented were: Crazy Heart; Maverick; The Sting; Pure Country; The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; Forrest Gump; Song Writer.

Sterling is back in the KZSM broadcast booth after a couple weeks out, and we spend most of the episode listening through and talking about his holiday album A Very Sterling Christmas vol. 2 All I Want for Christmas is Uke. You can listen to the album on Lone Star Music at this link:

https://lonestarmusicmagazine.com/sterling-finlays-a-very-sterling-christmas-volume-2/

This week we delve into the sports media side of broadcasting as The Reverend welcomes TxSt Volleyball's two graduating Seniors, Alyssa Ortega (Libero, #21) & Ryann Torres (Setter, #14), into the KZSM studio. The 'Cats are fresh off a historic run in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, during which TxSt became the first program since 2014 to sweep their way through a conference tournament as part of an impressive 14-0 run of set victories to close out the regular season. Alyssa & Ryann talk about the ups, downs, bruises, and bling that were part of the 2024 campaign, and we play a couple of tracks from the team's locker room and pre-game warm-ups playlists.

The Rev is solo in the booth this week with no scheduled guest, so he sets the "Way Back Machine" for ca. 2009 in San Marcos, TX, when Sons of Fathers and a bunch of talented other singer-songwriters were burning things up in San Marcos, Austin, and the surrounding Texas Hill Country. The Rev spins prerecorded tracks from Kent Finlay, Sons of Fathers, Paul Cauthen, David Beck's Tejano Weekend, Marshall Anderson, Josh Dodds, Forest Wayne Allen, Blue Healer, Pake Rossi, Daniel Driver, and Bill Whitbeck.

The Reverend and Sterling welcome Ceilidh Welsh into the KZSM studio. Ceilidh first met The Rev and Sterling when she was a 12 year old student at the annual Young Songwriters Workshop The Rev directs each summer. Ceilidh has been a talented songwriter for years and now, at age 19, she's got some new material she's preparing to release. She discusses with the guys and plays a couple of songs to preview the forthcoming release.

Foscoe Jones comes out of retirement for a day to join The Reverend and Sterling in the KZSM booth. The guys reminisce about the days when Sterling was bassist in Foscoe's band The Distractions and talk about Foscoe's two albums, Foscoe Jones: Live (2001) and A Song Like This (2004). Foscoe plays two live songs in the studio and is joined by Sterling on the upright bass.

The Reverend and Sterling discuss the current state of music in San Marcos, TX with Curtis Rowe, front man and principal songwriter of local band Arbordae.

The Reverend and Sterling welcome Sam Downing into the studio. Sam is a talented young singer-songwriter based in Wimberley, TX who The Rev and Sterling first met as a teenage student at the annual Young Songwriters Workshop directed by The Rev and sponsored by Cheatham Street Music Foundation. Sam has released a full album and several singles, and has shared stages with such luminaries as Gary P. Nunn, Susan Gibson, Slaid Cleaves, and Adam Carroll.

The Reverend and Sterling chat with Troy Stone, formerly of The Hill Country Gentlemen, and an accomplished singer-songwriter who has pursued a busy solo career for the past several years.

Sterling is on the road this week, so The Reverend is solo in the booth to interview the inimitable Texas singer-songwriter Bri Bagwell. Bri and The Rev discuss her current touring schedule, the possibility of Bri recording and releasing a live album at some point in her career, and her volunteer work with the special needs community at Austin's Marbridge Foundation (where The Rev's wife works, and The rev sometimes covers shifts as a medical direct support provider).