In 2003 KSJD our local Public Radio station put out a request for DJ”s and said they would train. With a little free time on my hands and a love of Western Music I jumped on this opportunity to play the music that I loved. Training was easy I showed up at the studio and the DJ there at the time explained this button/slide controls the live mike these are the CD player controls and this one brings the automation back up. He asked what was my show’s name, I had no clue then he asked for the first song I was going to play that was easy Don Edwards doing Colorado Trail. Sammie Coulon fellow Cowbelle was with me and between us CowTrails was born! Donnie wished me luck and said see you next week!

In my search for more Western Music to share with my listeners I started attending festivals and gathering. CowTrails was received well and music came in by the boxes. I was now starting to interview artist whenever I could … inviting them into the studio and bringing live music to the Studio. This just peaked my enthusiasm for the genre more. I started looking for venues that would support this music. The Lewis Arriola Community Center hosted by KSJD brought in Jim and Jeanne Martin for a fundraiser, we had a great time. Mancos Opera House/VFW was the next venue, our first group was out of Texas “Palo Duro”! But times change and we move on. I then started hosting events “House Concerts” for these outstanding artists and continue to this day. This is a nonprofit all monies go to the entertainer for expenses incurred. This continues to be a way to build a larger fan base for the artists and the genre. I have hosted as many as 16 in one summer season or as little as one. Family entertainment is the focus and all are welcome.

I as a DJ have been recognized by The Western Music Association, The Western Swing Guild and The Academy of Western Music. These awards are a great honor to receive but pale in comparison to the friends and fans of this Awesome journey called “CowTrails”!

Always Your Western Belle,

I've been in the music business many years. Started writing songs for Garth Brooks and others before I began my own recording career with "Another Man's Sky" on Warners in the late 90's. Being a writer and an artist combined, i got to know what resonated with my fans. A DJ, if he or she is a good one and is listening to the fans, well, they learn that too. People are tuned into the Western Belle while the rest of radio cries for ratings. Shows that make it make it because the one bringing it to you loves what they are doing, and cares about their fans. The Western Belle gets a 5 star rating from this cowboy.

~ Royal Wade Kimes

Western Belle's dedication to marking trails through musical meldings, from high and dry lands, to sultry, weeping mires of sound, and sharing her incredible collection of tunes with as many listeners as she can gather, is nothing short of a labor of love.
When it comes to classic country/western performers and history, I know few people as knowledgeable. But there's little restraint to the parameters - the fences - of her melodic herding style, the ranges and water both wide, by turns, and unencumbered.
It's her nature to listen to musicians, new and old, songwriters and singers, and gather the best there is out there on wide musical ranges, and bring them in, for y'all.
I suggest you listen

`~ Brooksie

Barb, thank you for dusting off these old Western and Country songs, they are truly a treasure and bring back the days of yester years , please keep on keeping the faith for all of us out here.
~Dell Owens BMI Songwriter

The Western Belle" pours her immense love and vast knowledge into choosing the music she plays. What makes her a cut above is that she understands the history, the deepest roots and vast influences of the music. As a result she is not afraid to cut fences, cross boundaries or break rules - which after all is the very tradition of the old West.

~ Gary Allegretto

The Old Time Music Hour on MKB Independent Radio is a weekly program dedicated to providing our listener’s the finest Traditional and Progressive American Appalachian old-time music. Appalachian Old Time Music is the original American country music, the melding of the Celtic fiddle with the African Banjo dating from roughly 1700-1940.


The program is hosted by Bill Smedley from Williamsport Pennsylvania, USA. Bill was a founding member and past President of the Bald Eagle Folk Collective, a 501 C3 non-profit in Lock Haven that produced an assortment of folk concerts from 1982-1989. Bill was also a member of the Gnarled Knuckles String Band, he plays the 5-string clawhammer banjo and has been a member of the Old Time Music Community for over 40 years.

He has studied with some of the masters of the Old Time Banjo including, Tommy Thompson, Mac Benford, Debby McClatchy, Richie Stearns and Riley Baugus. His knowledge of the history of the music along with his passion for collecting, recording and playing rare tunes combines to make the Old Time Music Hour a very special program on MKB Independent Radio .

On the Old Time Music Hour you will hear classic old tunes, new tunes, ballads and even a waltz by famous and upcoming musicians with various styles of playing. Bill’s calming voice combined with his mix of old tunes and historical background, along with his collection of recordings and CD Reviews gives a unique flavor to the program that may not be heard anywhere else.

The exposure he gives to independent artists is known and appreciated worldwide and he has produced over 200 shows. We hope you enjoy this weekly program on MKB Independent Radio. Bill’s intention is to bring joy and happiness to your life with Appalachian Old Time Music.

Billy Bowles is a born and bred proud Texan, who has lived a life of respect and admiration for REAL Country music with a special affinity for the Texas born genre of Western Swing - the Official State Music of Texas.

From his humble upbringing in the heart of the oil & ranch country of Sundown, Texas, Billy began a never-ending love of music at a very young age. His major influences during his adolescent years were the music of Hoyle Nix, Bob Wills and Hank Williams, along with the legendary voices of all-night radio - Bill Mack The Midnight Cowboy from Fort Worth's WBAP, and in later years the great Larry Scott on Shreveport's KWKH.


Billy eventually found his true calling in 2011 when he unexpectedly found himself with an opportunity to begin hosting his own radio program in Lubbock. He named it Billy Bowles' Swinging Country, and focused on playing today's Independent Artists who record REAL Country Music and Western Swing. He had never dreamed of hosting such a successful show, and soon realized it was God's hand that created his destiny to be in the right place at the right time.



Billy's many Accolades include --
Academy Of Western Artist Winner of The Will Rogers Award for Disc Jockey of the year for 2012.


Inducted into the Cowtown Society of Western Music, Western Swing Heroes Hall of Fame and Disc Jockey of the year 2013.


Inducted into the Northwest Western Swing Music Society Hall of Fame 2014


Inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame 2015
Awarded Best Male Radio Presenter 2015 by Fair Play Country Music 2 covering & monitoring Independents World Wide out of Germany.


Inducted into the 2017 Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame.
Catch Billy on Sunday's 2pm UK - 8am USA
repeated Monday's 10pm UK - 4pm USA

Bob Liddle is an accordionist from Kelso, Scottish Borders, but also plays highland bagpipes, guitar, keyboards, drums and bass. Bob has played extensively throughout his life as both a solo artiste playing pubs, clubs and functions, and also with his ceilidh band, The Blackthorne Ceilidh Band. Bob has been a guest artiste at many accordion and fiddle clubs both as a solo and with his band, and has also written, recorded and produced two complete albums of accordion music, namely “Softly Flows The Tweed” and “Kale Water”. He has a wide taste in music, and listeners can be assured of a wide variety of accordion and fiddle music on his shows, from artistes all over the world.” Check out Bobs Website www.bobliddlemusic.com

"It's All About Folk" Tuesdays 20:00 - 22:00
I, Danny Matheson, will bring a wide range of music to you every Tuesday night. From up and coming new artists to well established ones. You will get a good mix of folk rock, traditional music and sounds from around the world. I'll bring you songs that you can sing along to, tunes you can dance along to and music you can really let your hair down to.
I've been asked many times to define Folk music so...... Have you ever heard horses sing or play instruments? No, only folk can do that so all music is folk music. That I know is a bit extreme however folk music covers a huge range of styles and I will cover as many of those styles as possible

Bio

Dave was born in Preston Lancashire. At an early age Dave was always interested in music and radio in particular the pirate stations of the early 60s.After spending a number of years working the clubs and bars throughout the UK & Europe Dave began his radio broadcasting career in 1998 working for local hospital radio.
In 2000 Dave joined the team at Preston FM as a drive time presenter. Since then Dave has presented the early morning breakfast show at a number of radio stations here in the UK and for the ex pat community in Spain.

https://www.facebook.com/dave.cooper.31

Gerry is a native of Kingscourt, County Cavan.
He honed his craft in Ireland working in the border region on Radio Carousel and Telstar in Dundalk and Big M and Radio Star in Monaghan. Gerry recounts, "This ignited my passion for the magic of radio."

Gerry moved to London in the 1990s ambitious to develop his career but under no illusion that getting established would be easy as earlier precedents by others had faltered. Gerry reflects, "I knew there was interest in Irish Radio but nevertheless it was a challenge to get the right platform. We made it work. It was a different era, still a time of mass immigration of Irish. Dance halls and pubs enjoyed a heyday. People were going out more.

Now staying in is the new going out and I'm pleased I can provide entertainment for people in the comfort of their own homes! Of course, with modern technology, it's great that people can also opt to listen on the go or on our 'listen again' service. I'm delighted to have been a broadcaster continuously since relocating to London and, to this day, have retained my original listeners. As their families have grown and second, third and fourth generation Irish are so proud of their heritage,

the content of our channel appeals to them, too. I owe everything to audience support and my output is informed by comments and feedback. Iconic artists like BIg Tom, Louise Morrissey and more are ever-popular and today's artists such as Nathan Carter, Derek Ryan and Mike Denver have taken the Irish charts by storm and are selling out venues worldwide. Long may it continue that we can give the people what they want!"
The Irish diaspora numbers 80 million globally. Gerry is delighted to get emails from every continent - people are tuning in from America to Zimbabwe and most places in-between! Spread the word!

Jeff is an original member of the highly acclaimed 1960’s folk group “The Gaslight Singers”. He is a multi-balloted Grammy recording artist with two very popular albums available. In addition to recording and performing, Jeff also hosts “Somewhere In Time with Jeff Hyman”, a unique program heard here on MKB Independent Radio Sunday evenings from 20:00 – 21:00. The program features both the music and background stories of artists and the times they live in. He refers to his show as “Candy for the ears and food for the brain”.

Mark is a singer songwriter from the New York area. Mark has been playing and writing music since he was 12 years old. Starting with the Church Folk mass that he set up with his Dad when he was 14 years old, and that led him to writing his first songs with his Dad. He then played in several bands through the years and performed solo, and has played with his current band The Monks for the past 25 years, and they have played many gigs in the New York Metropolitan area. He has been Djing for the past 2 years and started his show Global Indies With Marky playing only independent music. Marky is here to bring you the best in Rock, Country and Folk that he has found around the world. Contact
indieswithmarky-gmail.com@webradiosite.com

Western Swing & Other Things is a long-running radio program now in its 33rd year of broadcasting.

Our show was created in October of 1988 by Marshal Allen Bailey who served as Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, for 17 years. Today the show is co-hosted by the Marshal’s lovely wife Cowgirl Janey. It is produced in our own studios and broadcast from the Swinging Gate Ranch, an actual working ranch on the frontiers of Kansas -- Ranchy Radio at its best!

In the early days at the country’s first community-licensed public radio station in southwest Kansas, Marshal Bailey built an audience that gave real meaning to community radio. Western Things and Other Things introduced the High Plains to the genre that reflected the history and enriched today’s cultural landscape.

Allen has been playing Western Swing music every since he was 11 years old and has had the pleasure of playing with many well known Western swing greats, such as Hank Thompson, Buddy Emmons, Eldon Shamblin, Randy ‘Snuffy’ Elmore, Pat Jacobs, Jack Bailey, and Frankie McWhorter. He has also interviewed a number of celebrities on his show over the years including Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Patsy Montana, Buddy Emmons, Johnny Gimble, Randy Elmore, Don Edwards, Ray Benson, Ranger Doug, Jerry Rivers (Hank Williams’ fiddler) Jett Williams (Daughter of Hank) and many more.

His radio program has earned him several awards over the years including:

Kansas Western Swing Hall Of Fame

Western Swing Society of the Southwest Hall Of Fame

Cowtown Society Disc Jockey Of The Year

Cowtown Society Western Swing Heros Award and Lifetime Membership

Western swing Guild Award of Appreciation

As Marshal of Dodge City, He has had his footprints and handprints placed in concrete in the Old West Walk Of Fame, along with notables Burt Reynolds, and Johnny Crawford.

Cowgirl Janey joined the Marshal on air in 2011 adding the extra sparkle and wit that makes the show a listener favorite and makes it so much fun!

The next chapter of WSOT began when Janey and Marshal launched the program around the world, engaging a new audience over internet radio. The journey began with an invitation by Mary K. Burke of Glasgow, Scotland of MKB Independent Radio and expanded with a second invitation from Jim and Martha Farrell of Truckers Radio USA. Today, Western Things and Other Things is heard seven days a week on nearly a dozen sites worldwide, on both the internet and terrestrial towers as well.

Mary K Burke has been broadcasting for 14 years and has brought a lot of independent artists to the attention of radio networks worldwide.

“Medicine in the modern sense is perceived to be a treatment for ailment, but in the ancient sense, particularly in the minds of Native Americans, Medicine is “all that is good in nature connecting the spiritual world with the physical. The Medicine of music can be a direct connection with all it is to be human and also our best prescription for the disconnecting-ailments of our modern culture”

Rob Ellen
Bio
Rob has been involved in music development in Scotland for over 35 years. He keeps a trail open around the Highlands in particular for touring roots musicians, small combos and bands. He helped found and continues to help organise Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival. He also organises Tartan Heart fringe events and The Trailer Trash and Potting Shed Stage at Belladrum which will be 20 years old in 2024.

He founded the European House Concert Hub, this network instrumental in the rise of House Concerts across Europe, edits Flyinshoes Review, an open source Roots Music Bloggers & Broadcaster one stop facility for current info on Roots Music releases, tours and live streams. His broadcast experience comes from presenting the widely syndicated Medicine Show Health & Happiness Hour for 15 years from Loch Broom FM in The Highlands, before taking it all on the road in 2016 living in and broadcasting live streams from two internet TV ready Campervans (RV’s), the Medicine Show Radio Moose Mobiles, one this side and one stateside. In those 7 years he has travelled some 150,000 miles visiting 14 countries, 25 States of the Union and 4 Canadian provinces in support of independently minded musicians, community venues, festivals and house concerts.
During the pandemic Rob spent the time developing iMTV -international Moose TV to help beleaguered artists replace gigs by live streaming to his entire social network, with some 50 family fold broadcast partner artists now all taking advantage of over twenty Roots Music dedicated social media outlets with over 30,000 followers world wide, many of whom Rob has met on his travels, Broadcast with, publicised shows they were involved in, or attending. This now has proven to be a very powerful promotional asset in its self and is particularly adept for launching singles, videos, albums, selling tickets for Festivals and other events.