At KZSM, we are celebrating our first full year of broadcasting on 104.1 FM and our eighth year live-streaming at KZSM. org. Besides these milestones, 2024 also brought us some 13 new shows, a few syndicated but most generated locally. We’ve added too many to describe here, but a brief sampling highlights our commitment to variety and community.
Some new broadcasts express a unique individual vision that expands the listener’s imagination. The syndicated show “Choose to Be Curious” (Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m.) offers conversations about curiosity in all aspects of work and life. Guests have included bird watchers, chefs, musicians and a death doula. The locally generated music and talk show “Viva la Ronny” (Fridays 9 to 10 p.m.) also touches on all aspects of the human experience. Host Ronny and co-host Joseph Rodriguez (Joey Karate) talk about “anything and everything — our real lives, love, music, the news, sports, ghosts and aliens.”
Some of our new music shows also express a unique individual vision; others celebrate time-honored musical traditions. You can enjoy the abundant variety of Texas country or Red Dirt music Fridays noon to 1 p.m. on “Highway 261” and again on Mondays 2 to 3 p.m. on “Dance Time in Texas.” The locally generated show “Highway 261” often features interviews and live in-studio performances by local and touring musicians. The syndicated “Dance Time in Texas” draws on the officially recognized charts of the Texas Country Music Association to count down the week’s ten most popular songs. Another new import, “Make Believe Ballroom” (Mondays 1 to 2 p.m.) celebrates the big band and jazz of the 1930s with a broadcast that began in 1935, the golden age of that musical tradition.
Perhaps the most innovative of the shows that debuted in 2024 feature the voices of our community and our listeners around the world. “Open Door” (Wednesdays noon to 3 p.m. and Thursdays noon to 2 p.m.) provides community news and information. Anyone with something to share can sit down with host Rob Roark for an on-air conversation. If you have music to share, we will play it Wednesday between 7 and 9 p.m. on “It’s What’s New.” You can hear music from seasoned professionals to beginners, from San Marcos to Argentina. To participate, email your MP3 or .WAV files, edited for radio, to KZSMSanMarcos@ gmail.com.
Whether you share your voice or just listen, you’re invited to start the new year with KZSM, your true community radio station.
