Mountain Streams Radio, Keyser’s community radio station, will receive a portion of the proceeds from an upcoming concert of homegrown music, presented by West Virginia University Potomac State College. The Mountain Streams Music Celebration is set for Saturday, October 26, at 7:30 p.m., in the Church-McKee Arts Center. Performers include Hampshire County old-time musician and teacher, Dakota Karper; Buffalo Run, an eclectic band that includes singer/songwriter Rob Smith and Keyser native Bob Shank; Critton Hollow, a popular West Virginia-based trio, celebrating fifty years of performing together; and the WVU Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Ensemble.
WKYW-LP, 102.9 FM—branding as Mountain Streams Radio—is a noncommercial radio service of the Mineral County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). It broadcasts from an antenna atop Catamount Place, the former Potomac Valley Hospital at 167 S. Mineral Street, with a studio and office located next door in the Mineral County Welcome Center.
Since its beginning in 2017, the station has been committed to serving the Keyser/Mineral County community with information about local organizations and services, announcements of coming events, emergency weather alerts, local history vignettes, and other information of general interest to local listeners. It has also offered a unique variety of entertainment and cultural programming, featuring a mix of roots-based American music with an emphasis on local and regional artists and styles—musicians and styles that will appear on the Church-McKee concert stage. Mountain Streams programming is also streamed at www.mountainstreamsradio.org.
“This concert is a truly gratifying event for me,” said Ed McDonald, founder and station manager of Mountain Streams Radio. “When we put the station on the air seven years ago, it was the fulfillment of a childhood dream to start a radio station in my hometown, and I guess I thought I could do it all myself. Since then, however, I have learned a lot from colleagues at similar stations about the potential of community radio and how important it is to build a strong and committed community of volunteers and supporters. That’s why we have described this concert as ‘building community one song at a time,’” McDonald said.
Despite the station’s commitment to serve Mineral County, there are significant portions of the county where it cannot be heard. Knobley Mountain, for example, creates a real barrier that prevents the FM signal from reaching listeners to the east. If the antenna was relocated from Catamount Place to a tower somewhere on the mountain, the station’s 100-watt signal could reach a much larger area. However, such a relocation requires a preliminary engineering study, approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and some additional relay equipment. Part of the concert proceeds will help the station take these first steps toward reaching a larger listening audience.
“These days, I think of myself as the architect of Mountain Streams Radio,” McDonald said. “I have designed a working model of technology and program content for a one-of-a-kind community radio station with the potential to become something really special, but it will take a community to build it and to achieve that potential. I gratefully recognize Potomac State’s support as a vote of confidence in that model, and I hope the Mountain Streams Music Celebration will help launch the process of community building.”
A portion of concert proceeds will also support the WVU Potomac State College athletic program. A team of students, faculty, and staff is assisting with planning and staging the event. Additional information, including options for advance ticket purchase, can be found at www.potomacstatecollege.edu.