Residency is back with a brand new late-night voice this spring!
Starting on Saturday, May 2 at 12am MT, Paula Spurr takes over Residency with her new program, Gravel Road Grooves.
The program will feature hand-picked selections ranging from roots and bluegrass to alternative rock, and anything else that comes barreling down the road.
“The concept is you’re the passenger and I’m driving you,” Spurr explains. “So look out the window, enjoy the stars. I’ve made us a mixtape.”
Spurr certainly has a broad taste and knowledge to draw from when crafting her program, drawing on her background as both a broadcaster and a musician. She spent six years on the air at CITR in Vancouver, later moving to a commercial timeslot on Coast 1040 playing alternative rock. She has also been an active singer-songwriter since 1988, currently billed as Sparky Spurr and playing primarily on bluegrass and old-tyme music.
“I started to get into the bluegrass old-tyme thing with my music, and was in some bands in Vancouver…I just love that sort of roots thing,” Spurr says.
She’s careful not to pigeonhole herself into any specific genres for Gravel Road Grooves, however. “Probably due to my college radio days, I’m more of a ‘follow where the music leads’ kind of programmer.”
For instance, the debut edition of Gravel Road Grooves will feature a set including an Ola Belle Reed cut from the early 1970s alongside a Kaia Kater song from recent years.
“They blend together really well, but they’re not the same at all,” Spurr says. “That’s the kind of looking for and attaining, I think.”
For Paula Spurr, joining CKUA is a full circle moment. Not only is it a return to radio, but it’s also a return to the station she has enjoyed over the years.
“When I lived in Three Hills…whenever we could afford it, we would participate in the fundraiser because we listened all the time,” Spurr says. “I loved Baba, and I still love Roy’s Record Room. He has never once played a song I didn’t like. That guy’s musical taste is on point.”
Overall, one gets the sense that Spurr finds programming her Residency time slot invigorating and rewarding.
“I’m walking around humming new songs and thinking of things,” Spurr says. “It’s like I’ve woken up a part of me that was sleeping for a long time and that’s very exciting. I hope people enjoy it.”
Tune in starting Saturday, May 2, midnight – 1am MT to get on the dusty trail with Paula Spurr’s Gravel Road Grooves. In the meantime, enjoy Paula’s pick: “Prairie Lullaby” by Jimmie Rodgers.
Residency is an hour-long slot featuring fresh multi-genre programming from new voices and special guests. It follows Friday Night Blues Party, airing midnight – 1am MT on Saturdays.
