‘A joyful rebirth’: Global folk music radio show returns live to Lexington theater
Up until March 2020, Michael Johnathon was accustomed to having his Mondays spoken for. That was when he and a troop of dedicated volunteers brought the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour to life.
For audiences around the globe, the live music program was a broadcast they could tune into online, on television and, of course, on radio. For its homebase of Lexington, though, WoodSongs was a Monday night tradition. You could go to the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center, where the show was presented, and see a live taping with an array of artists ranging from the unknown to the internationally acclaimed.
In short, WoodSongs was the hottest Monday night ticket anyone could hope for in Central Kentucky. Until it wasn’t.
When the COVID-19 pandemic pulled the global plug on live music in March 2020, WoodSongs signed off. The show wasn’t canceled, as repeat programs were still available for airing and streaming. But production on new broadcasts had to wait until COVID-19 restrictions eased.
On Aug. 16, some 18 months after its last taping, WoodSongs will return. For Johnathon – the veteran Lexington folksinger who serves as the show’s founder, host and producer - and his crew, that’s the best news of the year.
“I think every musician, songwriter and artist in general, after going through this for a year-and-a-half, so deeply appreciates the idea of being in front of an audience again. More so than ever before, really. You loved it before. You need it now.
“Before, you kind of took it for granted because that’s what you did for a living. But now, the preciousness of that honor of being allowed to do this? After all that’s happened? I mean, it’s irreplaceable. It’s truly irreplaceable.”
Is getting back into the routine of presenting WoodSongs on a weekly basis again after such an extended and unplanned hiatus proving difficult? Not really. For starters, Johnathon and his crew undertook a massive re-entry to the live music world in June by presenting 15 concerts in a 30-day period at the Cardome Renaissance Center in Georgetown for a music series designed to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations. Admission to the shows was free but required either proof of vaccination or receiving a vaccination on site.
Several of the Cardome artists are returning to the region to play WoodSongs in the coming months, including bass guitar star Victor Wooten and veteran R&B/soul singer Bobby Rush. Other confirmed performers include Texas blues guitar giant Jimmie Vaughan and Grammy-winning song stylist Paula Cole. Bluegrass pioneer Rhonda Vincent, who kicked off the Cardome series, will serve as the featured performer for WoodSongs’ Aug. 16 live audience return.
“It’s a joyful rebirth back to how it used to be,” Johnathon said of the show’s return to production. “This week, the crew is spending two days at the Lyric Theatre going over all the gear, making sure that the cameras are good, making sure the audio equipment is good, resetting the lights.
“The crew is the best community in the world to do something like this. Everyone is so excited and willing. Look at what they did at Cardome. Where do you find that? Where is that? And these are volunteers. These are people doing it out of their hearts, and they are just as anxious and excited as they were before. Maybe more so, because they’ve really missed doing this.”
As of now, WoodSongs will be operating without any capacity or masking restrictions, but Johnathon said that with the rising number of COVID infections, that could change.
“We’re going to watch whatever the governor suggests very closely. But as of this conversation, there are no restrictions. As we get closer to opening, we may restrict the audience down to 300 so there is space between the seats (normal Lyric capacity for WoodSongs is approximately 500).
“We’ll be ready. I mean, look at who immediately lined up to come to Lexington to be on WoodSongs. It’s an excited group of really stellar artists who truly want to be in front of an audience again.”
WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour
Where: Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center, 300 E. Third
When: Start time is 6:45 p.m. Monday
Tickets: Prices vary
Online: lexingtonlyric.tix.com
Phone: 859-280-2201
Aug. 16: Rhonda Vincent and the Rage/Dillon Massengale and the Melody Hart Family
Aug. 23: Merle Monroe/Grace Pettis
Aug. 30: Linda Gail Lewis/Cedric Burnside
Sept. 13: Joe Troop/Carsie Blanton
Sept. 20: Bobby Rush
Sept. 27: Victor Wooten
Oct. 4: Paula Cole/Guy Davis
Oct. 11: Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors/Jack Broadbent
Oct. 18: Jimmie Vaughan
Oct. 25: Erin McKeown
