Kalia Yeagle, host Kris Truelsen, and Helena Hunt, WBCM Radio Bristol's Farm and Fun Time house band Bill & the Belles.
The Birthplace of Country Music announced an agreement with Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke, Virginia, whereby WBCM Radio Bristol’s “Farm and Fun Time” variety show will air on its station beginning April 4 at 7 p.m.
“We have the world-class Birthplace of Country Music Museum – an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and Radio Bristol,” said Leah Ross, executive director of parent nonprofit Birthplace of Country Music. “Syndicating ‘Farm and Fun Time’ is the next step in our organization’s growth. We hope for a long and mutually rewarding relationship with Blue Ridge PBS.”
“Farm and Fun Time” hearkens back to the golden area of radio when families crowded around their consoles to enjoy live variety shows filled with music and comedy. The show is a refresh of the classic WCYB Radio program that broadcast from Bristol back in the 1940s and 1950s and helped grow the careers of important acts like The Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, and Jim & Jesse McReynolds, among others.
“The combination of homespun humor, heartwarming stories and great live music have helped make ‘Farm and Fun Time’ a big success for Radio Bristol, and most every show sells out,” said the show’s producer/writer/host Kris Truelsen. “From the beginning we knew we had something special and have talked about syndicating the show for some time.”
Truelsen and his band Bill and the Belles act as house band for “Farm and Fun Time.” The group’s freewheeling, lighthearted approach to music has endeared them to listeners of every generation.
Blue Ridge PBS serves 4 million individuals in parts of a five-state region including Southwest Virginia and bordering counties in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and North Carolina. Blue Ridge PBS is comprised of three channels: WBRA-TV 15.1, Southwest Virginia PTV 15.2, and Blue Ridge PBS Kids 15.3, Blue Ridge Create and Blue Ridge Streaming.
