CHSR FM announce plans to take over production of nationally syndicated weekly music countdown.
Matt Carter
Fredericton’s campus/community radio station CHSR FM have announced plans to relaunch the !earshot 20, a weekly radio show that counts down the country’s top 20 albums as recorded by campus and community radio stations from coast to coast. The program will be co-hosted by station manager Erin Bond and Johnny James.
!earshot 20 was created in 2012 and originally produced in Saint John by Brian Cleveland and Anthony Enman who produced over 250 episodes at 107.3 FM before handing production over to CIVL 101.7 FM in Abbotsford, BC in early 2018.
“Every week I looked forward to hearing !earshot 20,” said Bond. “I was saddened to learn that Brian and Anthony wouldn’t be hosting it anymore, but I knew it was in good hands at CIVL. After a few months of not hearing it on-air anymore I reached out to both Brian and Aaron to get their blessing to take over production. I always thought it to be an important show in the campus/community sector. ”
“I’m really glad Erin is taking this over,” said CIVL FM’s Aaron Levy, who briefly took over the show’s production in 2018. “She’s got so many connections and ideas and things she’s involved with in Canadian music, and her station is one of my favourite in the sector. They’re going to have a lot of fun and do a great job.”
In its previous formats, !earshot 20 was a staple on more than 25 campus/community stations nationwide. Bond and James plan to offer new episodes of the program for syndication each week through the National Campus and Community Radio Association Program Exchange, an online forum for sharing content station to station.
“It might take a few episodes to get picked up, but we’re keeping a very similar format to the previous versions of !earshot 20, and it was such a staple program to many stations that I feel like we’ll have good traction with it,” said Bond.
“It’s an opportunity to get the station on a national platform,” said co-host Johnny James. “All of the stations in Canada do their best to give the most unique musical voices the airtime they deserve, and I know that Erin and I will tell their stories right because that initiative is a huge part of who we are.”
!earshot 20 (3.0) is set to begin this week with the first episode airing Friday morning, 9-11 a.m AST.
