Olbrich Botanical Gardens Summer Breeze
When Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison contacted me to play music for their Summer Breeze event in June, they were open to me playing a whole kitchen sink variety: polka! 80s! Soul! While I “could” play five hours of records, I made a counter offer. What if I got a bunch of local, lady DJs together to provide the music?
Summer Breeze turned out to be a really fun night to celebrate old records and women who are longtime volunteers at local campus and community radio stations.
First up: I played an hour of polka. I did not play the Chicken Dance, even though there were a bunch of kids running around Olbrich’s huge lawn carpeted with the richest, greenest grass you’ve ever seen. I did, however, open a package I received from Gary at Monroe Cheese Days and finished my polka set by playing the “Cheese Days Polka.” People cheered for the yodeling celebration of one of Wisconsin’s beloved, biennial community gatherings.
Note: I’ll be playing records for the Green County Cheese Days in Monroe on September 16 and 18. I’ll be under the hospitality tent and at the VIP event.
Up next was Cynthia Schuster, aka Grandma Cyd. Grandma Cyd has been hosting the Heavy Petting Zoo for 17 incredible years on WSUM. The Heavy Petting Zoo is “make out music from the big bands and beyond” and airs at 7:00 p.m. on WSUM 91.7 in the Madison area and streams on wsum.org. Cyd and I share a lot of overlapping taste in music. She got into big band and old jazz by hearing it on 90s rom com movie soundtracks. Now she brings a mix of jaz and some easy listening to the airwaves every week. At Olbrich she got to branch out a bit with groovy tracks by Nancy Sinatra and Lou Rawls that made people dance.
Then I got to play an hour of vintage soul 45s. While polka is my bread and butter, the polka pays for my passion for soul records. Through an unfortunate history of both racism in the music industry to the limits of regional radio stations that isolated the reach and popularity of some artists, some of the greatest soul music didn’t reach the popularity of big-name artists. These songs can’t be forgotten by history and these records need to be played and heard. I want to find more bars and parties that will welcome vintage soul music. Check out a new and growing international network of lady DJs who play soul music and connect via the Sister Cities Soul Club Instagram account. Closer to home, All Mod Chicago has hosted Amplified Chicago events that include all-women soul DJs.
The next hour was led by Cooper Talbot who played R&B. Cooper’s show, Her Infinite Variety, plays on WORT-FM Sundays from 11:30-2:00 p.m. and focuses on the contributions of women to pop and soul music. Cooper welcomed the chance to bring records to the Olbrich party that might not have fit into her radio show’s line up. Prince and Michael Jackson records were crowd favorites, but I was thrilled to hear her play deeper cuts by 80s singers like Lionel Richie and Anita Baker.
Last up was DJ Kayla Kush playing an all-reggae vinyl set. Kayla’s show 2 DUB plays on WORT-FM on Saturday nights from 10:00 p.m. to midnight. Her show focuses on reggae beats, but she brings tunes with hip hop and global influences as well as lots of women in reggae. Kayla’s set was the perfect way to end the evening as people danced to recognizable riddims while the hot sun set behind the botanical gardens’ conservatory.
This event was special to me because it brought together women who love music and who have a deep commitment to campus and community radio, and who find joy in the crackles and pop of old records. I’m really grateful that Olbrich took a chance on a unique way to enjoy music for their fundraiser.