Small Studio Sessions was inspired by the Tiny Desk Concerts, an annual live-concert series hosted by NPR Music. In 2014, NPR sent over 65 concert entries from the Indianapolis area to WYFI, motivating us to create a one-stop shop for the best musicians Indiana has to offer. As Indiana’s vibrant and diverse music scene grows, we are able to offer bands a high-quality audio & video recording, media experience and exposure. We have also welcomed national and regional artists to our Small Studio, with an emphasis on bands and musicians with a connection to public media and/or the Hoosier state.
Small Studio is WYFI’s first digital program that brings our radio and television departments together to release one session a month across all of our platforms, including radio, TV and digital. We are in our fourth year of production with plans to expand and build this project with live programming, partnerships and community outreach. Last year, we produced our first one-hour TV special with updates on our early season bands. The special was scheduled on TV over several months and culminated in a pledge special with live performances from three of our Small Studio bands. We collected donations live on Facebook during the broadcast, while airing a Facebook Live simulcast of the pledge program. Small Studio is a great way to experiment with emerging technologies for all of our programming.
We’ve hosted artists like legendary singer-songwriter Graham Nash, Americana/Blues act The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band and Indiana-based Grammy award-winner Carrie Newcomer.