The Local Spin debuted as a YouTube premiere in February 2021, and has continued to expand and include more musicians from across the Upper Great Lakes Region. It was born out of a problem-solving state of mind: how do we help champion local musicians, especially during a pandemic and social distancing, but also in a remote area of the world? And how do we also turn that into a product and off-shoot of something we do already, while also finding a way to meet audiences in a rapidly changing media environment where they are?
Kurt Hauswirth was working from home at the time, due to the social distancing requirements from the Covid-19 pandemic, and took the initiative to try a Zoom interview with his first guest, a local musician and rapper. From there, he reached out to other people in the local music community, and has been independently booking, interviewing, recording, producing and promoting The Local Spin since that first guest. Word started spreading, and we received more submissions than Kurt has time in a day!
The Local Spin accepts local musicians from across the Upper Great Lakes region, regardless of musical genre. We look to champion a diverse roster of musicians and can see this initiative replicated by any level of public media organization.