WMM features: Stephonne + Heath Church + French Exit Record’s BLM

Wednesday MidDay Medley
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Stephonne Singleton + Heath Church
+ New & MidCoastal Releases

We play New & MidCoastal Releases from: Stephonne Singleton, Sam Wells, Calvin Arsenia, Brandon Phillips & The Condition, Mikal Shapiro & The Musical, We The People, Heath Church, The Nicole Springer Band, Crystal Rose, UpKeep, Krystle Warren, The Mammals, Sly & The Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield, Prince, and Eydie Gorme & Los Panchos.

We’ll feature tracks from: French Exit Records – Black Lives Matter Compilation of 22 acts from the area, with proceeds donated to One Struggle KC’s Liberation Fund, a Black-led coalition of KC activists seeking to connect the struggles of oppressed communities, locally & globally. AND, from: Kansas City Syzygy, a compilation of 19 songs created during the quarantine of 2020 with proceeds donated to KC Tenants, a local nonprofit organized to ensure that everyone in KC has a safe, accessible, & truly affordable home.

At 10:30 Singer songwriter, & actor, Stephonne Singleton talks about his new EP, SIS: Side A, to be released August 7, and the single “Deep,” released July 14, 2020. Stephonne co-produced his EP with Justin Mantooth who also engineered & mixed, at Westend Studios. Joining Stephonne was Johnny Hamil on bass, Ben Byard on guitar, & Adam McKee on drums. Stephonne describes himself as the lovechild of Prince & Billie Holiday. He grew up in KCK and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Benedictine College, and Masters in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University. His debut album, “Caged Bird Sings Songs About Red Beard” was one of WMM’s 118 Best Recordings of 2018. On Friday, August 7, at 7:00 PM, Stephonne plays Lemonad(e) Park, 1628 Wyoming (NW corner of Wyoming & 17th St.), behind Voltaire, with Dustin Rapier, and Lava Dreams. More info at: www.stephonne.com

At 11:00 Mark talks with Heath Church about his new single “The Stranger.” KC based singer-songwriter Heath Church grew up in Blue Springs, Missouri and performs all over the metropolitan area. Heath plays indie-folk music. His lyrics speak poetically about his own life, losses, struggles and intimate moments. His music is full of melancholy, catchy hooks, and sweet vocals. His style is inspired by artists such as Elliott Smith, John Prine, Rivers Cuomo, and The Smiths. In the last two years Heath has released two 5-song EPs and four singles. Heath is getting ready to release a new EP Cosmic Love this year. More info at www.haethchurchmusic.com

Stephonne Singleton photo by Paul Andrews Photograph

BLM cover art by Chicago-based Nigerian American illustrator, Unimuke Agada / Courtesy French Exit Records

Show #846

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