High Plains Morning

Today, I had a chance to ask the new host of a new show a lot of questions about a topic that I know very little about: METAL. I don't mean the conductive material; I mean the musical genre. While HPPR bids farewell to Kyle Borger's whimsical electro-pop showcase Magical Mixtape Hour, we welcome a dark spirit into the regional music programming mix.

While we're all thinking about our Spring gardens, so are our animal friends. I'm not sure about you, but our family pets have been regular attendees throughout the tilling and tending of our High Plains gardens. They start out as nosy parkers, worrying the freshly-tilled soil and swatting insect pests. But it's my hope to get them more involved.  Today's Growing on the High Plains will share my experience our pets in our gardens, including our attempt at train rogue dogs to mind the boundaries and to pick up some outdoor chores. 

As a dedicated gardener, I rely heavily on my compost heap. It's an easy thing to maintain, but there are a few rules to follow to make sure it's at its best. Compost needs little more than some air, some water, a little green, and a little brown. On today's edition of Growing on the High Plains, we'll discuss a few must-haves and a never-"doo" for your own compost heap. Happy Spring, and good luck with this year's garden!

It’s mid-March, and our gardens will soon be front-and-center in the minds of us High Plains horticulturalist types. So today’s Growing on the High Plains will take a look at a program that gave me inspiration when I stumbled upon it in the Sunday paper.

********DUE TO THE NEED FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING DURING THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED; STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO! STAY SAFE AND KEEP THOSE HANDS CLEAN!*******

Recently, on High Plains Morning, things took a tragic turn. But like…in a good way. I was delighted to speak with a country-folk singer, storyteller, and man of the land whose music is always in rotation: Corb Lund. He’s playing a show TONIGHT at Hoot’s Pub in Amarillo, and he took some time out to chat with me and share some insight with HPPR listeners about his new album, Agricultural Tragic.

Even though we're in a basement, today a northerly wind blew in as Sofia Talvik took the mic during High Plains Morning. The celebrated, Swedish-born, folk-Americana singer-songwriter—wow, that's a lot of hyphens—landed at HPPR Studios in Amarillo on her way to Pampa, TX for her show tonight at the Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center

Thanks so much to Emily Burns (vocals, guitar) and Aaron Markovitz (vocals, mandolin, guitar), also known as the folk duo Escaping Pavement, for stopping by High Plains Morning today. They played a house concert at Aoudad Ranch in Amarillo on Sunday, and we were thrilled they had some time to play a few tunes for the good people of the High Plains. Here’s the full interview and in-studio set:

While I’m a little miffed that he didn’t bring me any beer, David Palmer of Chamber Music Amarillo stopped by High Plains Morning today. This Saturday night, March 7th, CMA presents “German Giants,” the fifth concert of the current season, featuring sonatas by Bach and Brahms.

Today, High Plains Morning enjoyed a return visit from Courtnie Dodgen, the Director of Development at 7 Star Therapeutic Riding Center. If you’re a mental health professional, licensed counselor, social worker, or psychologist, this is for YOU. Courtnie tells us that 7 Star has an upcoming workshop for those who want to learn about how “Equine Therapy” works for Mental Health.

Listen up, beer people (and you know who you are)! Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum invites you to the annual CRAFTS & DRAFTS 2020 fundraiser this Friday night, March 6th. Stephanie Price stopped in to High Plains Morning today to remind us about the fun evening of food, crafts, and draft beer samples. It runs from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm.

Thanks to Eric Meljac of the High Plains Poetry Project and West Texas A&M University for stopping by High Plains Morning today to share the upcoming Spring/Summer 2020 readings will be held at the new Burrowing Owl Bookstore location in Amarillo (7406 SW 34th Avenue). Here’s a list of all forthcoming events. Mark you calendars! For our full interview, click the link below.

“Flower of this purple dye, Hit with Cupid's archery, Sink in apple of his eye. “

—William Shakespeare

This week, I was delighted to catch Adam Moe & Boyd Blomberg, the “folky-tonk” duo Pushing Chain, on the phone from Austin, TX. They were getting ready to head up to Amarillo for their show TONIGHT at Starlight Canyon Bed & Breakfast (100 Brentwood Rd., Amarillo). Doors open at 7p, and the show starts at 7:30p.

After a private house concert at Aoudad Ranch in Sept. 2019 in Amarillo, Terri Hendrix & Lloyd Maines stopped in the HPPR Studio in Amarillo for a quick chat and a wonderful live set, just because they love you. Two of the kindest people I've ever met, they're also about the best time you can have if you love hearing great music. (Thanks so much, Terri & Lloyd, for sharing your time and talent with the listeners of the High Plains!)

Okay, so I'm realizing I never posted some of the best in-studio performances we've had on High Plains Morning, so buckle up! Here's a dump of solid gold from some excellent artists who ventured into the HPPR Studios in Amarillo in 2018 for a chat and a live set. Click the link to hear the full interview and in-studio set, and click the artist name to learn more about their music. Thank you all, and wow...sorry it's been a minute!

The 2nd annual Bad Poetry Competition is back, so I asked Dr. Matthew Harrison and WT student Haven Jock to stop in and share some insight and delightfully “bad” poetry. The contest goes down this Thursday night at 6 p.m., so start collecting and composing your most banal, smarmy and glib emotions into bite-sized prose for the masses.

Thanks so much to Mary Jane Johnson of Amarillo Opera for stopping by High Plains Morning today to share some info about their upcoming event. As you know, February is Black History Month, and Amarillo has been celebrating.

This is it, folks! This week at West Texas A&M University, the Center for the Study of the American West (CSAW) will host the Southern Plains Conference 2020 with the theme “Representing, Modeling, and Imagining Water on the Southern Plains.” The event kicks off this Thursday, February 20th and runs through Saturday, February 22nd in Canyon, TX. The conference will take place on campus at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (2401 4th Ave., Canyon). So today we welcomed back Dr. Alex Hunt to give us some updates and reminders. 

On today's edition of Growing on the High Plains, I'd like to reminisce about my experience with a peculiar plant I've known since childhood. It's one of those plants that's considered a "noxious weed." Some called it "witch's shoelaces," others called it "dodder," but we always called it "loveweed." This odd vampire has no roots, no leaves, and hardly any green chlorophyll.

One of High Plains Morning's favorite artists to spin (across EVERY genre) is en route to the Texas Panhandle! North Carolina's hard-to-define supergroup (and Tarheel bluegrass pride and joy), Steep Canyon Rangers, hit the stage on Saturday night at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts.