Thank God It's Free Range!

Thank God It's Free Range! Join host (and UMFM Program Director) Michael Elves as he starts the weekend off with a rundown on upcoming shows; interviews with local, national and international artists; and all sorts of good music. Here on 101.5 UMFM, the weekend starts now!

November 7, 2025

Local artist Onna Lou is set to release her third record, Quiero verte volar, at the West End on November 15th and she joins me to discuss making the record and debut the title-track.Then Aysanabee talks about his latest record, Edge of the Earth ahead of returning to Winnipeg to play the Park Theatre on November 25th as part of The Way We're Born Tour.

11-07
01:30:00

October 31, 2025

Rebroadcasting my interview with Canadian rap royalty Shad discussing his new album Start Anew, which is out today on Secret City.

10-31
01:30:00

October 24, 2025

Two Australians are coming to Winnipeg on November 6th. Didirri and Rowena Wise play Public Domain as part of Real Love's Heavenly Week and I managed to speak to both artists ahead of their visit.

10-24
01:30:00

October 17, 2025

On the show tonight I talk to past guest Fuller Hull about his new(ish) album that will get its release October 31st, return guest Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers about their new record Caught Light ahead of their November 2nd show in town, and with Gil from Living Hour whose new album Internal Drone Infinity is out today. The band hits the road in support of it before returning home for their release show November 21st at the Park.

10-17
01:30:00

October 10, 2025

Interviews with Saskatchewan trio Black Tea (who play Osborne Taphouse on October 17th as part of their Get Steeped Tour), and with Dreejur (who plays send + receive on October 19th at the West End) and the debut broadcast of send + receive artist BINT mbareh's "chronicling the tunnel's eternal return to debt" which was commissioned for v.27 of the festival."chronicling the tunnel's eternal return to debt" conveys artist BINT Mbareh's research on Palestinian ways of knowing to Treaty 1 territory. In this work, sound is both communicative content and a medium of passage, transgressing colonial borders and discrete bodies as a wave.The work is installed for close listening at Video Pool's Poolside Gallery (100 Arthur Street, second floor) Wednesday to Friday afternoons from 1:00-5:00pm. Bint Mbareh is a sound researcher with a focus on water in palestine. her interest in the physical parallel between the water wave and the sound wave leads her into questions of border dissolutions (between bodies, between states, between tenses), and into the possibility of being enveloped by the voice, by sounding communally similarly to being enveloped by a water body. she challenges settler colonial epistemology by taking seriously palestinian ways of knowing, from rain-summoning music to shrine pilgrimage as an instigator to political revolution.This piece features:Makharij al Hurouf Choir (the hive)Yasamin Ghalehnoie (the poet)Haseeba Hisham (the lamenter)The Mediterranean sea (the final say)

10-10
01:30:00

October 3, 2025

An interview with Shad about his forthcoming album Start Anew, and a live session and conversation with Jared Adams ahead of the 5th year anniversary show for Tragic Nostalgia.

10-03
01:30:00

September 26, 2025

LOTS of fun stuff happening this weekend including Breakout West. I spoke to Edmonton artist Kaeley Jade who is in town for the festival and conference.

09-26
01:30:00

September 19, 2025

Nuit Blanche is NEXT SATURDAY! I talk to General Manager Kurt Kittlemier about all the goings-on, then I've got Austin, TX by way of the Netherlands artist Judy Blank discussing her fantastic album Big Mood, and finally Brandon and Jeff from Yukon Blonde talk about their new album Friendship & Rock 'n' Roll ahead of their Winnipeg show October 7th at Sidestage.

09-19
01:30:00

September 12, 2025

SUPER busy show as there's lots going on in and around the city these days. First up is a conversation with Canadian jazz legend Holly Cole who plays Club Regent NEXT Saturday, September 20th. We talk about her new album Dark Moon.Then Semi Kumolu-Johnson stops by the station to talk about Shinerama, the annual campus fundraising efforts in support of Cystic Fibrosis. Shinerama takes place on the Fort Garry Campus on Thursday, September 18th.The next day in Brandon is the start of a free, two-day, all-ages festival in celebration of modular synths. Brendon Ehinger joins me to talk about all that's going on as part of Prairie Wires Modular.And finally, Carson McHone releases her new album Pentimento today on Merge and we talk about how the record came to be in advance of her appearance at Sidestage on September 16th opening for partner Daniel Romano.

09-12
01:30:00

September 5, 2025

R&B collective NADUH are in town next Friday to play at Sidestage with CEC and Larisa from the group joins me to talk about their latest record duh., how the group coalesced and what to expect at the show.

09-05
01:30:00

August 29, 2025

Joined by Prairie Comics Festival Artistic Director Sam Beiko to discuss the festival which happens September 5th and 6th at the Manitoba Museum, and by co-directors of The Nest, Julietta Singh and Chase Joynt to talk about the film in advance of its screenings at Cinematheque (including a Q&A with Singh on Thursday September 4 and Friday September 5).

08-29
01:30:00

August 22, 2025

Featuring an interview with Chrissy Spratt who plays the CCFM on September 5th in support of her new EP.

08-22
01:30:00

August 15, 2025

On the show tonight I talk to Break Out West's Executive Directory Michael Dawson ahead of the music festival and conference that returns to Winnipeg this September.Then I'm joined by Deirdre Smith and Scott Garratt of Charlottetown, PEI band Strawberry, whose album Brokeheart Audio is currently in the running for the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize. We talk about the pair's recollection of making the record, a bit about Deirdre's continued songwriting and more.

08-15
01:30:00

August 1, 2025

An interview and live session with Laura June Rose, a recent transplant to Winnipeg by way of Calgary and Vancouver. We get into what led her to the city and her musical background.

08-01
01:30:00

July 25, 2025

Tonight's show features interviews with Lulu Lamontange who brings her "Hyper-Glam" Tolling Bell Tour to the Handsome Daughter on August 2nd (and explains what exactly it is), with John and Junior of new organization Scabe All The Way looking to promote the Cree tradition of "scabe" or being a helper, and with old pal Ali (of Turkish Delight) and Joe (aka PILE) who are set to release a collaborative album at Public Domain on August 1st.

07-25
01:30:00

July 18, 2025

An interview with Kelsey Waldon ahead of her performance at the Park Theatre on Tuesday, July 22nd and with Winnipeg ex-pat JayWood about his forthcoming album Leo Negro and return to town to play the last Real Love Summer Fest next weekend. This episode also features one of Kelly Hughes Valiant Theatre interviews for the Winnipeg Fringe Festival:We keep rolling along with episode Sev­en, which sees Broth­er Kel­ly vis­it­ed by Wil­low Rosen­berg and Adam Schwartz! Wil­low’s here to talk about A Les­bian in the Kitchen (Venue #12 — The Out­put 100 Arthur St. — Art­space (2nd floor) Room 218), her fol­lowup to last year’s hit, A Les­bian In A Bear Store! Adam is back at again this year with Neu­ro­hi­lar­i­ty Exposed (Venue #9 — Plan­e­tar­i­um Audi­to­ri­um — 190 Rupert Ave.), fea­tur­ing anoth­er great line­up of bril­liant­ly awk­ward comedians!https://umfm.com/programming/b...

07-18
01:30:00

July 11, 2025

EKKSTACY's Forever Tour lands in Winnipeg tomorrow night and I spoke to Stacy about the new record ahead of the show. I also spoke to Rachael Price of Lake Street Dive ahead of that group's headlining slot at the Winnipeg Folk Festival on Sunday night not only about that group, but also her vocal jazz duo Rachael & Vilray ahead of their forthcoming record West of Broadway.

07-11
01:30:00

July 4, 2025

A conversation with Curtis Nowosad about his new record, I Am Doing My Best, in advance of his hometown release show July 8th at Cornerstone Arthouse. Then I rebroadcast one of my favourite Festival Express conversations with Los Bitchos' Serra Patale exactly one week before they play Big Blue @ Night at the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

07-04
01:30:00

June 27, 2025

If you haven't been listening to Festival Express, UMFM's preview of performers at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, I'm playing one interview with Rose City Band's Ripley Johnson that previously aired and one with Willi Carlisle that has yet to.

06-27
01:30:00

June 20, 2025

Wilfred Buck's Star Stories will open at the Manitoba Museum Planetarium on June 28th and Scott Young from the museum joins me to discuss the new show. Then, fresh off their performance at the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, K!MMORTAL talks about their new EP, as well as participating in the Threads of Kin and Belonging at the WAG as well as the Osborne Village Fest next Friday.Then it's the debut of two new live sessions recorded at the station. Locals Whispering City just released a new self-titled EP and shared some tracks and Montreal's Thanya Iyer was in town to play the Winnipeg Jazz Festival and made time to visit UMFM.

06-20
01:30:00

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