Arkansas Traveler (radio show)

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Arkansas Traveler is a long-running bluegrass show that can be heard on WDET 101.9 FM out of Detroit. Its host is Larry McDaniel, a passionate fan who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre. A transplant from Arkansas, McDaniel has been broadcasting bluegrass over the Detroit airwaves since 1977. Arkansas Traveler is one of the longest running bluegrass shows in the country and the only show of its kind in southeast Michigan.

"Bluegrass is our music," says McDaniel. "It's American. It's like blues or jazz. This music is about roots." (Press Release, Wayne State University, Oct. 4, 2002).

In September of 2004, WDET cancelled the program when they experimented with several formatting changes. According to McDaniel, a consultant to the station expressed that although Arkansas Traveler had high Arbitron numbers, it caused "audience churn", meaning everyone would tune in for the show, and then turn it off again (source). However, after listener pledges dropped significantly through 2005, WDET hired new general manager Michael Coleman, who returned many of the cancelled programs to the station. Arkansas Traveler went back on the air on December 17, 2005.

Arkansas Traveler can currently be heard in Detroit on Saturdays from 2-4 pm, or online at the WDET Home Page.