Here at Jazz88, we want to highlight Phil Nusbaum and his THIRTY YEARS of hosting Bluegrass Saturday Morning. Phil is an integral part of Jazz88, and this June, Jazz88 Development Specialist and fill-in host Andrew Diemand wrote the below piece on how Phil has influenced him as a fan of bluegrass, a radio listener, and a Jazz88 employee, and spent some time asking him about his tenure. Please take a moment to watch the video and read Andrew’s reflections below. Once again, THANK YOU, Phil! We look forward to hearing your show every Saturday from 7-noon on 88.5FM.
When I was 13 years old (circa 2002), I pooled together all the money I had, which was somewhere in the neighborhood of $200, and bought a less-than-great banjo from a large chain music store. For one reason or another, I just had to have one. My parents, being reasonable people, were not going to buy me one, but I was determined. After this purchase, they saw that, too. So, every Saturday, my mom would drive me and my less-than-great banjo to the Homestead Pickin’ Parlor in Richfield, MN for lessons. These were my people, and I fell in love with the place. From the aisles of bluegrass CDs, to the walls adorned with all manner of acoustic instruments, to the folky colloquialisms of the staff and the small dog snoozing on a pillow behind the counter, I was home.
But along this path of musical discovery came something unexpected, and it was almost by fate that my lessons happened to land on Saturdays. Every time I was there, the in-store speakers would pump out this fantastic music, and I was surprised to hear talking breaks—that all of this music was coming from a radio station. I wasn’t aware there was a radio station that played this kind of music and I had to know what it was. This is how I was introduced to Phil Nusbaum and Bluegrass Saturday Morning on 88.5FM. From then on, it became a ritual—even after my lessons were done, I’d cue it up on my little bedroom clock radio, and if I missed it, I’d listen on-demand. I felt so cool—like I had discovered this secret, this hidden gem, that brought me into a secret world—and I just remember learning so much, laughing at some of the bands’ names, and wanting to be on there. I continued listening, learning, and playing bluegrass (eventually upgrading to some much nicer banjos and picking up guitar as well) from then on.
Cut to 19 years later and I find myself working at Jazz88 as a Development Specialist. The beginning of a career I had wanted for much of my adult life, but had started to think wasn’t in the cards for me. Sitting at my desk one morning, doing one such thing or another, in he came. The man himself. My radio hero for all these years, Phil Nusbaum. Being amongst radio people now, I played it cool, but inside, I was gushing. It’s wild to meet someone who’s voice you’ve become so familiar with. We bonded quickly, and when Phil needed someone to fill in for the occasional shift, I was floored that he came to me. Here I was, sitting in studio and learning the tricks of the trade from the man I had been listening to, and who had helped shape the course of my musical life, for close to 20 years. To hear my voice on Bluegrass Saturday Morning. It’s all been surreal to say the least. And to think, Phil had been doing the show for 10 years before that.
I want to congratulate and thank Phil Nusbaum for 30 years of not just hosting a fabulous, intensive show week in and week out, but for being such a champion of this artform, for teaching me more than I can aptly sum up here, for trusting and believing in me, and, most importantly, being a companion and a friend for all these years. – Andrew Diemand
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