WTCI will host live pledge events during June, celebrating new PBS programs with some of Chattanooga’s most interesting musical talents, officials said. Viewers can tune in to WTCI to join Jazzanooga’s Shane Morrow, the Americana singer and songwriter James Rogers, the Chattanooga Folk School’s Laura Walker and US-101’s own Melissa Turner as they guide you through the best of this season’s new all-star PBS concerts.
“This Land is Your Land,” “Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Friends: 50 Years and Circlin’ Back,” and “Alabama: Hymns & Gospel Favorites” will be on-air with live hosts during WTCI’s summer pledge season.
These new releases include all-star concerts, performances, interviews, and some once-in-a-lifetime musical events.
On Monday, Jazzanooga’s Shane Morrow and WTCI’s Director of Membership Cynthia Wilson, will join WTCI viewers with the “Rhythm and Blues 40,” featuring a once-in-a-lifetime concert with Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ben E. King and the Drifters, Dionne Warwick, The Isley Brothers, Percy Sledge, The Impressions, Little Anthony and The Imperials, The Temptations, and many more performing their most memorable soul classics. Members of Jazzanooga will host the phone bank, answering live calls from members and supporters.
James Rogers, noted Americana singer and songwriter, will join WTCI on Wednesday to host “This Land is Your Land” for a musical journey through the evolution of modern American folk music. James Rogers and Cynthia Wilson will appear with a live phone bank and pledge gift opportunities as the PBS program traces American folk music from its roots in bluegrass to San Francisco coffee house hipsters to clubs in Greenwich Village.
On Thursday, Laura Walker, executive director of the Chattanooga Folk School and a member of the Dismembered Tennesseans, will join WTCI's Vice President of Content and Digital Strategy Shaun Townley, for an all-star show at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Honoring their 50th anniversary, this concert pairs the NGDB with several of the biggest artists from the last few decades, including John Prine, Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell and Jerry Douglas, Jerry Jeff Walker, Alison Krauss, and Byron House, as well as former band members Jimmy Ibbotson and Jackson Browne. Lead singer Jeff Hanna says "We're just huge fans of PBS. I don't know of anyone who doesn't love public television."
Melissa Turner from US-101 will join Ms. Wilson live on Tuesday, June 14 with a program from one of the most acclaimed country bands of all time. Alabama celebrates their love for gospel music in this collection of songs of faith, including "Church in the Wildwood," "I'll Fly Away," "The Old Rugged Cross" and the new "Angels Among Us."
“WTCI's membership benefits continue to grow and this year our station was among one of the first in the country to offer the new WTCI Passport benefit to its viewers,” says President and CEO Paul Grove. “The WTCI Passport benefit provides trusted PBS content on-demand that our members can enjoy local and national programming on phones, tablets, computers or streaming boxes. WTCI Passport access allows you to watch even more on-demand episodes of all the favorite PBS shows. This $60+ membership level also includes the Viewfinder, WTCI's bi-monthly membership magazine, and a complimentary, annual subscription to Chattanooga Magazine."
For membership and pledge gifts information, contact Ms. Wilson, director of Membership, at 423-702-7819 or cwilson@wtciTV.org.