During a 2025 ‘Blue Plate Special’ performance, a bluegrass band from a local Knoxville Community College joins a touring Blues Americana act.

The fiercely independent public station provides a unique stage six days a week for musicians and fans, fostering genuine connections far beyond East Tennessee

Five days a week at noon, in a downtown visitor center in Knoxville, Tennessee, a small but enthusiastic crowd gathers. They find seats among curious tourists and local regulars, settling in for an hour of live music that ranges from bluegrass to blues, Celtic melodies to classic country, rockabilly to gospel.

This isn’t a concert hall, though it feels like one. It’s WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a near-daily live music broadcast with deep roots in East Tennessee’s vibrant music culture.

“We try to give as many people a chance as we can,” says Red Hickey, longtime host of Blue Plate Special. “We’re not going for a sound per se, unless it’s not our sound. WDVX plays everything from blues to bluegrass to classic country. It’s music that doesn’t already have a radio station playing it.”

Hickey herself discovered WDVX through its eclectic mix, drawn back to her hometown after 15 years in Atlanta by the unique scene she couldn’t find anywhere else. On the very day she returned, Hickey attended Camper Fest, the station’s beloved annual fundraiser. It didn’t take long before she began volunteering, eventually stepping behind the mic with little more than enthusiasm and encouragement from Tony Lawson, WDVX’s general manager and founder.

“I had no broadcast experience whatsoever,” Hickey recalls, laughing. “Tony likes to pick ’em green and just throw ’em out there. He’s real good about saying, ‘Here’s how you do it,’ and then he walks away and leaves you to figure it out.”

Lawson launched WDVX in a cramped 14-foot camper parked on a remote hillside, powered initially by a mere 10 watts of broadcast power. From those modest beginnings, he envisioned a station deeply connected to Appalachian culture but soon learned it had broader potential.

“We started working on it in 1991, before the internet,” Lawson recalls. “It sort of found me. I feel like it’s a project that had to happen, and it just chose me to happen through.”

Blue Plate Special itself started in that camper, hosting artists as diverse as Todd Snider in its early days. Hickey remembers the camper fondly, despite the logistical challenges: “It was tiny. Often, when we got bands in there, somebody ended up not fitting. Especially if they had a double bass or a fiddle, they’d have to stand outside the front door to play because there wasn’t enough room.”

When the station moved downtown in 2005, the show expanded dramatically. Lawson wanted a venue that echoed Knoxville’s historic musical legacy, from the Midday Merry-Go-Round to the Tennessee Jamboree, bringing performers onto the airwaves as they traveled through the crossroads of Interstates 75 and 40.

“Look how many people cross through here,” Lawson explains. “They’re going to play Atlanta tonight. They’re going to play Nashville tonight. Let’s catch them on their way through down home.”

That approach turned Blue Plate Special into a cultural hub, regularly featuring emerging talents long before they break nationally, including Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers, and Margo Price.

The station itself gained international acclaim when a series of serendipitous press features — including PBS NewsHour and ABC’s World News Tonight — profiled the unique broadcast from its humble camper beginnings, transforming WDVX from local curiosity into a global fixture.

Despite the show’s far-reaching audience, the heart of Blue Plate Special remains in its immediate community. Hickey, along with Sean McCollough, who hosts the Saturday episode of the show, sees this firsthand every day. “The radio station is inside the Knoxville Visitor Center, and we have a live audience that comes in for the show,” she says. “I’ve got special-needs groups, regulars, downtown dwellers — a large mix of people. I get to see and hang out with them every day, and they’re part of what makes it special.”

Lawson echoes that sentiment, emphasizing that authenticity — “Whether it’s good or bad, it’s real,” he reminds — is the show’s defining characteristic.

Audiences watch The Dedicated Men Of Zion perform for the ‘Blue Plate Special.’

The station’s fiercely independent ethos amplifies this community connection. Not affiliated with any media conglomerate, a university, or any religious or political entity, WDVX prides itself on self-reliance. Lawson fought for years to ensure independent, rural community stations like his received equitable funding from entities like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“Our autonomy allows us to impact our community directly,” Lawson says. “Instead of airing programming that’s on many stations, we can create our own and have direct community impact.”

For Hickey, success is found in how that community is reacting daily, show to show, performance to performance, which also includes a swing by local venue and restaurant Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria every Friday for “The Big Plate” performance. She appreciates the human moments that occur during the broadcasts.

“It’s really interesting,” Hickey explains. “Sometimes there’s a band I don’t particularly care for, but I’ll look out and see someone in the audience really digging it. It’s about giving everyone something they’ll connect with.”

Blue Plate Special has evolved into more than just a radio show. It’s a gathering place, a proving ground, and a vital connection between musicians and listeners. It’s live radio and public radio at its most authentic, fostering community in a distinctly rural setting.

“What excites me is seeing the path forward,” Lawson reflects. “We’ve grown something special here, something that’s deeply connected to our roots and our people.”

At WDVX, the future is bright, sustained by authenticity, community, and a love for music that resonates far beyond East Tennessee.