At the beginning of 2026, I decided that after decades of writing songs, I would make a real attempt at getting some ‘regular’ airplay on country radio.

I’d had one or two songs on the airwaves previously, but I wanted to get a few songs out there that would be played on a regular basis. Believe me, that is not an easy thing to do.

Major corporate country radio stations target mainstream artists, those who already have commercial success. I knew they’d never play my songs.

However, there are a lot of independent country or ‘indie’ stations that welcome local artists, and make it very easy to submit your songs for review.

I generated the following short station list (there are many more stations):

Most of these stations only want songs that have been recorded within the last year. That was a bit of a problem, as I’d only recorded “If There’s A Will, Then There’s A Way” within the last year.

So, I decided to re-record several of what I felt were my best songs. These new recordings would all be ‘2026 Versions’ of their original. The recordings needed to be the real deal – not demos, but done at a professional studio and with great musicians. I’d had Gary Carter Music help me record a few of my songs in the past, so I contacted him once again.

The following songs were re-recorded and re-released:

• She Got The Ring (2026 Version)
• Why’d You Go And Love Me Like That (2026 Version)
• He’s A Legend (2026 Version)
• In A Perfect World (2026 Version)
• Red, White, & Blue (2026 Version)

I selected the first station listed – KICR – a very well respected and syndicated indie country station. It plays not only in the USA, but also in 16 international countries as well.

I followed the submission guidelines listed on their website, and submitted “She Got The Ring (2026 Version)” to The Tim Kelly Show.

A few days later, I received a email back from Tim Mazur, also known as Tim Kelly (his broadcasting name).

He said that he liked the song, and would play it on his New Music Friday show. I figured if he liked that song, I’d send a few more – five more to be exact.

Well, he liked all of them and said he’d play all on his shows. YEE HAW!

On Friday, September 25, 2026, “In A Perfect World” by The Ridge Riders (my band) was played. Totally Awesome!

Well, that is the first one and hopefully KICR will play all of them many times over.

So tune into ‘kicrindiecountryradio.com‘ to listen to some great indie country music, by lots of great independent artists.

For now, I’m…

On The Radio!