My friends at Shady Pines Radio are running a fundraiser to cover their costs for 2022.

It’s been really fun watching Callie and Brian build this station. When they moved to Portland a few years ago, they converted the basement of their house into a recording studio; as well as recording a bunch of really great live music performances, they’ve been running an independent radio station with an eclectic mix of independent DJs as a way to connect the independent music scene during the pandemic. (Disclosure: my sister runs a weekly show featuring new independent artists, which reminds me a little of John Peel’s old BBC show. You should check it out.)

I spend a lot of my time immersed in startups and high-growth media endeavors; Shady Pines Radio is a labor of love, more a community than anything else. It’s all put together with a high degree of professionalism and skill, but also with obvious passion. I’m really inspired by what they’ve built, and how they’re continuing to build.

One aspect of this has been music licensing. It’s an independent station, but it’s not pirate radio: everything is fully-licensed and above board. That takes a fair amount of money, which is funded by the community (hence the fundraiser). Not only is it honest, it’s pure in a way that most media startups could never hope to achieve.

Before the pandemic, they ran a series of events - open mics, shows - that were popular gathering points. The pandemic made that impossible, but it’s been great to see how they’ve taken their skill for community organizing and brought it online. All the things you need to do to bring people together in real life translate very well to the internet. The tools are different, the communication is remote, but the people and connections are very much the same.

I’m listening right now. Hit the Play button on the website to join me, or grab the apps for iOS and Android. And if you like it, maybe knock them a few bucks?

This is what makes the web so special: communities led by people out of love. Callie and Brian’s work makes me really happy, and is an example of why I’m still in love with the internet.