Category: News

3BBR-FM was there for the jubilant return of the multi-award winning Boolarra Folk Festival, recording every concert for Gippsland Live, our weekly showcase of local live performances.

After a three year hiatus, thousands of people flocked to Boolarra in early March for the festival, a completely free community event held at ARC Yinnar on the Friday night, and in Railway Park in Boolarra throughout Saturday.

Gippsland Live (heard weekly from April) will begin broadcasting concerts from the festival on April 12, featuring the headline act from the Friday night event, local Steely Dan aficionados Doit Doit . Gutsy blues singer/guitarist Anna Scionti, and brilliant virtuoso guitarist Nick Charles are just a couple of the many acts to follow in subsequent programs.

“The performances were great and we appreciate the help of the Festival and the performers in allowing us to share the joy and musicianship on show,” said producer Garry Havrillay, “We’re also thrilled to be able to give these under-represented and emerging artists a chance to be heard more widely.”

Tune in to 103.1FM on Wednesday nights at 8.00pm, stream online via 3bbrfm.org.au or the Community Radio Plus App, or listen later via our audio-on-demand  service at https://3bbrfm.org.au/programs/gippsland-live.

Broadcast schedule for Boolarra Festival concerts
April 12, 8pm	Doit Doit
April 19, 8pm	Anna Scionti
	Half Cut Hicks, pt.1
April 26, 8pm	Half Cut Hicks, pt.2
	Hip Pockets
May 3, 8pm	Nick Charles
	Frolic & Detour, pt.1
May 17, 8pm	Frolic & Detour, pt.2
	Brasswind Circus
	Kindred
May 31, 8pm	Harry Hook
	Strzelecki Stringbusters
June 14, 8pm	Skiffle Party
	Coalville Road, pt.1
June 28, 8pm	Coalville Road, pt.2
	The Reel Deal
July 12, 8pm	The Weeping Willows
	Jungle Jim Smith

3BBR-FM has produced a radio version of the Warragul Theatre Company’s production of Oscar Wilde’s witty classic comedy “The Importance of Being Earnest” as directed by Rob and Amy Robson.

Rediscover the fun of making movies in the mind with classic radio drama. Huddle around the wireless on Sunday 16 April 2023 from 8.00pm for this special broadcast on 3BBR, and the joy of Wilde’s absurdist play from 1895 described as a trivial comedy for serious people.

In a very modern twist, as well as on FM radio 103.1 you can also listen live online via our website or the Community Radio Plus  App, or listen back after broadcast via our audio-on-demand  service.

The cast for this radio recording;

Luke Pepping as John Worthing, J.P.
Toby Just as Algernon Moncrieff
Deb Welch as Lady Bracknell
Isabel Stephens as Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax
Elyse Clyde as the governess Miss Prism
John Black as Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D.
Matthew Vale as the butler Merriman
Michael Winterton as manservant Lane

Directed by Rob and Amy Robson
Recorded by Paul Strickland
Post-production for radio by Garry Havrillay

• Great news! Both Gippsland Live (Wed 8.00pm) and Richard Rejmer‘s Smooth, Cool, Rare & Spicy (Wed 9.00pm-11.00pm) will now be heard weekly, with Gippsland Live  featuring recordings from the entire 2023 Boolarra Folk Festival throughout April, May and beyond.
• On 3rd April Greg King (pictured) begins a new contemporary music show from 3.00pm-6.00pm every Monday afternoon. With a passion for most music styles, The Millennium Drive offers popular music released since the year 2000. It could be a legendary act that has released new material, or new and emerging artists who have commenced their careers in that timeframe. Whatever the case, Greg guarantees at least 50 per cent of his hand-picked music content will concentrate on Australian talent.
• Clinkas’ Brand New Key, highlighting new music from emerging Australian artists will get a second broadcast on Wednesday afternoons at 5.00pm.
• Some Community Radio Network  programs will have new time slots, but we think that giving more airtime to programs made locally is well worth it.
  • 100% Home Grown  moves to Wed 7.00pm.
  • The Breeze  moves to Thurs 8.00pm, alternating with Jazz Just For You.
  • Aussie Music is Bloody Great  moves to Tues 10.00am.
  • 45RPM  can still be heard on Saturday afternoons at 1.00pm.
  • Global Village  replaces The Chill  Mon 10.00pm.

 
As always, keep an eye on our schedule calendar for full details.

 
In case you missed changes for March…

• Susan Burton began a new program “The Bewitching Hour”, heard every second Monday after the midday news — an eclectic musical journey of discovery and reminiscence to feed mind, body and soul; jazz, light classical, latin, musical theatre, pop and rock ‘n’ roll.
• We have a new fun way to start Tuesdays with the 2Js! Great music is on the menu to get you in the groove. Join José and Big John Meyer for “Breakfast with the 2Js” from 7.00 – 9.00am.
• Clinkas dives into a new Thursday afternoon 70s show between 4.00 & 6.00pm.  “That Was… the 70s” will take us all back to that time, so all songs will be from the seventies.  He will look at the events that shaped the decade, and not be worried about musical genre.

These guys appear to be taking Studio 2 apart!

Finally we’re going to have the carpet replaced in Studio 2, and ahead of the day, a flash mob turned up to do some heavy lifting and cleaning. Russ seized the opportunity to give the wall a lick of paint, and we even found half a dozen lost pens that are sure to go into general revenue.

Thanks to Phil H, Susan B, Russ H, Tom McG, Wayne P, Richard R, Garry H, José & John M & Joseph B who all turned up to help take the studio apart.

Then…

Et voila! All in one day.

The coda was to put fabric on the eastern wall…

We’re always looking for new presenters and program ideas that support local and Australian artists and communities, so if you’ve always wanted to be on the radio (or help in other ways), apply now. We’d love to hear your fresh idea for a program that you and friends would want to hear. Your local community radio station is for everyone, and we’re keen to diversify our volunteer mix.

As much as possible our schedule keeps live presenters apart for Covid safety, and we only have a small number of other volunteers attending the station for the purposes of maintenance and cleaning.  Every local presenter who can pre-record their show remotely will still get to air.

So no matter who you are, step up and join us!

Find out more about how to become a 3BBR Presenter.

The Golden Guitars Awards are at the heart of the Tamworth Country Music Festival, for both artists and fans alike.

On Saturday 21 January, 3BBR broadcast the whole event as it happened from 6.00pm through to after 11pm.

The Golden Guitar Awards are the nation’s longest running music awards. They celebrate recording excellence and showcase the cream of Australian country music artists, and the songs that have left their mark on the fans throughout the past 12 months. The night is the pinnacle awards event for country music.

Listen back to 3BBR’s live broadcast via TBS (Tamworth’s 88.9FM)

0.00:00 – 1:00:00 – The red carpet lead up to the awards, chatting with stars as they arrived
1.00:00 – 1:30:00 – A preview of the major awards and the nominees
1.30:00 – 5:09:00 – The Golden Guitar Awards

It is with much sadness that we learn of the death of presenter, Board member and very active member of 3BBR John Beauchamp, known to all simply as JB.

As well as presenting his programs for many, many years, he was, from the onset of COVID, an instigator of many of the changes that the kept the radio on air, and in many ways improved the overall sound and capabilities of our station. He was presenting his programs and attending Board meetings right up to the end, and in the latter days was still as fiery and vocal as he was when he was well.

He was active in production as well as promotional work and was single minded about raising the profile and performance of 3BBR. He set very high standards, but then rolled up his sleeves and got on with whatever needed doing.

In most of his programs he made sure to insert a good helping of madcap humour, and in our conversations he was always witty and a bit of a devil.

When people pass away we often say they will be missed, but in John’s case it’s true to say “we will not see his like again” and those who worked closest with him will miss his drive, his passion for Community Radio, and our regular Thursday pizza lunches, even if he was the only one who really liked the anchovies.

No words will console his family, so let us simply say our farewell and thanks for the time we spent with John and that we will each hold a special memory of JB in our heart.
— Tom McGhee

 
You can listen back to John’s last programs…

Our normal schedule resumed on Tues Nov 1.

Baw Baw Shire is just putting the finishing touches to a major rebuild right next door in the same building as 3BBR. This was expected to be completed mid-October, but unfortunately took longer. The works meant temporary changes to our schedule. With restricted access, we had little choice but to replace some programs that would normally be live. Thanks for your understanding.

Programs returning are;

Tuesday
Graeme Marriott’s Music is My Beat  (3.00pm – 6.00pm)

Wednesday
Terri Trewin’s Time for Terri  (1.00pm – 3.00pm)
Sam Horner’s Sam’s Alternatives  (6.00pm – 8.00pm)

Friday
Graeme Marriott’s Rock Archives  (9.00am – 11.00am)
Russ Hughes’ Jokes, Jives and Jottings  (12.00pm – 2.00pm)
Peter Kessels’ Upbeat Soul  (3.00pm – 6.00pm)

Sunday
Graeme Marriott’s Sunday Night Applause  (6.00pm – 8.00pm)
Graeme Marriott’s Moments to Remember  (8.00pm – 10.00pm)

Yay!

Community Radio Plus is the new app for Apple and Android that brings together Community stations from across Australia, and 3BBR is there with you. Add us as your favourite station and take us anywhere. You can also see the latest 3BBR news.

Download the App.

Frequently asked questions about Community Radio Plus.

The technical side of keeping a radio station on air is usually well hidden.

Recently we invested in totally replacing the old battery backup system on Mt. Worth. This has not been a simple task. The work is now complete, and the batteries should keep the transmitter running for well over 10 hours if there is a mains power failure. All being well, you won’t even notice.

We apologise for a recent outage that was related to this work. Please understand that it takes time, effort and money to provide a robust and reliable backup.

Meanwhile, there will be improvements to our on-air sound in the months to come. This will require some substantial rewiring and installation at the Drouin studios. We’ll let you know more, and ask for your feedback when the time comes.

Best wishes from your technical crew at 3BBR!