Jonah Chester, Author at WORT 89.9 FM

WORT Music Playlists

What was that song I heard? Who was the artist, what is the album title, where can I get it? Where can I find the entire playlist for a show?

Click on the Playlists button to bring up a calendar where you can choose any date to find the playlists for that day. If you can’t find the right playlist or the song you’re looking for, your best bet is to call the station the next time that program’s on and ask the host yourself. If that’s not possible we may be able to help you, but please have as much information as possible at hand when you contact us, such as: approximate day and time the music was played, what type or genre of music it was, who hosted the show and any other information you remember about the selection and we’ll do our best to track it down.

Once you figure it out, there’s a “Buy It!” link next to each track in online playlists that leads you to a place where you can buy songs and albums, and by doing it that way a small portion of each purchase goes to support WORT.

Contact Information

Music Director: Sybil Augustine – musicdirector@wortfm.org (for music submissions, charts and tracking, promotional exchanges for music events and following up on volunteer applications or other requests. Please include specifics in your subject line, such as “Hiphop Music Submission” etc, )

Music Assistant: Aaron Scholz – musicass@wortfm.org (for record donations and sales, promos recording volunteers, etc.)

Music Calendars: Submit your events online here or send by email to calendar@wortfm.org

How do I get my music played on WORT?

We accept submissions in most genres and styles of music, focusing on noncommercial, out-of-the-mainstream, independent releases (check out our playlists and music charts for more information.) It may take up to a few weeks for us to review and process your submission so we appreciate your patience, and feel free to contact us to follow up. Please send your music, indicating any tracks with language that needs to be aired after 10 pm and including a one-sheet description and any biographical and tour information, to WORT Music Director, 118 S. Bedford St, Madison, WI 53703 and/or to musicdirector@wortfm.org.

We do accept digital files on .wav or mp3, but currently we still prefer CDs to digital submissions because it’s the quickest way to get it into the hands of our programmers and onto the airwaves, though we have a growing digital library. Digital submissions should be .wav or other lossless files, or high quality mp3s [128-320 kbps.]

You can follow up or “track” your submissions by email, or call 608-256-2001 on Wednesdays between 1-4 pm CST to ask if we received it, has it been reviewed, has it been added to our library, and what kind of airplay it’s getting—e.g. light, medium, heavy or charting. Thanks and we look forward to hearing your music!

City Council punts ban on tear gas

October 7, 2020 by Jonah Chester and WORT News Department

Speaking on the very first first night of protests in Madison in May, Interim Police Chief Vic Wahl said that the department’s use of tear gas was their best method for dispersing or moving a crowd — even during a pandemic. Exposure to tear gas, and to pepper spray, can cause burning and teary eyes, […]

Dane County announces funding for new Center for Black Excellence and ...

October 6, 2020 by Jonah Chester and WORT News Department

Yesterday, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced that he’d be allocating $810,000 from his 2021 county budget to support the construction of a new Center for Black Excellence and Culture on Madison’s south side. For more on the new center, and what it’ll offer to the greater Dane County Black community, WORT producer Jonah Chester […]

Mayor Rhodes-Conway releases 2021 Proposed Operating Budget

October 6, 2020 by Jonah Chester and WORT News Department

The City of Madison was facing a $25 million shortfall going into this year’s budget season. Some of that — about ten million — is due to revenue lost from the pandemic. But more — fifteen million dollars — exists from a structural gap, where the city spends more than it makes. In Mayor Satya […]

Apple picking in a pandemic

October 5, 2020 by Jonah Chester and WORT News Department

It’s fall in Wisconsin; the leaves are changing color, the temperature is rapidly dropping and the pumpkins are ripe for carving. But, as the coronavirus pandemic continues across the country, some autumn traditions are looking different this year. Earlier today, WORT Producer Jonah Chester spoke with Laura Tisch, Owner of Munchkey Apples in Mount Horeb, […]

Protesters rally to support passage of Hands Up Act

October 5, 2020 by Jonah Chester and WORT News Department

It was a dreary, overcast autumn day as Travis Washington stood on a makeshift wooden platform to address a crowd of protesters. Behind him, the capitol building loomed and, below, a group of around one hundred people assembled to hear his story. “It doesn’t matter who has the power; if it’s evil, if it’s wrong, […]

Federal appeals court upholds Wisconsin’s absentee ballot extens...

September 30, 2020 by Jonah Chester and WORT News Department

In their decision yesterday, a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision pushing the deadline for absentee ballots from Election Day, November 3rd, to November 9th. Under pre-existing state law, absentee ballots need to be in clerks’ hands by election day. Now, as long as they’re received […]

Now Playing

WORT Music Playlists

Contact Information

How do I get my music played on WORT?

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