Broadband Polkas

Hosted by Kevin Kurdziel

Polka radio lives or dies on the person behind the microphone. A playlist alone will not carry three hours; what carries it is somebody who knows which band recorded which arrangement, who remembers the hall it was cut in, and who can tell you why a particular version of a standard is the one worth hearing. Every show on this schedule is built that way — put together by hand, week after week, by people who have spent decades inside this music.

Broadband Polkas sits in the early Sunday afternoon slot and takes the widest view of the genre on the schedule. The premise in the title is meant literally: the show ranges across styles and eras rather than settling into one camp, which makes it a good entry point for anyone who has only heard polka at a wedding.

A typical hour might move from a Polish-language vocal to a Cleveland-style button box instrumental to something recorded last year by a band with a horn section half its members' age. The connective tissue is the host's commentary, which explains the jumps rather than papering over them.

Monday morning and Wednesday late-morning replays put the show in front of people at work, which is where a surprising amount of internet polka listening actually happens.

About the Music

Polka in North America is not one style but several, and the differences matter to the people who play it. The Chicago-honky sound leans on trumpets and a driving push beat; the Eastern style favours a fuller horn section and a smoother swing; the Cleveland-Slovenian tradition puts the button box at the centre and takes the tempo down a notch. Add the Polish-language repertoire, the crossover bands, and the younger groups mixing rock and jazz phrasing into a two-step, and a well-built show has more range than most listeners expect on the first hour.

Times shown are Eastern. Shows are pre-recorded unless a live broadcast is announced, and the schedule can move at short notice when a host is broadcasting from a festival or a hall. If a show you are following is not where you expect it, check the programming grid, which is kept as current as we can keep it.