The Polka Revolution

Hosted by Walter “VUD” Monstwil and Dave Smialowski

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.

Sunday morning is the traditional home of polka radio, and The Polka Revolution takes the slot that matters most: the hours when the coffee is on and the phone starts ringing. Two hosts trading records is a harder format than it sounds — it only works when both of them actually know the catalogue and are willing to disagree on air about which cut is the better one.

The show leans toward the modern end of the repertoire without abandoning the standards. Expect current releases from the bands still touring, alongside the recordings that made those bands' reputations in the first place. Live shows are the only ones on the schedule where a request has a realistic chance of making the same broadcast, which is a large part of why the Sunday slot draws the audience it does.

Because the show goes out live, it also carries the announcements that matter to the community that week: hall dates, festival line-ups, benefit dances, and the notices nobody else reads out. That is not filler. For a listener two states away from the nearest Polish club, it is the only reliable way to hear what is happening.

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.