Ten O'clock Blues

Nighttime is the right time to have the blues and KWIT-KOJI dutifully brings them to you each Saturday Evening with "Stumpy" Steve Smith and the 10 O'Clock Blues. Smith, whose only real brush with southern culture was growing up in South Dakota, has enjoyed blues for about half of his life, first listening regularly to the public radio program Bluesstage with Ruth Brown. Smith mixes today's rising stars like Keb' Mo' and Susan Tedeschi with old masters like Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. "Occasionally I'll throw in some Louisiana spice and I'll do a Zydeco set, or sometimes I'll play a spiritual or two," Smith says. He also takes a detour from the normal musical direction of the show when a noteworthy musician comes to town. He lists people like B.B. King, Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Sheppard and Delbert McClinton among those whom he has interviewed for the show.