A move to Dunedin for a former Auckland-based DJ has placed the music of women artists to the fore on OAR FM’s Thursday drive-time slot.
Kristina Simons, who spins tracks under the moniker Tina Turntables, spent close to eight years as a regular host on Auckland student radio station 95bFM.
On her arrival in Dunedin midway through 2020, a voiceover job on local writer Kathryn van Beek’s Pet Podcast series brought Ms Simons into contact with the local Access Media station. The opportunity to host her own drive-time programme was discussed, leading to the development of Thursday show Pull Up To The Bumper.
Ms Simons said her new programme provided a platform for “the godmothers of modern music”.
“There are many wonderful women artists, such as Ma Rainey, who were considered too popular by many of the collector-types that were around in the 1940’s. These collectors focused on the more obscure, mainly male artists and that’s what became more popular over time.”
The show “celebrated these incredible women” and traced their influence on contemporary music.
Being a drive-time show, there would be plenty of fun and a wide range of music styles that reflected Ms Simons’ love of soul, funk and rock music.
“And I want this show to be as inclusive as possible, including tracks from trans and non-binary women.”
Pull Up To The Bumper airs every Thursday at 5pm on OAR 105.4FM and 1575AM. Podcasts are available from oar.org.nz, Google podcasts and Apple podcasts.