Peterborough singer-songwriter Missy Knott has just embarked on a new radio career in Ottawa at one of Ontario’s two new Indigenous radio stations.
On Wednesday (October 24), First Peoples Radio Inc. — a non-profit subsidiary of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network — launched ELMNT FM, urban radio entirely devoted to Indigenous peoples.
Pronounced “element”, ELMNT FM broadcasts on 95.7 FM in Ottawa and at 106.5 FM in Toronto.
Knott is one of four hosts on 95.7 ELMNT FM “The Spirit of Ottawa”, along with Aiden Wolf, Kayla Whiteduck, and Cody Coyote.
Knott will hold down the afternoon drive slot Monday to Friday from 3 to 7 p.m., providing traffic updates along with a variety of music. The morning slot will be hosted by voice-over artist Aiden Wolf, followed by Kayla Whiteduck mid-day, and hip-hop musician and DJ Cody Coyote on weeknights and Saturday nights.
First Peoples Radio announced its plans to launch ELMNT FM in 2017, with the intention of filling the gap for Indigenous peoples who feel that existing urban radio stations do not reflect their presence in the community. The Ottawa and Toronto stations offer listeners English and Indigenous-language spoken-word and musical programming.
VIDEO: Official Launch of ELMNT FM in Ottawa
95.7 ELMNT FM Launch – October 24, 2018
Today history was made and we are now live on the air! 95.7 ELMNT FM is now live in Ottawa and 106.5 ELMNT FM is now live in Toronto!
The local and national news and current affairs segments feature content generated by APTN National News and The Canadian Press while musical programming blends rock (including classic rock, alt-rock, and new rock) and pop (hip-hop, R&B, soul, rap, and crossover country).
Twenty-five per cent of all music aired is devoted to Indigenous talent, and 60 per cent of airtime goes to local programming.
Knott, who is 29, was born in Peterborough to her Anishnaabe mother and her German-Canadian father and was raised in the city of Peterborough with her two sisters, with her extended family living in Curve Lake First Nation. A fixture on Peterborough stages, she released her debut album For No Reason At All in 2009 and went on to win the Peterborough Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Award.
If you want to congratulate Knott on her new radio career, make sure to attend the Peterborough-Kawartha Women’s Leadership Awards Gala on Saturday, October 27th at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough. She will be performing her music from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. in the Erica Cherney Theatre.
