Thursday at 8pm: Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open

By Alex Nudd

Published July 27, 2026 at 7:58 AM EDT

Midwesterner Kevin Morby always delivers lyrically rich, intriguing albums. There’s a newfound confidence and clarity in this, his 8^th one, following 2020’s Sundowner and 2022’s This Is a Photograph. Aaron Dessner of The National produced this, and both Morby’s writing and Dessner’s production recall Tom Petty’s 1994 classic Wildflowers. “Morby’s albums are akin to novels, best taken as a whole, but the songs that make up each of the chapters are their own novellas. …This record is so Zen. So Heartland. Kevin Morby is a Master of The Sonic Build.” – WNCW Program Director Joe Kendrick. “Repetition and ritual are paths to enlightenment in Mr. Morby’s songs, and the quietly powerful ‘Little Wide Open’ is filled with earned wisdom.” — The Wall Street Journal

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Alex Nudd

Alex has been a fan of radio since childhood and jumped at the chance to get involved with college radio in the late 90's. He served as marketing director and program director at WAQU before taking a job with Clear Channel Broadcasting around the turn of the century. After becoming disenchanted with commercial radio, he moved to Asheville in 2006 and soon became acquainted with WNCW as a listener, supporter, and volunteer. In the meantime, he has operated a small home improvement business in Western North Carolina, where he enjoys life with his wife, Darlene, and Son, James, and has enjoyed public radio all the while. It wasn't until 2023 that he knocked on the door at WNCW and said, "I would like to get in on this action." Program director Joe Kendrick noticed that Alex has a face for radio, and Alex explained that it was because he had some radio experience in decades past. It is hard to get the radio off once you really get all into it. After hosting over 100 hours of ARC overnight, Alex signed on as a staff member and now hosts and produces radio programs for WNCW. You can hear him on WNCW's Music Mix Mondays from 3 to 6 pm, Thursdays from 9pm to midnight, and Peak of the Week Thursdays from 8 to 9 pm, and as an occasional fill-in host.

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