A program featuring music inspired by traditional American sounds including blues, country, folk, jazz and zydeco will air daily on WUSM-FM 88.5 from The University of Southern Mississippi beginning Friday, Aug. 1.

“American Roots” will air from 1-5 p.m. Listeners can expect to hear artists from Allison Krauss to Ben Harper to Bonnie Raitt. 

“WUSM-FM aired a similar program, ‘Frontiers,’ from 1999 to February of this year,” said Elliott Crawford, assistant station manager and the founder of “Frontiers.”  “Thanks to listener input we created a similar show with more bang for the buck that we believe will be attractive to a lot of local public radio listeners.”

The new show will complement the station’s daily line-up of music that is not available on commercial radio stations, according to Jeffrey Rassier, station manager. “That’s the primary purpose of public radio,” he said.  “We intend to be a source for a variety of programming.”

WUSM’s daily line-up includes
• 3 a.m.-noon: The Classical Source
• Noon-1 p.m.: News and Public Affairs
• 1-5 p.m.: American Roots
• 5-7 p.m.: Hub City Blues
• 7-1 p.m.: The Sounds of Jazz
• 11 p.m.-3 a.m.: That College Music Show

“We’re offering our audience classical music in the morning, roots in the afternoon, blues and jazz in the evenings and non-commercial music that appeals to a college-age crowd overnight,” Rassier said. “That just about covers the gamut. And we’ll be bringing back more news and public affairs programming during mid-day in September.”

WUSM-FM is a public radio station that provides cultural, educational and informative programming for the Hattiesburg area. The station is operated by the Southern Miss School of Mass Communication and Journalism.
Businesses and other organizations that are interested in sponsoring programming on WUSM-FM should contact Lou Ellen Williams, the station’s advancement manager, at 601.266.4604 or This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . 

About The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, founded in 1910, is a comprehensive doctoral and research-extensive university fulfilling its mission of being a leading university in engaging and empowering individuals to transform lives and communities. In a tradition of leadership for student development, Southern Miss is educating a 21st century work force providing intellectual capital, cultural enrichment and innovation to Mississippi and the world. Southern Miss is located in Hattiesburg, Miss, with an additional campus and teaching and research sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; further information is found at www.usm.edu.