IndieHQ Radio streams out of Everett, Washington, with a definition of "indie" that has nothing to do with jangly guitars or lo-fi production. For host David Garlock, indie is a business relationship, or the lack of one: an artist not tied to a major label or producer, free to make whatever the work demands rather than whatever a contract does.
Independence as the Actual Definition
Garlock draws the line for his station on indiehq.net in explicitly structural terms, describing indie music as work made by artists operating without major-studio backing, distinct from mainstream acts he says have too often "sacrificed the joy of producing art for the allure of fame and fortune." It is a definition built around who controls the work, not what the work sounds like, which is why IndieHQ's rotation moves freely between indie pop, indie folk and indie rock without much concern for genre consistency.
A Show Built Around One Artist at a Time
The station's clearest expression of that philosophy is The Spotlight Show, a weekly program that dedicates a full episode to a single artist rather than slotting their song into a broader mix. Each installment mixes music with biographical detail about the act being featured, airs twice daily at 5 and 8 pm Pacific, and premieres new episodes every Sunday, with recent editions covering acts like Michigan power pop band The Legal Matters. The format only works because Garlock is willing to slow down and treat one artist's story as worth an entire hour, a choice that runs directly against how most stations program.
Part of a Small Network, Not a Solo Project
IndieHQ is not a standalone stream. It operates alongside sister stations RadioEZ, a gentler outlet built around indie folk and light pop, and DownHomeRadio, which shifts the same independent-artist ethos toward country music. Together they form a small network built on one consistent premise: artists working outside the major-label system deserve a dedicated place to be heard, whatever genre their independence happens to produce.