IPR Studio One is the indie and alternative music service of Iowa Public Radio, heard from Ames and Des Moines to Cedar Falls, Dubuque, Davenport and Ottumwa. It is a public radio station that plays songs instead of talk, and you can stream it live on Radio Shuffle without an account.
What Studio One Plays
Iowa Public Radio describes Studio One as featuring indie and alternative music, with an online stream and app for listening away from the dial. It is the adult alternative service of the network, a category that mixes new artists with established names in guitar-led and singer-songwriter pop. On FM it is carried by stations including WOI 90.1 in Ames and Des Moines, KUNI 90.9 in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, and KNSZ 89.1 in Ottumwa, with translators across the state.
Three Universities, One Network
Studio One exists because of a merger. Iowa's three state universities, Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, each ran their own stations until the Iowa Board of Regents voted in late 2004 to consolidate them, according to Wikipedia's history of Iowa Public Radio. The News and Information service launched in January 2007 and the Classical service in September 2007. Studio One grew out of evening music programmes that were already on air, including Night Music and KUNI's Live from Studio One, which were expanded into a full third service.
A Statewide Sound With Local Roots
The three-network structure, with news and talk, classical and adult alternative, mirrors comparable public radio systems in Minnesota and Wisconsin. What sets Studio One apart within it is its origin in a live-performance series at KUNI in Cedar Falls, a tradition of putting musicians in a studio in front of a microphone that gave the network its name. In a state better known for corn than for indie rock, it gives listeners in small towns a reliable way to hear new music they would otherwise need a big-city station to find.
Listen to IPR Studio One Free on Radio Shuffle
Tune in to IPR Studio One on Radio Shuffle. No account, no app, no fee. Press play and find your next favourite band.