You should listen to Vinylthon on WVMO.

Plus, a set of songs dedicated to the golden bubbles of beer.

Apr 04, 2025

Vinylthon returns to WVMO! Here’s the schedule.

Mark your calendars or set a reminder on your phone. WVMO’s 48-hour marathon of all-vinyl programming returns on Saturday, April 12 and Sunday, April 13. I really want you to tune in for a full weekend of crackles, pops, quirky tunes, and vintage delights.

I especially want you to tune in on Sunday, April 13 at 6 p.m. Central Time for my special, GOING UP, an hour of easy listening grooves. If you like Muzak, Ameriachi, and orchestral pop, you’ll love this show. Even if you hate this kind of music, you’ll dig the oddball covers I’ve found of tunes you’ll recognize. Polka time with DJ Shotski will be on at 7 p.m. Sunday night as usual. The repeat won’t be on Saturday night, but please tune in to Savage Scott’s Savage Radio Vinylthon edition.

Learn more about the shows and hosts that will be playing music all weekend.

SATURDAY APRIL 12

12 AM MIDNIGHT VINYL

2 AM FULLSPEEDATLOWPOWER

4 AM THE SEAGULL

6 AM CLASSIC COUNTRY CORNER

8 AM THIS WEEK IN MUSIC HISTORY

10 AM BACK IN THE DAY

12 PM THE GOOD KIND

2 PM VINYL/NOT VINYL

4 PM COOL REGGAE BEATS

6 PM SAVAGE RADIO

8 PM TEENAGE DREAM

10 PM NIC AT NIGHT

SUNDAY APRIL 13

12 AM MIDNIGHT VINYL

2 AM THE CHEETAH

4 AM DONUTS OF CHAMPIONS

6 AM THE GOOD KIND

8 AM BOOGIE DOWN

10 AM JAZZ BRUNCH

12 PM VINYL A GO GO

2 PM GS2BB

4 PM OLD TIME ECHOES

6 PM GOING UP / POLKA TIME

8 PM NIC AT NIGHT

10 PM MYSTERY VINYL

Sunday, April 27 - Sunday Afternoon Polka Dance with The DB Polka Express and DJ Shotski at The Bur Oak

MADISON… LET’S POLKA! Come hear vintage polka records starting at 1 p.m. We will get an all-abilities polka dance lesson at 2 p.m. (seriously, beginners are very welcome) before you get a chance to practice your moves to The DB Polka Express' Oktoberfest-inspired traditional and modern songs at 2:30 p.m.

All ages and all abilities are welcome. Youth under 18 are free, and young people under 21 are welcome with a supervising adult.

Buy tickets in advance. Spread the word on Facebook. Text five friends who would dig coming to this with you!

Polka Time: Where and when to listen

LIVE - April 6, assorted polka plus a tribute to BEER

Sunday, 7 p.m. - WVMO-FM 98.7 Monona

Streaming - Rebroadcast of last week’s Ernie Stumpf unsealed!

Saturday, 8 a.m. - WHYS-FM 96.3 Eau Claire - support WHYS

Saturday, 3 p.m. - WRJQ Goodtime Radio - support WRJQ

Saturday, 6 p.m. - WPCA-FM 93.1 Amery - support WPCA

Saturday, 7 p.m. - WVMO-FM 98.7 Monona - support WVMO

Sunday, 7 a.m. - WOJB-FM 88.9 Hayward - support WOJB

Sunday, 8 a.m. - WILW-FM 96.3 Waupaca

Sunday, 9 a.m. - WOCT-FM 101.9 Oshkosh

Sunday, 4 p.m. - WLSP-FM 103.5 Sun Prairie - support SPMC

Thanks to these community and volunteer-powered stations for keeping vintage polka on the air waves.

Events

Sunday, April 13 - Vinylthon: DJ Shotski plays easy listening at 6 p.m. and polka records at 7 p.m., 98.7 WVMO online and on the airwaves

Vinylthon is BACK on WVMO on April 12 & 13! Volunteer DJs at 98.7 WVMO pledge to play 48 hours of nonstop vinyl records.

On Sunday, April 13, DJ Shotski will play two hours of vinyl. The old fashioned vibes start at 6 p.m. with an hour of very groovy elevator music (it will be your jam if you like Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Bert Kaempfert, Burt Bacharach and 101 Strings). Polka Time with DJ Shotski will start at 7 p.m. for the usual live show of all vintage polka.

Vinylthon is both a fundraiser and a challenge to radio stations to play nonstop records in support of college student scholarships in radio broadcasting. Learn more about the College Radio Foundation’s campaign.

Sunday, April 27 - Sunday Afternoon Polka Dance with The DB Polka Express and DJ Shotski

Grab a friend and learn how to do Wisconsin's state dance at The Bur Oak, 2262 Winnebago St

Madison, WI. Starting at 1 p.m., DJ Shotski will spin vintage polka records before a dance lesson for all abilities at 2 p.m. Practice your moves to The DB Polka Express' Oktoberfest-inspired traditional and modern songs at 2:30 p.m.

All ages and all abilities are welcome. Youth under 18 are free, and young people under 21 are welcome with a supervising adult.

Buy tickets in advance. Spread the word on Facebook.

Saturday, June 8 - Trek 100

Since 1990, Trek bicycle company has been hosting a charity ride, raising over $22 million for the MACC Fund. Bike riders take on beautiful, rural Wisconsin trails and rest at party stops along the way. One rest stop will be a polka party with DJ Shotski!

Sign up for the event or send this link to your friends who love a long country bike ride: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/trek100/

Saturday, September 13 - Gemütlichkeit Days

Jefferson County, Wisconsin has thrown a party to celebrate its German heritage since 1971. This year will be no exception as the community gathers for polka music, dancing, games and the welcoming spirit of Gemütlichkeit.

Join DJ Shotski in the GDays biergarten for vintage polka from Wisconsin and the upper Midwest from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Dancers welcome.

The event is held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds at 503 N. Jackson Ave., Jefferson, WI. In the event of rain, the event will move inside a fairgrounds building. Thanks to generous local sponsors, GDays is free.

Readers like you keep the Shotski Lodge open

The Shotski Lodge is a reader-supported publication. Support from subscribers like you gives me the confidence to pursue my mission to get more people to listen to vintage polka and vinyl records, including through this free e-newsletter.

Become a Shotski Lodge member - Substack offers paid subscriptions for people who want to be patrons of the Lodge’s mission.

DJ Shotski’s Venmo - skip the subscription and give via Venmo where transaction fees are lower.

Hire me for a gig! - your community needs a polka party. Email me at djshotski@gmail.com if you have a venue or an event that needs a vinyl DJ.

Donate records - the answer to free records is always “yes,” though I’m backed up on processing donated records at the moment. I hope to be caught up by spring 2025. Email me at djshotski@gmail.com with a description of what you have to share.

Want to connect? Drop me an email.

I’d love to hear from you at djshotski@gmail.com

In the Shotski Lodge, only paid subscribers can leave comments on posts. That’s by design. I want to connect with listeners in a better, more direct way than in a comments section. We’ve been leaving comments on social media apps for twenty years and it’s a real mixed bag whether it’s brought us more connection or left us feeling more disconnected from each other.

So drop me a line. Tell me what polka music means to you. Or ask me for some community radio show recommendations. Let’s connect outside of social media.