Kelly Ford is making waves as the newly named Music Director and afternoon host at 103.1 The Wolf on Long Island and continues to connect with listeners across the country as host of the nationally syndicated Backstage Country. Known for her warm, authentic style, Kelly has built a remarkable career in country radio, beginning with a 20-year run at Denver’s legendary KYGO, which cemented her status as one of the top voices in the format.

With accolades including three CMA Awards, three Gracie Awards, an ACM Award, and the prestigious Marconi Award, Kelly’s legacy speaks for itself. In this episode, she shares insights from her journey from launching the original NASH FM in New York City to hosting the nationally syndicated *America’s Morning Show* and beyond.

 In this episode, hear Kelly’s take on staying adaptable, mastering the art of storytelling, and building lasting relationships with guests and audiences. Kelly also reflects on the rapidly evolving media landscape and offers practical advice on enhancing your social media presence and personal branding to stay ahead of the ever-evolving media curve, today and tomorrow.

 One Minute Martinizing by David Martin

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I don't think there's winging it anymore in radio.

2

I feel like part of what I pride myself

on as a human is reading the room.

3

Very smart.

4

I know when to shut the F up.

5

VO: Brandwidth On Demand.

6

Rebooting radio with a different

take on all radio can be.

7

Kelly: This is why I love radio still.

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And local radio.

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Like the world is looking for connection.

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Now more than ever.

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And I think that's why I'm

excited to take the job in Long

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Island to build community again.

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To build those things I

said I valued personally,

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community stability and growth.

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Those are my three big

core values right now.

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And to be able to build that

community is everything.

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VO: Now your guides

through the mediamorphosis.

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David Martin and author of the book Brand

With, media branding coach Kipper McGee.

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Dave: With a dynamic career that

has spanned some of country's top

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radio markets, this radio personality

has carved out a remarkable place

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in country music broadcasting.

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She began by making a name for

herself at Denver's KYGO FM, legendary

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station, where she became one of the

most recognized voices in the format.

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That long standing success set

the stage for New York City.

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where she helped launch

the original Nash FM.

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As a co host of the nationally

syndicated America's Morning Show

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with Ty, Kelly, and Chuck, she quickly

connected with a network audience and

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further solidified her reputation,

bringing warmth, authenticity, and

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her engaging style coast to coast.

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Her talent and dedication has been

recognized with multiple awards, including

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three Gracies, three CMAs, wait, an

ACM, and the prestigious Marconi Award.

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And she's just getting started.

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Today she continues to share her passion

for country music as the host of the

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syndicated show Backstage Country

and now Back to the New York Market.

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This afternoon host of The Wolf 103.

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1 in Long Island, Bramwood On Demand

proudly welcomes back theee Kelly Ford.

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Kelly: I want Dave to follow me around

in the grocery and be my hype guy.

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Like, do you know who she is?

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Kipper: Happy to do it.

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So for starters, Cal, any

adventures since Oh my

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Kelly: gosh, any adventures?

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Didn't I talk to you before I left

Nashville, New York to do mornings?

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VO: Yeah, that

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Kelly: was the best adventure of my

most growth experience in my whole life

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because I never hosted a show before.

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So to host a morning show and the

biggest media market in the world

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was a blast and I learned a ton and.

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Both professionally and personally.

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And then the station went away.

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Flipped in almost three years to the date.

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And guys, it's been quite

the ride since then.

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Yeah.

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I haven't been on a daily

broadcast shows until now.

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A real time of reflection and Looking

at the business and I don't think I

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was gonna take another, uh, tough to

get a job in Nashville, to be honest.

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Did a lot of different things and

had time to think about, like, people

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would always say to me in the past

year or so what's your dream job?

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And I go, you know what?

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I don't work that way anymore.

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And I'm not working on dream jobs.

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Cause I think with three kids and

trying to do all that all those

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years, I was like now I just want

to look at what I value, right?

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What do I value?

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What do I want out of life?

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Now that the kids are mostly grown.

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Massive therapy with me being their

mother, but they're mostly grown.

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But yeah, so I was like to slow

down and be able to do that.

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, I just feel really calm, calmer than

I've ever felt and more informed

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to go in into this experience.

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Like, yeah, I know what I love about

this and I know what I don't love.

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And for people right now in broadcasting

who have jobs in all of media, right?

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I'm in Nashville, tough to even

get a label jobs for people, right?

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Labels, all of media, radio,

television, all of media is changing

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so exponentially that to have a job.

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I remember saying this right

before I left New York and I

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didn't even know what was coming.

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. It's a business that most people are

still doing because they love it.

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And we were talking, I was

saying, you know what, we don't

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have just one in a million jobs.

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We have like one in 10 million

jobs at this point to be on the

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air and to find the gratitude

about that, but also, take care of

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yourself, take care of your family.

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So I definitely come back to

this with a more informed.

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opinion about what I want out

of not just radio, but life.

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So I know and love and understand the New

York country listener and appreciate them

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because they are listeners who number

one, I grew up in Kentucky, worked in

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Nashville, Colorado, very, very country.

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As you mentioned, KYGO was always.

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Top five, just a behemoth and when you

grow up in areas where a country's part

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of the soundtrack up here, it's not.

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So they don't take it for granted and

they most likely choose it and they

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then defend it like a New Yorker.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I like luke Bryan.

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So it's been fun.

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Like a bunch of artists called in last

week to just acknowledge the station,

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acknowledge me, which was really cool.

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And what people say over and over again

is that maybe Country listeners or radio

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people in the other parts of the country

don't understand is that it is next

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level listener here of country that is

Very passionate because again, they're

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choosing it and they're defending it.

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Kipper: Yeah,

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Kelly: that's my life

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Dave: Well between your local and

national assignments, you've dealt

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with a lot of high profile guests.

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I mean just talking about them

How do you prepare for that?

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What's your secret to

preparing for celebrities?

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and The care and feeding of those

folks, and does it differ from your

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local and network shows at all?

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Kelly: I think, and not to be Pollyanna,

but my approach to all of radio has

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always been the same and even more strong

now that I've always done this job.

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I probably mentioned this to you guys

last time we talked, because it's

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about relationships, like the fact

that you guys called me back and that

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we're part of this broadcasting family,

like that's what fuels me in this job.

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So.

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That's part of the

answer to your question.

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The other part is the backstage country.

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We tape in one sitting per artist.

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And it's really a cool show because

it's like you get an A list artist.

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Here's me plugging, like I'm selling

it or something, but I'm just the

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talent JTT, but it's kind of cool

cause the artist is the host.

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So I feel like for me, I've

always been more of a personality

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than a jock and a host.

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So it's always been my job to

make other people shine, right?

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And with that though, like, I'm going

back to, I'll be going back from

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Forth to Nashville, I'm going back

Wednesday and Thursday to interview

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Lainey Wilson and Keith Urban.

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And they will be, hey, it's Lainey Wilson,

your host this week on Backstage Country.

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We 45 minutes to an hour to get 20,

20, basically 20 hours of content.

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That's So, obviously it's not full

20 hours, but in that case, I write a

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script and I try to get inside the head

of the person for all of our intros,

133

all of our show opens, all of our show,

because we have to be really efficient.

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And then we also have to get

really great content, though.

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I don't think there's

winging it anymore in radio.

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I think you do have to be wildly

prepared and then you have to read

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just like you guys prepared for this.

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You have to read the personality.

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You kind of get to know.

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And the beauty of still doing

local radio, too, is you meet

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them as they're coming up.

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And when you meet them as they're

coming up, they never forget you, right?

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So, artists are really different.

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I'm not going to do some goofy game.

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Like, I'm not going to

put them in that position.

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I feel like part of my, what I pride

myself on as a human is reading the room.

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Very smart.

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I know when to shut the F up , and

I know, you know what I mean?

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And I know when to be like, and

it's partially because I wanna be

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respectful and I hope people are of me.

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Like I don't wanna come in hot

if somebody's got social anxiety.

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And a great example is I

just interviewed Jelly Roll.

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Like we had a blast.

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I only met him one other time, but

he's one of those megastar because

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I think he does the same thing.

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We laughed, he gave me endless

grief, which I love but, you

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know, he just kept saying, Are

you gonna let me host this show?

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I go, please.

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Are you, do you think they're first

man who's ever said that to me?

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Um, but yeah.

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So I think it's reading

people and listening, right?

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Because it's through listening that you

get to get a better secondary question,

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or you get to play off something

that does create magic, but a lot of

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broadcasters listening to this, you

can't rely on winging it to find magic.

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What you want is great content no

matter what, and then if you're

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prepared it leaves you much more

room for the success of magic.

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But if you don't get it, well that's

okay because you got decent, good

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content that you know you have.

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But if you're listening and you

find a way to go, Oh my gosh, did he

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just say he still plays Pokemon Go?

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Oh, we're going to talk about that.

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Are you going to try to

still catch them all?

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I think they've all been caught, dude.

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Kipper: Well, speaking of that, I

guess that leads to the question,

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how do you stay relevant and fresh

in an industry that's changing

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constantly with formats, stations,

technology, and particularly for you.

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Balancing the demands of a

syndicated show, local show, and

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your podcasts and everything else.

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How do you do it?

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I

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Kelly: don't think no matter

what your age, you have room

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to say you won't do something.

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And for anybody listening who's

not on board with socials . I don't

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know why I've always loved socials.

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Cause I do think it's a way to let

audience and people see you in a

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different way, in a more real way,

just like the artists are using it.

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Right.

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We're all our own brands and we

have to get people to root for us.

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We have to just be ourselves.

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And so I don't know about that.

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I will edit.

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I love reels.

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I love that, but it just there's

no room for saying you're

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not going to do something.

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There's a room for saying

I'm not that great at that.

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That might not be the best use

of my bandwidth, but I'll do it.

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Dave: What strategies do you use to

create a connection with listeners?

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Kelly: Um, dude, I don't know.

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I just be me.

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And because what I have found is be kind,

like this is why I love radio still and

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local radio, like the world's looking

for connection now more than ever.

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And I think that's what I am excited

to take the job in long Island to build

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community again, to build like those

things I said, I valued personally,

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community, stability and growth.

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Those are my three.

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Big core values right now.

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And to be able to build that

community is everything.

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So you just try to be you without making

it all about you and just make people

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feel like they're part of something.

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Cause if you think about us, even

individually, like we all want

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to be part of something, right?

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We like being part of the

broadcasting community.

213

So I hope that answers the

question, I don't know...

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Dave: No, it does.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, it does.

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Kipper: Absolutely.

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So flipping the script just a little bit,

being back on top, you're in Long Island,

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New York DMA, and you got a network show,

but thinking back to when you were first

220

dreaming about getting into the business

and your first couple of jobs, now, today,

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what do you think young broadcasters

really should be focusing on skill-wise to

222

be a viable candidate in a business like

you said, that's got a one in 10 million

223

chance of getting a current job, now?

224

Kelly: Well, I think you need

to make peace with you're more

225

than a broadcaster, right?

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You are building your brand.

227

And so to be.

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It's so easy.

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I remember when I was younger,

people say, Oh, just be yourself.

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And that seems like the easiest

thing in the world but it's not.

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So like figuring out what you value and

who you are early on is pretty great.

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And I meet so many young people that

have that down, which is amazing.

233

And remember at the end of the day, no

matter what we're doing, creatives in

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radio, television, your online presence,

It's all about the art of storytelling.

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And so if I had one big piece of

advice besides hanging in there

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and being tenacious and finding

allies and finding supporters.

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That was all the same

thing in that one thing.

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It's the importance of storytelling and

learning how to be a good storyteller.

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And I think finding the people you

admire to watch as far as storytelling.

240

And back when I very first started out,

this was back in the good old days when

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they had news people on morning shows.

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And I was a news person and I always

wanted to tell stories with audio.

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I'm sitting here editing

as we speak, Dan and Shay.

244

Our first Jones Beach concert was last

weekend or Saturday and it's Monday.

245

And I'm editing sound from listeners.

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And I'm just saying why they love

Dan and Shay, getting them to

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sing along to a Dan and Shay song.

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People want to hear themselves on the air.

249

So that's, to me, there's no

better storytelling than people,

250

letting people tell their story.

251

And that, coincidentally, also

builds community, also builds all

252

the things we've been talking about.

253

So, I think storytelling and tenacity.

254

And finding allies, those would be the

top three for me as far as like, no

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matter what you're doing, because again,

no one's just doing radio anymore.

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No one's just doing television.

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No one's just doing online.

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It's all part of being a tour

de force as far as your presence

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and knowing who you are.

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That was a lot of extra things.

261

Sorry.

262

That wasn't very good storytelling.

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Kipper: You did great.

264

Dave: We are with the award winning

afternoon star and network co hosts.

265

Let me some backstage country.

266

The Kelly Ford knows someone who'd

be perfect for this show or have

267

a topic you'd like to suggest.

268

Well, let us know, email

your suggestions to show.

269

At Brandwidth On Demand.

270

Com or hit us up on socials brand with

plus on Instagram, Facebook, and X that's

271

brand with P L U S brand with plus.

272

Kipper: And if you're new to the

podcast, we are so glad you're here.

273

Welcome and be sure to hit the follow

button wherever you get those podcasts.

274

And if you've been with us a while,

please be sure to tell a friend.

275

So we hope you keep following, keep

sharing, and let's keep pushing the

276

boundaries of what really is possible

in the next iteration of audio

277

Dave: coming up, theee Kelly Ford

shares her thoughts on mentors and.

278

Taking advice.

279

Spot 1 (www.Musicmaster.com): Musicmaster

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VO: The stuff we know now,

we wish we'd known then.

310

Brandwidth on Demand.

311

Dave: We're with thee Kelly Ford,

afternoon host at The Wolf 101.

312

3 Long Island.

313

And the nationally

syndicated backstage country.

314

Kelly, what role did mentorship

play in your career and what's the

315

best advice that you've ever gotten?

316

Kelly: Oh, wow.

317

You know what?

318

I've asked that question and I hate it.

319

Why are you talking about that?

320

What?

321

What's the best advice?

322

Never take advice.

323

No.

324

I would say, uh, but I do know so many

people along the way have given me advice.

325

And probably the kind of amalgamation

of that is some of the advice I've given

326

out today, like, learn how to pivot,

be adaptable be tenacious, don't take

327

anything personally I think those are

all things that play into who I am and

328

probably and I want to thank anyone who

has given me advice along the way because

329

I know they have and they're probably

like, why doesn't she remember that?

330

That would be the advice

one of you needs to give me.

331

Write this stuff down

332

Kipper: For your book Kelly for your book,

333

Dave: yeah

334

Our thanks to an original Kipper.

335

She is amazing.

336

Thee

337

Kelly Ford.

338

We have links to her shows, podcasts,

socials, and more all in the show notes.

339

Just scroll down on your phone.

340

Kipper: With a country star only

fitting, our cowboy hats are off

341

to exec producer Cindy Huber.

342

For putting everything together and

our associate producer Hannah B for

343

booking, the voices we all learn from.

344

Dave: That's a wrap, kipper all

the hard work really don't mean

345

a lot unless you're consistent.

346

Consistency is the subject of

the new one minute mark nuts.

347

Find it in the show notes

at Bran with on demand.com.

348

I'm Dave Martin.

349

Kipper: And I'm Kipper McGee.

350

May all your BRANDwidth be wide.