Tape Swap Radio
The music scene in the Lehigh Valley keeps growing from the ground up, thanks to efforts like Tape Swap Radio, a series that presents great DIY and punk bands in live, radio and rooftop sessions. Well-curated Substance and a stripped-down “Tiny Desk Concert” style make Tape Swap an inviting venue for discovering local and imported bands.
Shamus McGroggan had been hosting a show on WDIY by the same name since 2008, while musician Matt Molchany operated Shards Recording Studio in Southside Bethlehem. Their powers combined in 2013, and now Tape Swap Radio encompasses not just a biweekly show on 88.1 FM, but online archives, local concerts and its own stage at ArtsFest each year in Allentown.
Always looking for new creative projects, McGroggan got access to the roof of Allentown’s old cigar factory with help from the Alternative Gallery’s Brandon Wunder, and added Rooftop Sessions to the Shard Sessions filmed at Molchany’s studio. Drones capture sweeping footage of the concert perched amid the city. “We have the crew and a small audience up there to recreate and capture the energy of a live show,” McGroggan says.
Listeners can also check out Tape Swap Radio concerts live at Bethlehem’s Ice House several times a year, raising money for Valley nonprofits. Vendors ply art, music memorabilia, CDs, records and punk-rock spirit at a yearly flea market that Molchany and McGroggan started two years ago. Though Tape Swap’s mission is almost dizzyingly diverse, McGroggan names a unifying inspiration: “We see the needs of the DIY music community, and we fulfill them.”
Visit Tape Swap online for the latest sessions and events, or tune in on WDIY to support and enjoy independent music and those dedicated to providing it.
