WFUV to Honor Rita Houston with Live Broadcast from City Winery, 4/11

A little after 10 a.m. on April 5, 1994, Rita Houston opened the microphone for the first time on WFUV, New York (90.7 FM/wfuv.org). On Friday, April 11, from 7-10 p.m., she will celebrate her 20th anniversary at the public radio station with a live broadcast of her weekly program, The Whole Wide World with Rita Houston, from City Winery in New York City.

"It's going to be an old-fashioned remote broadcast-variety show-celebration," said Houston, who is WFUV's program director. "I'll be playing favorite songs from the past 20 years, welcoming guest performers and chatting with some long time colleagues and radio greats."

Artists scheduled to appear include Citizen Cope, Joseph Arthur and Ingrid Michaelson, with others to be announced. Members of the WFUV air staff, including Corny O'Connell, Carmel Holt and Vin Scelsa, will join her at City Winery, along with former WFUV afternoon host Meg Griffin, now at SiriusXM Radio. As the finale - and a nod to the future - Phox, a six-piece indie band from Wisconsin who were among the discoveries at this year's SXSW, will perform a full set.

Houston came to WFUV from X107 in Westchester County. After a couple of years as WFUV's midday host, she added music director duties and quickly earned a reputation as a national tastemaker, picking up a number of national awards. The longtime architect of WFUV's music mix, Houston helped launch The Alternate Side and fostered partnerships with NPR and music festivals that have given WFUV prominence at Newport, South by Southwest, and Wilco's Solid Sound. Named Program Director a little over a year ago, Houston has overseen the refinement of FUV's weekday music mix, with an emphasis on "music discovery."

"It's been a genuine pleasure to work with Rita for the past 20 years," said WFUV General Manager Chuck Singleton. "She's a boundless source of creativity and one of the most beloved figures in music. This is a great cause for celebration."

Tickets to the event are not available to the general public. In addition to the live broadcast, the program will be available on demand for a limited time in the archives at wfuv.org.