Some words from Nest Radio President, Matt Spain:
What. A. Day.
I think we all hoped the launch would be a success. I’m not sure any of us quite anticipated just how good it would be.
The station was absolutely buzzing. We had brilliant live music, people everywhere, the BBQ going, community members recording sweepers, guests touring the studios, presenters and members welcoming people through the doors, and an incredible atmosphere throughout the day.
More than anything, though, it felt like a community radio station.
There were so many people working together, helping each other and doing whatever needed to be done. It was fun, warm, slightly chaotic at times, and filled with the sort of energy and enthusiasm that makes me incredibly excited about what Nest Radio can become.
At 12 noon, after the (very short!) countdown, we officially became Nest Radio, and a new chapter in the life of our station began.
Our enormous thanks go out to:
Our incredible artists, who generously donated their time and talent and provided the soundtrack to the day:
Clem, Ace and Benson from Missing Opal, Charlotte Bridie and Kirrilee. The performances were truly magnificent and I implore you to support Missing Opal, Charlotte and Kirrilee on the socials and by spreading the good word about how awesome they are!
Rohan, for running the on-air component and being the glue that held so much of the day together. Rohan is a truly professional and experienced presenter. We can all learn a lot from Rohan. Thank you also for letting us steal your air-time so we could broadcast the launch.
Alam, our photographer for the day, and James J, our videographer, for capturing what was a pretty important day in the station’s history.
Tas, who manned Studio 1 throughout the day recording community sweepers, as well as putting together a stack of new Nest Radio promos. Those community voices are already making their way onto the air and into the jingle palette for presenters to use.
Matt B for helping organise the event, running the sound and herding the cats on the day.
Andrew, for MCing, catering, balloon blowing and seemingly being wherever something needed doing.
Cat, for MCing, helping organise our entertainment and performing a particularly last-minute introduction of our local Member of Parliament!
Martin (and Rohan), for arriving early and helping transform the room before everyone arrived.
Emmanuel, for the incredibly generous donation of the BBQ to the station.
Vilma, for all of the painting and decorating in the lead-up to the launch, and for being such a wonderful connection between Nest Radio and our community.
Dr Rock, Matt K, James Nolis and Sandy, for keeping everyone fed and expertly manning the BBQ.
Dea and Pea, for the beautiful fruit platters and, perhaps even more importantly, ensuring there was an adequate supply of onions!
Nathan and Callum, for being on hand throughout the day and jumping in wherever help was needed.
Fitzy, who couldn’t be with us on Sunday but has been enormously supportive of what we’re building at Nest Radio.
And to every presenter and member who came down, helped out, welcomed visitors, talked about the station and simply became part of the day, thank you. You are the people our listeners hear each week and the faces of Nest Radio. Seeing so many of you there was one of the best parts of the launch.
Thank you to our friends and supporters
We were also incredibly fortunate to have support from outside the station:
Thank you to Thom Mitchell from Bighouse Studios and Ben Joss from The Joss House for generously lending us audio equipment for the day.
Thank you to Merri-bek Mayor Cr Nat Abboud for officially launching Nest Radio and helping us count down to that very special moment at 12 noon.
And to Kylie Auldist, who had the distinction of introducing the very first song played as Nest Radio, her own track, Community Service Announcement. I can’t think of a more fitting way for the new station to have begun.
We were honoured to have representatives from government, community broadcasting and the broader community join us, including (in no particular order) Merri-Bek Councillors Cr Oscar Yildiz and Cr Chris Miles, Hume Councillor Cr Karen Sherry, State Member for Broadmeadows Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Jo Curtin (CEO) and Jurgen Schaub (Board Director) of the Community Broadcasting Foundation and Jane Liang of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.
And, of course, thank you to every member of the community who walked through our doors, listened to the music, had something to eat, toured the station, recorded a sweeper, talked to our presenters or simply came along to celebrate with us.
🎧 Missed it? Relive the launch with Listen Again
If you weren’t able to make it to the station on Sunday, or weren’t listening live, you can still relive the launch using Nest Radio’s Listen Again feature!
Head to the Nest Radio player at https://nest.radio/listen/, select Listen again, go back to Sunday 30 August, and you’ll find the launch broadcast from 11.00am through to 2.00pm.
The three hours are listed as two Flat Chat entries followed by Operation: AMRAP. Start with the 11.00am Flat Chat entry and work your way through!
You’ll hear the live performances, interviews and all the slightly organised chaos leading up to our countdown at noon, when North-West FM officially became Nest Radio 98.9.
So if you missed it, have a listen. And if you were there, listen back and relive a pretty special day. 💙
And now…
Sunday wasn’t the end of the project. It was the beginning.
What happened on Sunday gave us a glimpse of what Nest Radio can be.
A station full of life. A station where people want to be. A station that welcomes new ideas and new voices, supports its presenters, connects with its community and isn’t afraid to try something different.
We have an enormous amount ahead of us. There will be new programs, new voices, new partnerships and new opportunities to take Nest Radio beyond the walls of our studios and further into the community we serve.
We also have the opportunity to introduce a whole new generation of listeners, presenters, artists, volunteers and supporters to community radio, while respecting and building upon the extraordinary history that brought us here.
That connection between our past and our future was brought home to me beautifully this week by Peter Taylor, who wrote to me after the launch and told me that he was a Founding Member and is a Life Member of North-West Community Radio Inc.
Peter explained that he had been involved from the very beginning. From the initial community engagement sessions in 1987, through the establishment of the steering committee and incorporation of North-West Community Radio, the test broadcasts and licence hearings, and ultimately the establishment of permanent broadcasting as North-West FM.
Peter wasn’t able to be with us in person on Sunday, but he was listening. He told me that the energy and community involvement of the day were clearly evident through the broadcast, and reflected that North-West FM had perhaps become “part of the furniture” and that reinvigoration and an injection of new energy were needed.
Most importantly, Peter said:
“Nest Radio, I firmly believe, will reinvigorate and re-energise what has always been a vital, greatly endeared community radio station that holds a strong legacy in one of Melbourne’s most diverse communities.”
I found that incredibly moving.
Because that’s exactly what we’re trying to do. We’re not walking away from nearly four decades of North-West FM history. We’re building on it.
There would be no Nest Radio without North-West FM, and there would have been no North-West FM without Peter and the other people who had the vision, determination and sheer persistence to establish a community radio station for Melbourne’s North-West in the first place.
That history belongs to the many people who have contributed to this station and its community over almost four decades, and it is something Nest Radio will always respect.
But respecting our history doesn’t mean standing still. It means taking the best of what came before us, learning from the past, and having the courage to build something even better for the future.
And after Sunday, I can tell the future of this station is incredibly bright.
There was a feeling around the station that is difficult to manufacture. People wanted to be there. People were laughing, talking, helping each other, meeting people they hadn’t met before and taking pride in what we were creating together.
That’s what we want Nest Radio to be.
Not simply a radio station that broadcasts from a building in Hadfield, but a thriving community of people brought together by music, voices, ideas and a shared belief in the value of local radio.
We’ve already achieved an enormous amount in a relatively short period of time. But I really believe we’re only scratching the surface of what Nest Radio can become.
There is so much opportunity ahead of us, and if the enthusiasm, generosity and teamwork we saw on Sunday is any indication, the next chapter of this station is going to be something pretty special.
So to everyone who has been part of getting us here: congratulations!
And to everyone who is going to be part of what comes next, I can’t wait to see what we build together.
The future is bright. The possibilities are enormous. And Nest Radio is officially here. 💙
Thank you for making its first day such a memorable one.
-Matt Spain
President
Nest Radio Inc.
Music · Voices · Community
