Country Music Show host Mike Kennedy celebrates 25 years at Coast FM

WHEN it comes to Australian country music, there’s only one man people of the Central Coast trust.

Mike Kennedy is celebrating a milestone, 25 years as the host of the Country Music Show on Sundays at Coast FM963. Picture: Sue Graham

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WHEN it comes to Australian country music, there’s only one man people of the Central Coast trust.

Mike Kennedy has been entertaining and educating people about country music for the past 25 years on Coast FM963.

Every Sunday he wakes at 5.45am, travels from his home in Beresfield to Gosford, to run the Australian Country Music Show from 9am.

Mike Kennedy has been volunteering at the station for 25 years. Picture: Sue Graham

“Being from Scone, I’ve always followed country music,” the 71-year-old said.

“It’s been a pleasure to be able to talk to people and share my knowledge. I’ve been in their lounge rooms, sharing their feelings and I feel part of their family.

“I have three listeners, that I know of, that take the telephone off the hook to listen every Sunday.”

Mr Kennedy said the country music scene had grown considerable since the 1980s.

“It was a hard task when I started because there wasn’t a lot of exclusively Australian country music, but now there’s plenty,” he said.

“Artists have followed the lead of Lee Kernaghan and Troy Cassar-Daley.”

Mr Kennedy was born into show business, with his parents running amusements at local showgrounds.

Mr Kennedy said recent artists had followed the lead of Lee Kernaghan.

He studied speech and drama at the Australian College of Music in London, and has dabbled in singing, acting and worked as a sales manager before finding a passion in radio in 1980.

The father of four and grandfather of “I’ve lost count” worked on commercial stations, including doing voiceovers for NBN for 20 years.

He has hosted various country music shows, and was inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in Tamworth in 2016.

“It gets into your blood and you get a loyal following,” he said.

Mr Kennedy says he loves volunteering his time at Coast FM, with no plans to stop his popular show.

“Where it’s a money world, this is about enjoying and sharing my knowledge of Australian Country Music,” he said.