Online Vegas PBS show to feature local performers

A new Web series created by Vegas PBS plans to bring local music to your computer.

“Backyard Sessions” is scheduled to premiere Oct. 1 at vegaspbs.org and other sites, including Vegas PBS’ YouTube channel and streaming sites such as roku.com. Where it won’t be, at least for the first season, is on TV.

“It will be Web-exclusive at first,” said show producer, Cade Cridland. “The idea is to bring in millennials and digital natives, and hopefully while they’re checking that out, they’ll also look around and see the other great content we have at Vegas PBS, with shows like ‘Austin City Limits.’ ”

The shows are about 12 to 15 minutes long and feature local bands and solo acts performing three songs, with interviews interspersed during the songs. Local hip-hop musician Etchane hosts the show and conducts the interviews.

“I’ve been involved in hip-hop since 2007, but I’ve been working behind the scenes at Vegas PBS about 20 years,” Etchane said. “This is my first time on this side of the camera, but I think my musical background helps me connect with the artists and helps me know which questions to ask.”

The project has been in the planning stages for more than a year. The interviews and performances were recorded over the course of a week in June. Cridland was inspired to create the show by what he sees as a rapidly growing local music scene.

“There’s been a new explosion of outdoor venues that showcase our local talent,” he said. “We’re hoping to get a chance to see these performers before they get huge, like Imagine Dragons or The Killers.”

The show is recorded in a sound stage tricked out as a backyard at the Vegas PBS offices, 3050 E. Flamingo Road. A wooden fence acts as the backdrop, and props such as strings of lights, lawn chairs and a little red wagon create the illusion that the show is recorded somewhere such as the Huntridge neighborhood, instead of a climate-controlled state-of-the-art facility.

The inspiration for the set came from Cridland’s wedding reception.

“We had a quiet little wedding out of town with just some family,” Cridland said. “The reception was held in my in-laws’ backyard in Anthem. We decorated it kind of like the set is now and brought in a local band and had it catered by a local barbecue place. I noticed how relaxed everyone was and how much mixing was going on, and I thought it would be a great place to set the show. “

The first series is eight episodes, with a new one hitting the Web each week. There are episodes featuring The Perks, Play For Keeps, Sabriel, American Cream, HaleAmanO, Jill & Julia, The Solid Suns and Jordan Kate Mitchell.

The website will include other videos, including separate ones of only the performances and interviews.

“We’re still working out all the details and figuring out what we like and what works,” Cridland said. “Hopefully, the community support will be there and we’ll have a second season and more to refine and tweak things even more. I’d love for this to become a permanent addition to what we do here.”

Contact East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 702-380-4532.