Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child

08/07/2026

Been playing and booking Koo Koo for years and years (and will be on a panel with them at Frank Turner’s Lost Evenings festival this fall). Thrilled that some of the rest of America is getting to learn about them.

18/06/2026

Music from humans, not algorithms. Proud as always to be part of the best radio station in Austin, K*TX 98.9. Thanks to the Chronicle readers for agreeing:

K*TX 98.9

16/06/2026

Debbie Hiott has been a remarkable leader for K*T and K*TX, and this is sad and angering.

Breaking: UT Austin leadership has fired K*T General Manager Debbie Hiott, effective immediately. https://www.kut.org/education/2026-06-15/ut-austin-fires-debbie-hiott-kut-general-manager

12/06/2026

We'll air this in-studio along with our chat, but you can watch it now! Thanks as always to the amazing K*TX 98.9 production folks and to Wild Child for a totally lovely performance:

Set list:“Fabulous”“Memory Lane”“Dinosaur Jetpack”Album: Wild ...

08/06/2026

We had a ton of fun with Wild Child in Studio 1A at K*TX 98.9. We'll air the whole thing this weekend!

I do not know what the blue dot on my head is.

01/06/2026

Had to add a new policy to the show's website. You can look at the playlist for this week's show to see why.

04/05/2026

We go way back with Mister G and Missus G. Katherine's a terrific writer and this captures so much about what's special about family music. (And, not incidentally, how and why live music remains undefeated.)

No matter when or where my husband and I perform our children’s concerts, the kids always buoy us.

04/05/2026

Hello Oregon! We are so excited to join KMUN's lineup. I've known the station's new PD, Matthew Butler, for some time, and he just loves radio. Super glad to be on board!

NEW PROGRAM: Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child debuts on KMUN this Sunday May 3 from 7-8pm 🥁

For over twenty years Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child has been providing the soundtrack to thousands of childhoods around the country. The show plays “indie music for indie kids,” including the best of music aimed at kids (like Dan Zanes, M***a Luna, Ella Jenkins, Pierce Freelon, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mega Ran, Strawbitty Yops, Lunch Money, Caspar Babypants, and They Might Be Giants) right along side kid-friendly tracks from the likes of The Ramones, Mike Doughty, Ella Fitzgerald, Brian Eno, Pizzicato Five, Andrew Bird, Fishbone, and more.

Spare the Rock originates from their flagship station K*TX 98.9 out of Austin, TX.

29/04/2026

Unfortunately, this news means that the K*T for Kids event has had to be canceled. My thanks to Cloud Companion, Strawbitty Yops, and Saul Paul for their understanding. It’s a bummer.

The Festival is still going to be great for grownups (and is now free), and I hope you’ll get out and support the stations (and consider making a donation to both!).

UT Austin has ordered the K*T Festival to make significant changes just days before the inaugural event, citing last-minute security concerns. https://www.kut.org/news/2026-04-28/austin-tx-kut-festival-ut-university-of-texas