Since debuting the program on October 28, 2013, hosts AL-D and E.T. consistently focused the aim of their weekly radio program on the Nashville music scene; more specifically, the city's ever-evolving hip-hop and rap scene. From its beginning, the Nashville Fringe Festival sought to celebrate the diversity of Nashville artists, and AL-D and E.T. did just that with the platform, leveraging their own experience as both MCs and producers to help craft a program which gave space to voices otherwise dismissed and overlooked by the city's more mainstream media outlets.
In 2016 the Fringe Radio Show was named “Best place to hear local hip-hop on the airwaves” by the Nashville Scene, with the paper's Stephen Trageser writing,
“The caliber of Nashville’s hip-hop artists is on par with our singer-songwriters and rock bands, but you wouldn’t know it from scanning the radio dial or walking into your corner bar. Besides being an outstanding MC duo, AL-D and E.T. are being the change they want to see in their scene. They do their damndest to make local hip-hop easier for the casual fan to stumble onto through the Fringe Radio Show; they alternate hosting duties on the show each Monday night on Radio Free Nashville. On air, they shine a spotlight on top talent from around the region with interviews and a heap of tracks, and then they bring it to you in the flesh, organizing quarterly showcase concerts under the moniker Meant for the Milk Crate.”
“Over the past seven decades, an incredible variety of music has developed roots and infrastructure in Nashville, from country, R&B and Americana, to myriad flavors of rock and punk and contemporary dance-driven pop. Music City’s hip-hop artists, however, don’t seem to get the attention they deserve. [...] People are working hard to change that: Examples include Virghost’s Villematic concert series, AL-D and E.T.’s Fringe Radio Show on WRFN and their quarterly Meant for the Milk Crate showcases, and Dirtbike Mike’s Tuesday open mic cypher at Bearded Iris Brewing’s taproom.”
E.T. and AL-D have amassed a catalog of roughly 500 original episodes, which broadcast every Monday at 6:00pm (Central) on Radio Free Nashville 107.1 LPFM and 103.7 FM.
