Meet The Hosts: Anna Ballantyne

1. How long have you been with WNRN and how did you get started?
I think that I may have hit the three year mark by now. I’m friends with Mark Keefe and he thought my accent would be fun to have on the air…

2. What should WNRN listeners know about your show, and/or your music tastes?
I’m an indie punk rock girl from way back, and still love discovering those new bands who put in the hard graft. Bands like Lime Garden, Sports Team, Yard Act, English Teacher and SPRINTS made my listening year in 2024.

3. What’s your favorite, recent music discovery?
Palmyra. I can’t get enough of them and tell everyone I know to listen to their music.

4. What might be an unexpected artist on your personal playlist?
Clipping. There’s something about their two albums ‘There Existed an Addiction to Blood’ and ‘Visions of Bodies Being Burned’ that really grips me. And then there’s the pace of Daveed Diggs’ rapping!!
Run the Jewels also feature on my go-to playlist – particularly RTJ4.

5. A couple of firsts: What was the first concert you ever attended? What was the first album you ever bought?
My first concert was a family trip to Wellington to see Billy Joel at Athletic Park. I was 14 and blown away by the experience!
The first album (CD) I ever bought was with my hard earned, and hard saved, paper run money – The Eurythmics – Revenge.

6. What would be your 1-3 Top ‘Desert Island’ albums? The ones you would want with you if stranded on a desert island. Why?
Desert Island Discs… hmmm… The Cure – ‘Disintegration’, Radiohead – ‘The Bends’ and Iron and Wine – ‘The Shepherd’s Dog’.
Those are my top-three, all time, albums.

7. What are some of your favorite hobbies/things to do outside of music and radio?
I enjoy watching movies and TV – our list of shows to catch up on keeps growing!
Travelling to new places.
Spending time with my siblings has become even more fun, the older we get.
I’m also always happy to be on the sideline of a variety of UVA sports teams as well as MiLB games.

Extra: What shows are you looking forward to in 2025 / What were some of your favorite shows in 2024?
Favourite shows from 2024 – SPRINTS (twice – first in the front of the mosh pit at DC9 and then from the balcony at The Atlantis), Palmyra at The Southern, Willi Carlisle at The Southern, Iron & Wine at The Anthem, Bonny Light Horseman (all three times – Red Wing Roots, The Howard Theatre and The Kennedy Centre with the National Symphony Orchestra), Vampire Weekend at the Ting Pavilion, Olivia Ellen Lloyd (twice – at Dürty Nelly’s and then Gallery 5, RVA) and Jack White at The Atlantis.

2025 I’m looking forward to seeing Porridge Radio at The Atlantis in late January and St. Vincent at the Ting Pavilion in April. Then ticking off a bucket list item with a trip to Barcelona for Primavera Sound!! The lineup is so good: LCD Soundsystem, Wet Leg, Fontaines DC, IDLES, Waxahatchee, Momma, MJ Lenderman, TV on the Radio, Horsegiirl, Black Country, New Road, Spiritualized, and Dehd plus those wee headliners Chappel Roan and Charli XCX should be fun to see as well!

Newport Folk Festival always features on my list of highlights for the year so I’m looking forward to that lineup rolling out over the next few months too.