KZSM Welcomes Dance Time in Texas on Mondays at 2 p.m.

Most of the programming you hear on 104.1 FM and KZSM.org comes from our own community, but sometimes we discover a syndicated show we want to share. Now, on Mondays 2-3 p.m., “Dance Time in Texas” offers “the songs that are packing the dance floors around Texas.” DJ Mike (host Mike Bilansky) averages the song rankings from the Texas Country Music Chart and the Traction TX Chart, the officially recognized charts of the Texas Country Music Association, to create his playlists.

His passion is Texas Red Dirt, “a rootsy kind of sound, not particularly a country sound, not particularly a rock sound,” he explained. The colorful name comes from the history of the genre, which began with musicians performing in bars near Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. When they traveled to Lubbock or Dallas/Fort Worth, the musicians would arrive in vehicles liberally decorated with the red dirt of Oklahoma. Given the traditional rivalry, the term “red dirt” was initially somewhat derogatory, but is considered cool today, according to DJ Mike.

That fondness for Red Dirt music sent him on his journey to community radio. He began his music career as a club DJ during the heyday of country music clubs after the film “Urban Cowboy.” His manager at Big Texas Dance Hall in Spring “really wasn't a fan of Texas Red Dirt music.” After being fired for playing “too much ‘Texas Music,’” he recalled, “I walked to my truck, got in, sat back, and said out loud, ‘Lord, what am I gonna do now?’ And I hit scan on the radio. I got ‘did you ever want to do your own podcast or radio show? contact us at Lone Star Community Radio!’ and I sat back, and I thought. ‘Well, if you ask, you better be ready for an answer.”

“Dance Time in Texas” still originates from Lone Star Community Radio, 104.5 FM, in Conroe, and is now heard on dozens of stations in Texas and worldwide. This year, the show won Texas Country Music Association Syndicated Radio Show of the Year.

Because of his roots in community radio, DJ Mike is especially happy to join KZSM. And besides, two of his nieces attend Texas State. “I want to be in that market where they're at, so on Monday at 2 p.m., they can say, ‘That's my uncle. Y'all listen.’”