Brian Lillie, Pickin' and Fiddlin' on WAPJ-FM

"Brian Lillie here, playing some hot rockin' bluegrass hits for ya tonight on the Pickin' and Fiddlin' Show on Torrington Community Radio."

Once again, Brian Lillie sings on the air on WAPJ-FM, as he does every Wednesday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. The station is in downtown Torrington, Connecticut, and it's the city's only station hyper-focused on the community. The non-profit, non-commercial station was started by dedicated volunteers and is still staffed by volunteers. Listener donations and business sponsors support the station.

Depending on what time you tune in to the station, which is also accessible via their website at wapj.org, you might hear classic rock, pop, jazz, soul, country, reggae, blues, or even radio theatre, but the Wednesday evening slot is dedicated to bluegrass, and Brian has made it his mission to bring the best in bluegrass to his listeners, week after week. From old standards to more progressive styles, Brian works to create the ideal mix of music on his weekly broadcast. He even plays a little "bluegrass adjacent" music from time to time for fun and perspective.

"To tell you the truth, there is no real plan," he laughs. "It's more intuitive with me. We don't have a program director dictating what I have to play, so it's purely up to me." He has done theme shows, such as playing train or coal mining songs. "I will play bluegrass Gospel before Easter, and on St. Patrick's Day, I'll start with Tim O'Brien's 'The Crossing,' then play a bunch of Irish music. And of course, bluegrass Christmas during the holidays. I do it just because it's fun."

Brian grew up in Chicago and listened to the blues while all his friends listened to The Beatles and the Beach Boys. He attended graduate school at Indiana University and stayed to teach high school after graduation. "In 1980, some of my students volunteered at Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Jamboree, and they got me an armband." The festival spans two weekends with the entire week in between. "I had planned to go one time to see what it was all about, and I ended up going every day. I was completely amazed. They were playing what my mom had once called 'hillbilly music,' and I loved it."

Brian saw groups like the McLain Family Band and Birch Monroe, Bill Monroe's older brother. "He was in his early 90s when I saw him," says Brian. "I once saw Birch and Bill arguing, like brothers do, just off the stage. The festival was held on Birch's land, but Bill ran the show. It was probably a little dispute about the festival, but I thought it was fun seeing them interact as siblings at their age."

After attending that festival, Brian was hooked on bluegrass. "It was not just the music, but the culture around it. There were bonfires out in the fields, and all the fiddlers would play around one, mandolins would play at another, and so on. Then the stars would come out of their trailers and join them. Everyone was so friendly and accessible.

After flying to Connecticut for a wedding and getting a job offer while he was there, Brian picked up stakes and moved to the northeast. He volunteered to work the phones for a fundraiser at WPKN in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and he began hanging out at the station during Chris Teskey's show (Teskey now has a show five days a week on Bluegrass Country radio). "I eventually started reading news at the station and auditioned to have my own show, but they wanted me to work the 10 pm to 2 am slot, and I had to get up and teach the next morning." He did work his way to being chairman of the station's Board of Directors.

After moving one town over, Brian discovered WAPJ. "They played cool stuff, so I contacted them, and they made a slot for me on Wednesdays, and I've been there ever since."

I met Brian at the 2024 IBMA "World of Bluegrass" event in Raleigh. Over coffee, we learned that we both loved sharing bluegrass – Brian on the radio, and I writing for The Bluegrass Standard. He was able to attend IBMA for the first time in 2023 after he retired from teaching. "It's been great for the show because I can hear so many bands. It's fun to discover new talent, like a band from Los Angeles called Water Tower." (I also discovered Water Tower at IBMA and wrote about them for our April 2025 issue.) "Most of the record companies know about us now, so I get new music all the time, which is great. I probably have 3,000 to 5,000 CDs in my closet that I pull from for my show." He keeps music released within the past year separate, as he is a reporting station for Bluegrass Unlimited.

Brian also hears both old and new bands at the many festivals he attends. "I have been a judge at the local fire department’s annual pickin' contest for thirty years and also volunteer in the merchandise tent at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival. "I know the artists and their music, so it's a natural fit for me to sell merchandise. My wife and daughter also volunteer, so it's a fun family event." Brian also volunteers at the annual Podunk Festival, which he says is getting better and better each year.

Brian hopes to introduce quality bluegrass music to anyone who dares to listen through his radio program. "I tell folks that bluegrass is what country music could be if it were really cool. Big country music artists are usually surrounded by entourages, and they are put on a pedestal. Bluegrass artists are so approachable, and they are such nice people. It's easy to build personal relationships with them, and I've had the honor of making a lot of friends in this industry. I love doing this."