Iowa Public Radio streaming Studio One 24 hours a day

Iowa Public Radio is expanding its Studio One program into a 24 hours a day online stream starting Wednesday. The stream will feature a mix of alternative music, folk, Americana, singer-songwriters, blues, jazz and local and regional music.

Studio One will continue to air at 7 p.m. every night on Iowa Public Radio stations. The stream will go live at noon Wednesday.

"We would love to be able to become everyone's daily soundtrack," said Al Schares, music director for Iowa Public Radio. "We've always wanted to have a 24-hour Studio One service, but frequencies just don't come up that often and when they do they're expensive. This is the first time we've been able to offer 24 hour service for this kind of music."

With more time, Studio One is adding programming, including "Gas Money," a show spotlighting local and regional acts, "Rust on the Dial," dedicated to roots music, "The Many Moods of Ben Vaughn," hosted by producer Ben Vaughn, described as a complement to Bob Dorr's "Backtracks" and "Jazz Department."

On the stream listeners should expect to hear songs by acts like TV on the Radio, Mumford and Sons and Iowa acts like The Maytags. There will also be exclusive live sessions from Iowa music venues and festivals.

Several public radio stations offer a service similar to this stream over the airwaves, most notably Minnesota Public Radio's The Current. Schares said he doesn't expect the 24 hour stream of Studio One to lead to such an opportunity on its own; additional listener support would be required.