Music lovers looking to add some authentic East Coast Canadian content to their playlists can tune in weekly to CJLO’s Eastern Promises hosted by Huntingdon resident Donald Roberge.
CJLO (1690 AM) is a non-profit radio station broadcasting out of Concordia University’s Loyola campus. Eastern Promises is dedicated to the inspiring and influential sounds of Atlantic Canada, from all eras, genres, and peoples. The show was recognized last year with the MAPL Award for the most Canadian music played, and Roberge was presented with the station’s Keener Award for excellence in volunteerism.
Roberge began volunteering with the radio station while attending classes at Concordia during the pandemic; he was among the many people who responded to the Quebec government’s call for workers to join the health-care system as orderlies. “We were told we needed to have an outlet, and a sense of humour,” he says, saying this advice stuck with him.
Roberge happened to be at a Cinema Politica documentary screening at the university while volunteers with the radio station were recruiting. “Next thing I knew, I was recording weekly news reports,” he says of his first foray into broadcasting. He would find and report on several topics of interest to students from home. This started in 2021, and while he has since moved on from the health-care system, he has continued to hit the airwaves.
It was not long before Roberge was trained to work the studio soundboard, and producers asked him to develop a show. “Rather than focus on a specific genre, I focused on a specific geographic region,” he says, explaining how he came to concentrate his programming on the music of Eastern Canada.
“I am able to play all kinds of music,” he says, noting that while East Coast music is often associated with the fiddle, there are all types of instruments and musicians to discover.
“I really like that pop culture is a shared language. I like that conversation,” he says, suggesting he especially enjoys the idea of promoting music from out east and giving people a chance to be heard. He also does not shy away from promoting Francophone musicians.
Roberge admits he has no idea whether there is a large listening audience for his show. “The process is more important than the result,” he suggests, noting he has had “some really cool interactions with people who really appreciate what I am doing.”
For example, he tells the story of death-metal band Paranoia from Lark Harbour, Newfoundland. When one of the band members was diagnosed with cancer, they paused for a bit but kept practicing. “It was their dream to have their music played on Canadian airwaves,” says Roberge, who was all too happy to give them a spin. After letting the trio know to tune in to his show, they wrote back, explaining they were “beyond excited by the opportunity to be played on Montreal radio.”
Roberge says it takes up to five hours of research to organize his play list, and he invests several hours in scripting the program. “It is a commitment,” he says, laughing, before adding that there is a “human connection” to sharing his musical discoveries with an audience. “I hope that it inspires in some way.”
Eastern Promises airs on Sundays from 8 to 9 p.m. over the radio at 1690 AM, or online at CJLO.com.