Jessica “Carsen” Humphreville is one busy person. She is the Director of Operations and Programming for Silverfish Media. She is a cast member on the nationally syndicated “Big D & Bubba Show” and hosts Silverfish’s syndicated midday offering, “Country with Carsen.”
In addition, she oversees Silverfish Media’s portfolio, which includes “Y’all Access” and “Honky Tonkin With Big D & Bubba.” She also handles music programming for all the shows and a bit of affiliate relations.
“That encompasses most of my day. But also working with record label management and PR about scheduling interviews and just what’s going on in the industry. Making sure that I’m part of the circuit to get those interviews and to keep us all dialed in and top of mind with people to get more of that content,” said Carsen.
Landing her spot with Big D & Bubba was so natural it was easy.
“They were looking to start a syndicated midday show hosted by a female and also looking to add someone to “Big D & Bubba.” I was recommended by their engineer, who heard me on a station in Cookeville (TN) where I was voice-tracking Classic Rock nights. We got on the phone and talked for maybe 15 minutes.”
“That was my interview with “Big D & Bubba,” and two days later, I had a contract. I’d never met them, but I knew what these guys were. I never thought that those stupid radio fairy tales that everybody tells, like oh, I used to sweep floors. Insert me between the pages because I became one of those with these guys. Sight unseen they just heard what I did, and they liked it and eight and a half years later. Here we are.”
The “Big D & Bubba show is done live. No retakes. No voice tracking. Something not often done.
“That’s the kind of radio that we do that we came up in. That we grew up in, I think it’s more of a comfort for us. There are times when it’s like, y’all, we got to go. We’re hitting the clock. That’s the pressure we all came up with, and I think there is comfort in that for us.”
This carries over to “Country with Carsen,” where being available for audience interaction is important.
“We’ve trained audiences to want to call in in mornings and afternoon shows. We’ve trained them in night shows for sure. So, trying to explain like, hey, I’m here. No, I swear. I’m here. I promise you I’m here, and what I found is that much better phone calls come in.”
“But man, people, social media, right? We’ve become such a texting and social media connecting kind of society. People love that they can DM me on insta, and I’ll reply right back. Or send me a message on Facebook, and that’s where it’s just a different form of communication, but it’s still having that one-to-one live touch.”
With all that Carsen has on her plate, I had to ask what her favorite thing is.
“Being on with Big D & Bubba. Someone would look at that and say, okay, what else is she going to say? I’m not a giggle box. The guys will tell you I am not here to keep the guys in line. You will never see a picture of me shaking my finger at them. I genuinely think that they are funny, witty, and clever, and then sometimes we get dumb, and it runs the gamut of just fun.”
“I looked at D (Derek Haskins) two hours ago, and we were doing a bit outside for socials. He said, you know, I thought maybe I’d be doing something else in my life at this age. And I go, why, who wants to really work for a living? Because we come here and have fun together every day. I’m not going to lie. I also really do like meeting famous people. Who doesn’t? I get to come in and work with those guys.”
Country artist Tracy Lawrence recently stepped away from the Honky Tonkin Show, and it was taken over by Big D & Bubba. So, how has the transition been?
“I’ll be real with you. It took me six months to talk to Tracy Lawrence when I walked through these doors because I am such a 90s country girl. You listen to the Country station in town, or you know, in my case, growing up, the state, and Tracy Lawrence was one of my core five. I remember my brother winning a Tracy Lawrence cassette off that Country station. And then they’re like, yeah, we do a show with Tracy Lawrence.”
“I think it’s been such a seamless transition because they revere the music. They know the music. They also have a history, and I think the show sounds so good. I love the interviews they’re getting. It’s different, but it’s still the music you love.”
So, what is the state of Country music?
“I think that it is stronger than ever. When you go back again, you’re a ’90s Country guy. Country music was just this explosion in the 90s, and it became part of pop culture and international culture when Garth Brooks was doing stuff in Ireland.”
“It’s like we have such a kaleidoscope of textures and sounds and artists and people from Post Malone coming to Chapell Roan. Then you have your Jackson Dean, who’s like, whoa, is that guy a mountain man, and Morgan Wallen. It’s just more and more and more buoyancy for this format to be as strong as it is.:”
There may be something to learn from Country music’s popularity.
“There’s a lesson in other formats there, specifically the fan service that our artists cater to, and honestly, how radio caters to our listeners and to the fans of this music. That is very hard for other genres to compete with. We do such a good job of including fans and making it a one-to-one personal experience. Whether it is your favorite morning show or that concert where somebody gets pulled on stage because Keith Urban saying I want you to come up on here and finish the third verse of this song.”
To wrap up, is there anything you want to add that I haven’t mentioned?
“I’m going to end with the Bob Barker thing. Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
