It’s with a heavy heart but a huge smile that I let you know that after 17 years as a listener, 12 years doing trivia on The Morning Show and 7.5 years as an employee I am moving on from my time as a host on The Current. I am taking the position of music director and afternoon drive host on Jazz88. I have been a fan of Jazz88 since I moved to Minnesota in ‘96, and I can’t quite believe I’ll have the opportunity to be a part of their team. Ahead of packing a banker’s box on March 5 and hosting two episodes of Radio Free Current, I wanted to share a goodbye note. I’ll miss The Current but I’m so glad to be leaving on a high note, with the ability to celebrate The Current and my small part in its awesomeness. 

This gig at The Current has been the journey of a lifetime. When my band would come to MPR to do in-studios I would look at those cubicles and think how amazing it would be to be sitting at one, listening to records, checking emails and helping a great station thrive. What posters would I put up? Would they be cool enough? Would I have autographed 8x10 glossies from cool bands that come through town?

A couple months into my tenure as an extremely part-time host on The Current our program director, Jim McGuinn, gave me a cubicle nameplate saying, “no cubicle yet, but you’re ready when there is one!” I was getting closer! I kept that clunky beige nameplate in my backpack for months, biding my time ‘til I had a chair to put my jacket on, a place to store my records and a chance to show the station they should keep me around. 

When I finally got a cubicle, it was in the spot Morning Show host Steve Seel vacated when he took on a new role with YourClassical. Paperclips, earplugs, old business cards, and plenty of space for my dumb posters. I’ve spent the past six years sitting in that cubicle, across from Jade, kitty corner from Jesse Wiza, Cecilia Johnson on my right, Looch on my left. Honestly, for the past two years it has been pretty lonely. Looch programs her music in a closed office down the hall, Cecilia and Jesse are on the digital side so they mostly work from home, Jade’s often on the air when I’m doing office work. I miss them all. I miss co-hosting with Sani without a slab of double-pane windows between the two of us. But for this whole pandemic and for the five years before, I’ve been sitting somewhere in this building, trying to pick the right music, answering emails and helping a great station thrive. It might be lonely in the office, but it’s never been lonely on the air. I’ve shared music with a great community of passionate listeners, of like-minded souls, of music people.

During my time with MPR I had the opportunity to launch our sister stream, Purple Current. Throughout that launch and to this very day I’ve been guided by some of the amazing listeners and scholars who cared so much about Prince that they cared how a radio station that honored him would sound. I am eternally grateful for the members of the local and international Prince community that helped Purple Current grow into a trusted part of the Prince ecosystem.

When my banker’s box is all the way full I’ll miss the little memories first: When I was deathly afraid to even touch a mixing board Jill Riley was figuratively holding my hand and she just up and turned off the music for The Current broadcast. That’s right, sometime in 2014, the music on The Current for everyone in listening range stopped for 1.5 seconds, and Jill turned to me and said, “It’s just radio, Sean. It’s not that big of a deal”. 

Right before I hosted Radio Free Current solo for the first time, Mac Wilson said, “Don’t turn your headphones up too high, those snares on the beginning of the theme song really kick.” I’ve thought about that every Saturday night for half a decade now.

I met Scott Blankenship from YourClassical when he walked up to my studio door and held up a sign that said “Not Penny’s Boat” late on a Saturday night. How did he know I loved the show LOST, too?

This is my family forever, but it’s only my job for about a week more. It’s hard to explain how much I’ll miss it. Except you get it. This is your family too. Minnesota Public Radio works because we get closer to the music and to each other, together every time we spin a record.

When I bring the banker’s box over to KBEM in Minneapolis I don’t think I’ll bring Steve Seel’s earplugs or his paper clips. I’ll leave those for whoever takes my cubicle next. But I’ll bring my posters, I’ll find my cubicle and I’ll sit down at my desk and listen to records, check emails, and help another great station thrive. And I’ll get closer to the staff and listeners of KBEM every time we spin a record, but I’ll miss my family at The Current dearly.

—Sean

What’s next?

Sean McPherson replaces Jazz88 music director and afternoon host role Kevin O’Connor, who had worked at the station for 27 years. O’Connor became a host at MPR’s YourClassical earlier this year. The Current is working on new solutions for Radio Free Current, Purple Current, trivia, and McPherson’s other work at the station.

“From the first moment I met Sean over 10 years ago, it was clear that he had a passion for both music and our community,” says Jim McGuinn, The Current program director. “Over the years he’s been part of MPR and The Current, he’s used that passion and added a hunger for learning about radio, throwing himself into so many areas — whether on Radio Free Current, The Message, the Purple Current stream, filling in on the Morning Show, and anywhere he found an open mic — always in service to the audience, artists, and music that bring us together. Sean’s gregarious nature and love of learning would quickly enable him to stand out here at The Current. Congrats to Sean and Jazz88 on his new position — and on behalf of our listeners, thanks for many years of time together sharing that music, love and passion.”

 "Sean McPherson is a talented and creative force in music and media,” says Dan Larkin, station manager of Jazz88-KBEM. “We couldn't be more excited to have him join our team at Jazz88-KBEM. His passion for music, dedication to his craft, belief in live and local radio, and instincts for making music formats come to life will serve us well. I am delighted to know he will lead our music programming efforts and all of us at Jazz88 look forward to working with him."