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Meet the team who make Country Connoisseur the hottest country music radio programme in Manawatū.
We would love to hear any feedback you have on the programme and welcome any interview requests and music suggestions.
Manawatū People's Radio are our programme partners and supply the broadcast equipment, radio frequency and distribution channels for Country Connoisseur.
Mark Wasley
Presenter and Executive Producer
Email: mark@markwasley.net.nz
Mark Wasley is the presenter and executive producer of Country Connoisseur. He lives and breathes country music and it's been in his blood since he was born in 1997. Mark's grandparents loved the genre and their Irish ancestors might have something to do with that. The sounds of the legends Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Kenny Dale, John Denver, Charley Pride, Tammy Wynette, Suzanne Prentice and Lynn Anderson and others, were never far away and often the soundtrack of a Sunday drive in the Manawatū countryside. They adored Daniel O'Donnell, Isla Grant and Foster and Allen too. Everyone would sing along when hits such as The Gambler, Rhinestone Cowboy and Bluest Heartache of the Year would come out of the cassettes in the car or on the stereo in the family's Halcombe home. Mark also acquired an interest in the country pop tracks of his generation in the 1990s and 2000s from artists like Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, Rascall Flatts and Lady A and is now enjoying the next iteration of modern country music as its popularity grows again in Aotearoa and globally.
Mark has met some of Aotearoa’s biggest names in country music, notably Suzanne Prentice, Gray Bartlett, JamesRay, Denis Henderson, Brendan Dugan and Dennis Marsh, the up-and-comers and less prolific and a host of NZ celebrities including Mike King, Mark Sainsbury, Jackie Clarke, Guy Williams, Simon Gault, Annabelle White, Jax Hamilton, Richard Till, Christian Cullen, Aaron Smith, Scott Barrett, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Ross Taylor, Will Young, MPs Michael Wood, Ayesha Verrall, Judith Collins, David Seymour and even the deputy prime minister, Grant Robertson. In 2019, Mark was privileged to meet Shaun Wallace from The Chase when he visited Palmerston North.
As executive producer, Mark selects what you hear on the programme and approves the final plan for its contents. He has nearly ten years of experience in Manawatū community radio, volunteering at the student radio station Radio Control where he also presents a country music programme showcasing independent artists and first going on air with Burnzee on The Breeze from a young age. While at high school, Mark did a couple of work experience days at The Breeze and other MediaWorks stations, mentored by long-time professionals Mike West, Gareth Pringle and Darren Wallace. There's nothing much Mark likes more than introducing others to the brilliance of country music. His favourite song of all time is Kenny Rogers' 1978 anthem, The Gambler.
Keenan Maynard
Producer
Email: kennan@markwasley.net.nz
Keenan Maynard is a producer for Country Connoisseur. He selects tracks to air on the programme and what subjects and content Mark informs listeners about. Keenan is always on the look out for new tracks and artists to play on the programme and guests that Mark can interview.
When not working on the programme, he is a Quality Control Specialist at Bright Sock in Palmerston North. He has previously had a successful career in the music industry, playing piano alongside musicians such as Sir Dave Dobbyn, Brooke Fraser and Frankie Stevens and bands such as Opshop, The Feelers and Midnight Youth.
One of Keenan's lifetime memories was opening for Kris Kristofferson and joining him to perform Me and Bobby McGee, at his concert in Palmerston North in 2014.