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Thursday, April 17, 2025

Benmont Tench has been making music for more than 50 years, much of it as a member of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers or as a studio musician, appearing on records by Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, and Bonnie Raitt among others. Although he's written hit songs for artists such as Roseanne Cash, he's only released two solo albums to date. The second of those, The Melancholy Season came out in March, more than a decade after his previous record. Tench endured major surgery in 2023 after cancer attacked his jaw, and he says he drew inspiration from a variety of sources for the songs on the new album, including a deep love of poetry.

Plus more on these stories:

  • Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Wednesday that he will not charge a sheriff’s sergeant who killed a Wichita man last year.
  • Kansas leaders have announced the state will continue to offer a summer program despite recent budget cuts.
  • The number of measles cases in Kansas grew again last week.
  • A data center in the Kansas City, Missouri, area could break ground as soon as next month.
  • Kansas is asking the federal government for a disaster declaration following severe storms in March.

Producers: Fletcher Powell and Beth Golay
Editors: Tom Shine and Beth Golay
Contributors: Jedd Beaudoin, Meg Britton-Mehlisch, Savannah Hawley-Bates, Suzanne Perez, and Tom Shine
Theme music: Torin Andersen
Digital editor: Beth Golay and Karlee Cooper

Fletcher Powell has worked at KMUW since 2009 as a producer, reporter, and host. He's been the host of All Things Considered since 2012 and KMUW's movie critic since 2016. He also co-hosts the PMJA-award winning show You're Saying It Wrong, which is distributed around the country on public radio stations and around the world through podcasts. Fletcher is a member of the Critics Choice Association.