The draft
Open on its ownStar 97.7 radio pack, spot for 19 Sept
Status: ready to send. From IMan, 18 Sept 2026. Why now: the desk has carried "radio spot copy for 19 Sept" under still unasked since the 15 Sept call. That is tomorrow, and nothing was written. Who: Zaal owns the Paul relationship. Thy Revolution animates the on-air side (15 Sept call). The 10 Sept appearance went well, so this is the second one. Every fact below is from the press kit and the live site, checked 18 Sept. Nothing here is new information; it is the approved words cut to time.
:30 spot, 77 words, 29 seconds at a 160 wpm read
Saturday, October third. ZAOstock comes to the Franklin Street Parklet in downtown Ellsworth.
Eight independent bands, one stage, from noon till six. The Crown Vics. OPEN X. Grass Rug. Acadia Rising. Michael Anderson. DCoop. LyonsDen. Tom Fellenz.
It is free. No ticket, no gate, all ages, rain or shine.
When the street clears at six, the night keeps going next door at Black Moon Public House.
ZAOstock. Saturday, October third, downtown Ellsworth. Details at zaostock dot com.
:60 spot, 156 words, 59 seconds at a 160 wpm read
Saturday, October third, downtown Ellsworth turns into a music festival.
ZAOstock. Eight independent bands on one outdoor stage at the Franklin Street Parklet, from noon until six in the evening. The Crown Vics. OPEN X. Grass Rug. Acadia Rising. Michael Anderson. DCoop. LyonsDen. And Tom Fellenz closing the day.
It is free. There is no ticket and no gate. Bring the kids, bring a chair, come for an hour or stay for all six. There is a tent, so it happens rain or shine.
ZAOstock is part of the ninth annual Art of Ellsworth and Maine Craft Weekend, so the whole downtown is worth the trip that day.
At six the street clears and the night moves next door to Black Moon Public House for the after-party.
Can't make it to Ellsworth? Watch it from anywhere at zaostock dot com slash live.
ZAOstock. Saturday, October third. Noon to six, Franklin Street Parklet. Free. zaostock dot com.
The five-minute interview, for whoever is on air
Say these five things. In this order if the questions allow.
- What and when. A free, one-day music festival, Saturday 3 October, noon to six, Franklin Street Parklet, downtown Ellsworth. No ticket, no gate, all ages.
- Who is playing. Eight independent acts, all local or regional, back to back on one stage. Name three or four, not all eight, or it turns into a list.
- Why it exists. It is artist-built and it runs at break even. It is put on by ZAO Festivals, and the people on the bill are the people who built it: DCoop, who plays at the back end of the day, is also the music and AV lead for the whole thing.
- The rest of the day. It sits inside the ninth annual Art of Ellsworth and Maine Craft Weekend, so the downtown is busy all day. At six the street clears and the after-party is next door at Black Moon Public House.
- Where to go. zaostock.com for everything. Anyone who cannot get to Ellsworth can watch at zaostock.com/live.
Thank Star 97.7 on their own air. They are a partner, their logo is on the day, and Paul has had the organizing doc since August.
Do not say
- No set times. Not "The Crown Vics at noon", not "Fellenz at five". The order is public, the clock is not, and this is a decision Zaal has made twice. Say "from noon till six" and nothing finer.
- No platform for the stream. Not the name of any site or app. The stream link is zaostock.com/live and that is the only thing anyone gets told, because the chain has not had a passing test yet.
- No prices, no tiers, no "tax-deductible", no attendance figures. The press kit forbids all four. If asked how it is funded: partners, and people chip in at zaostock.com if they want to.
- No "confirmed" beyond the eight names. Nobody has countersigned anything.
- Do not promise a rain date. There is a tent, and the day runs rain or shine.
Pronunciation, to check before air
Radio is the one place a name gets said out loud, so these are worth thirty seconds with Zaal:
| Act | Assumed | Confirm with |
|---|---|---|
| LyonsDen | LIE-uns-den, one word | The act. He never filled the form, so nobody has asked him |
| DCoop | DEE-coop | DCoop, who is on the crew anyway |
| Acadia Rising | uh-KAY-dee-uh, as the park | Sen |
| Tom Fellenz | FELL-enz | Him. The billing changed to Tom Fellenz on 14 Sept, so use the full name on air |
| OPEN X | OPEN eks, two words | Steve, who routes them |
| Grass Rug, Michael Anderson, The Crown Vics | As written | Nobody, these are safe |
One thing that is not decided
If Zaal would rather promise nothing about the stream until a test has passed, cut the "watch from anywhere" line from the :60 and the last item of the interview. Everything else stands. The site already says the stream lives at /live, so the line is consistent with the page today.
History, newest first
Sat 19 Sept
- From IMan. ZAOstock is 14 days out. Radio spot on Star 97.7 is today.
- They say the vault now points ZOE at this issue. Her Saturday file (
docs/daily/2026-09-20-tasks.md) still carries none of the desk asks and still says "call Steve Peer, radio silence". Said so. - Two Stripe links, master doc access, eight outreach messages, the radio call on the stream line, #229 review, two photos by Sunday.
- Wrong or stale on its board: 15 days shown, it is 14. "Confirm 5 to 6 artists" open since May, 8 are confirmed. "Contact sound vendors" open, OPEN X runs the PA. "Write artist outreach templates" open, eight messages written 17 Sept. "Build /lineup page" open, shipped 15 Sept (#195). "Per-musician profile pages" open, every act has one (#199). Livestream dry-run undated, ruled this weekend. Sponsors 0 in pipeline: Heart of Ellsworth confirmed (#231), Bangor Savings Bank in progress, Freymon.eth drafted. Volunteers 0: seven named crew. Missing entirely: Stripe links, master doc, #229, Sunday photos, today's radio spot, wristbands, after-party, soundcheck, insurance, housing, the deal memos.
- Sixteen minutes after the first message through ZOE, Zaal's seat rewrote her Saturday file (ZAOOS #3571). It now carries: "Iman's desk, open for Zaal as of 19 Sept: row 7, row 9, the eight outreach messages, the radio call on the stream line, merge ZAOstock #229." Needs Zaal row 12 is done.
Fri 18 Sept
- The desk has carried "radio spot copy for 19 Sept" under still unasked since the 15 Sept call. That is tomorrow and nothing existed, so: drafts/2026-09-18-radio-spot.md.
- It also carries the two lists that matter more than the copy: do not say (no set times, no platform for the stream, no prices or tiers or "tax-deductible" or attendance, nothing "confirmed" beyond the eight names, no rain date) and pronunciation, because radio is the one place a name gets said out loud and nobody has ever asked LyonsDen how his is said.
- Zaal's bot does not read this desk. His Friday file, ZAOOS
docs/daily/2026-09-19-tasks.md, is built from his vault and his own git log. None of the desk asks are on it, and tomorrow's Star 97.7 slot is not on his calendar. It does carry: deal memos to the five verbal confirms day 12 overdue, sponsor email day 21 overdue, "call Steve Peer, radio silence", weekly recap 4:30 PM ET, WaveWarZ Africa Battle Week 22 to 26 Sept. Told him on #8, no questions asked, one call covers it.
On the timeline
- 18 Sept: /live day-of half up as ZAOstock #225; site drift audit found two set times and a closed bounty published on /build, fixed in #226. Stream run sheet rewritten, #227, and the stage manager page, #228: both were cueing five acts, Hurricane and a WaveWarZ block. Zaal merged the checkout wiring (#223) and fixed a prototype-key bug in it (#224). Tracker moved to $75 a Thursday. Evening: radio copy for 19 Sept written; live check bios 6 of 8, photos 4 of 8; desk #6 closed against Zaal's zao-repos; found his bot does not read the desk, told him on #8.