Kevin Cole, a revered DJ at KEXP, stars in the new documentary “Radioheart” at the Seattle International Film Festival. #K5Evening
SEATTLE — For nearly five decades, Kevin Cole has been telling people what to listen to next. Now, someone is finally telling his story.
Cole, the longtime afternoon drive host at listener-supported KEXP 90.3 FM, is the subject of a new documentary called “Radioheart,” screening this week at the Seattle International Film Festival. The film explores Cole’s life in music and the healing power of sound.
“It’s about loving music and the power of music to enrich our lives, to make our lives better — but also the power of music to heal, to provide comfort and provide solace when we need that,” Cole said.
The documentary traces Cole’s journey from the Minneapolis club scene, where he first built a reputation as a tastemaker, to Seattle, where he helped transform a modest college radio station into a globally recognized music brand. Cole originally relocated to the Pacific Northwest for a job at Amazon before finding his way to what is now KEXP, a radio station when media consultants of the era had all but written off the format.
“Media consultants were talking about the death of radio,” Cole said. “Radio is dead. And we proved them wrong.”
Among Cole’s most prized possessions is an acetate of the Prince track “Irresistible Bitch,” a gift from the late musician himself.
“Prince gave me this in the ’80s when I was DJing at First Avenue,” Cole said.
The documentary originated as something far more modest. When Cole announced he was stepping down from his daily hosting duties, longtime friend and filmmaker Peter Hilgendorf set out to make a short retirement video. The stories that emerged changed the scope of the project entirely.
“It’s not about being a DJ,” Hilgendorf said. “It’s about being a human and about caring and loving what you do, no matter what it is that you do.”
The film does not shy away from more difficult chapters. Cole has spoken openly about personal struggles that later informed his work on KEXP’s “Music Heals” series, an ongoing project exploring the relationship between music and mental health.
“Just frequencies in themselves are healing,” Cole said. “Certain frequencies.”
Cole’s influence extends well beyond Seattle. Colleagues in the documentary describe him as someone who opened the music community to a global audience at a time when radio gatekeepers rarely looked beyond commercial playlists.
“Radioheart” screens as part of the Seattle International Film Festival. The Friday screening has sold out, but tickets may still be available for the Sunday showing at SIFF Cinema Uptown.
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