Thirty years ago this month, on these very same airwaves, musician and blues aficionado Steve Cushing opened up a mic, fired up a turntable and started the radio program Blues Before Sunrise. Since then, Cushing has wowed and mesmerized listeners around the country and around the world with his music, his stories and his interviews. Some of the best conversations from the last three decades have been transcribed and are now part of the book Blues Before Sunrise: The Radio Interviews. Richard Steele talks to Cushing, who said that he was able to get these interviews because of his reputation for making his subjects sound so good.

Steve Cushing will be at Printer’s Row Lit Fest this weekend.