2016
A broadcast platform
Around-the-clock radio, 11 locally produced weekly shows and programming distributed across radio, television and digital platforms.
About Freethinkers Radio
Built on music.
Grown through production.
Concerts, festivals, campus traditions and the events that bring people together.
Our Story
It started with
a place to be heard.
Freethinkers Radio began with music. While working on a compilation album, founder David Pendergrass had an idea: build a radio show that could introduce people to the artists and play their music between conversations.
By 2016, that idea had become a 24/7 internet radio station, with 11 locally produced weekly shows and syndicated programs from around the world. Rooted in Christian Urban and Christian Rap, the network brought music, conversation and community into the same space. The Freethinkers Radio Show reached audiences through FM radio, television, Facebook Live, YouTube and podcast platforms.
Producing those shows meant doing the work behind the scenes: engineering sound, operating cameras, directing broadcasts and keeping a program moving. When COVID interrupted in-person programming, we put that experience to work helping other organizations stay connected through video, livestreams and hybrid events.
As the work grew, so did the scope. Festival sound and concert lighting led into larger production packages, multicamera coverage, major campus events and ongoing venue support. Today, the same attention we brought to a live broadcast goes into every stage, screen and sound system we put to work.
Freethinkers Radio today
Freethinkers Radio LLC is an audiovisual production company based in Columbia, South Carolina. We provide sound, lighting, staging, video and technical crews for large concerts and festivals, college homecomings and commencements, conferences, galas, worship services and community events.
Our work can bring together front-of-house and monitor engineering, wireless microphones and in-ear monitors, stage and room lighting, mobile and modular stages, video screens, multicamera recording and livestreaming. We handle setup, show operation and teardown, with the production built around the event, the venue and the people on stage.
We work with artists, promoters, colleges, conference venues, houses of worship, nonprofits and public agencies. That range includes a live band on a festival stage, a stadium ceremony, a ballroom program and a broadcast reaching people beyond the room. Political debates and town halls are part of that work, alongside the music, celebrations and major events that keep our crews moving.
How the work grew
More stages. More ways to connect.
2020–2021
Beyond the studio
Digital-event work for the City of Columbia, sound and livestreaming for the Juneteenth Freedom Festival, audio and lighting for 7Sunday, and a multi-day video production crew for the Clyburn Foundation.
2024
Production at stadium scale
Benedict College commencement brought together a 40-by-24-foot main stage, line-array sound, lighting, video support and a crew to build and operate the production.
Today
A broader production operation
Concert and festival production, recurring venue and worship support, mobile stages, custom runway configurations and lighting for campus celebrations.
Who we work with
Music, education and community.
Artists & Live Music
Audio and lighting work for 7Sunday, whose live shows bring musicians and audiences together, along with production services for artists and event promoters.
Festivals & Cultural Events
Festival sound and livestreaming for the Juneteenth Freedom Festival, plus event support for arts organizations including the Auntie Karen Foundation.
Colleges & Universities
Work across Benedict College departments includes commencement production, homecoming stages, fashion-show runways, coronation lighting and campus AV support.
Venues & Conferences
Ongoing AV service and technical staffing at Brookland Banquet & Conference Center, a venue for meetings, conferences, banquets and celebrations.
Houses of Worship
Ongoing audio and video support for First Nazareth Baptist Church, with technicians who understand the flow of a live service.
Public Service & Nonprofits
Projects for the City of Columbia Office of Business Opportunities, Columbia Housing Authority and the Clyburn Foundation connect our production work with business development, community programs and fundraising.
Production • Training • Opportunity
Build the event.
Develop the next crew.
Freethinkers Radio LLC delivers audiovisual production and develops professional training through Freethinkers Radio Academy. Freethinkers Radio Network is our separate nonprofit organization, focused on media, civic engagement and community connection.