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Most Unique/Eclectic Small-Market Stations?

A

AKDXer

I imagine this has been talked about in the past, so admin/mod, if the two threads need to be merged, feel free to do so. :)

What's some of the more unique or eclectic or unusual small-market stations you know of? I'm thinking of a few:

WLCN/96.3, Atlanta, IL- Country by day, classic rock with the old Cumulus 'Classic Rock Experience' type programming at night, branded "The New Fix 96", jazz Sunday mornings, local sports games.

WJEQ 102.7 "Classic 103"- a small-town classic rock in Macomb, IL: Appears to broadcast in mono, according to Wikipedia affiliated with "Floydian Slip"

Many small-market FMs, commercial and non, in southeast Alaska, broadcast in mono, due to local terrain issues with multi path interference, as do FM translators of AMs. Several small, full-service AMs still play top-40 music.

KSKO in McGrath, Alaska, was a public radio station that literally aired lots of classic rock or urban type programming while being an NPR relay. It was unique. They had a simulcast in Fairbanks which sounded way different than most of the larger-market commercial FMs there.
 
KCHK 1350/95.5 in New Prague, MN (about 45 minutes south of Minneapolis)
They play classic country, oldies and POLKAS!!

Typical day
5-9am news/farm reports/polkas
9-11:25 classic country
11:25-noon Trading post (think craigslist for old people)
12-1 local news/sports/farm reports
1-3 polkas!
3-6 oldies (50s/60s)
6-5am is classic country from satellite (Westwood one....I remember it as dial global)
They also have local high school sports/amateur baseball and carry the MN Twins on the AM signal (normally its simulcast except for Twins and local sports. They are legally 2 different stations KCHK and KCHK-FM)

Fridays they have "live musician Friday" where they bring in local artists to play (mostly polkas but some do country) from 6:30-9:30ish

Saturday is a mix of polkas, classic country etc in the morning then the satellite fed country around noon
Sundays is POLKAS! from 6am to 11pm (minus 3 church services)
 
AKDXer said:
I imagine this has been talked about in the past, so admin/mod, if the two threads need to be merged, feel free to do so. :)

What's some of the more unique or eclectic or unusual small-market stations you know of? I'm thinking of a few:

WLCN/96.3, Atlanta, IL- Country by day, classic rock with the old Cumulus 'Classic Rock Experience' type programming at night, branded "The New Fix 96", jazz Sunday mornings, local sports games.

WJEQ 102.7 "Classic 103"- a small-town classic rock in Macomb, IL: Appears to broadcast in mono, according to Wikipedia affiliated with "Floydian Slip"

Many small-market FMs, commercial and non, in southeast Alaska, broadcast in mono, due to local terrain issues with multi path interference, as do FM translators of AMs. Several small, full-service AMs still play top-40 music.

KSKO in McGrath, Alaska, was a public radio station that literally aired lots of classic rock or urban type programming while being an NPR relay. It was unique. They had a simulcast in Fairbanks which sounded way different than most of the larger-market commercial FMs there.
Click to expand...

Hi, KSKO PD here :) We do almost entirely country or oldies during our 8-9 and 12noon to 4pm local DJ shows. Nights, we carry some NPR news shows, but we also carry several NPR music shows and spread out amongst the week/weekend night or overnights, we play rock, jazz, hit music and others locally automated. We have a few volunteers who play what they like, one in particular plays alternative rock type stuff on Saturday night.
 
KHUM 104.7 - a Triple A outlet that has moved from more classic based to indie/folk to a broad mix of adult alternative, Americana and soul. 100 percent DJ selected.

KSLG 93.1/94.5 - an indie rock/"new sounds" station, always playing a lot of new alt music and breaking new artists.

KWPT 100.3/102.7 - a deep classic hits mix that goes beyond standard classic rock and pop to include vintage soul, new wave and more, with clever features.

KLGE 94.1 - loosely defined as adult standards, but a very deep playlist of standards, jazz, and "lounge" music.

All of the above stations are owned by Lost Coast Communications and serve Humboldt County, California.

KMMT - new music heavy modern and alternative from Mammoth Lakes, CA

KOZT "The Coast" in Fort Bragg is described as "AAA" but deeply rooted in classic album rock. Features Dred Scott, formerly of KFOG and KITS in mornings.

KPIG in the Santa Cruz market broadcasts a broad mix of alt country, folk, comedy and rock at 107 "oink" 5.

95.3 "the Beach" in SLO has an adult hits format that last I listened, had a great classic alternative and hit triple a component, but it doesn't stream out of region so I'm not sure of the current mix.

99.3 KVYN - "the vine" in Napa has always been interesting, and seems to have found a niche as a hot ac/triple a hybrid.

KRSH Santa Rosa - "the Krush" plays a unique variation on AAA based in Americana.

There's also Ted Tucker's deep classic rock station - KCDX, which has often been discussed on these boards.

fans of deep album rock and the classics might also enjoy "the goat" from st cloud, Minnesota - WXYG.

one of my personal favorites - and most eclectic of all the commercial stations in the USA would be KRKQ in Telluride, CO. They broadcast a format called "mountain chill" which incorporates ambient, downtempo, and jazz among many hard to define sounds.

WEQX Manchester, VT - a heritage new music focus alternative station with well done features and a passionate staff. broadcasting from a Victorian home in Manchester to the Capital Region and beyond. my favorite commercial "alt/modern" station in America.

Noncomms are by nature more electic but a couple of note:

KXLL - "excellent radio" in Juneau, AK - a quirky mix of indie rock, pop, and oldies.

KAXE - Grand Rapids, Minnesota - well produced mix of NPR flagship shows with local DJ music and great local color features and interviews.

WXGR (LP) - dover, nh - a worldbeat/chill/eclectic format. mood music and quite unique.

KXRN Laguna Beach - modern and indie music with local specialty shows. probably one of the best branded and promoted LPFM stations I've heard. professional and hyper local while still offering a different musical mix to commercial outlets.
 
No list of eclectic commercial radio stations is complete without WLJA:

WLJA / Ellijay, GA: Bluegrass gospel music, with a big signal in northern Georgia. Also airs local news, worship services, and Atlanta Braves baseball.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
Hi, KSKO PD here :) We do almost entirely country or oldies during our 8-9 and 12noon to 4pm local DJ shows. Nights, we carry some NPR news shows, but we also carry several NPR music shows and spread out amongst the week/weekend night or overnights, we play rock, jazz, hit music and others locally automated. We have a few volunteers who play what they like, one in particular plays alternative rock type stuff on Saturday night.
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This is typical NPR/Public radio fare. I think the question should be directed towards commercial small market stations who don't follow a strict playlist or format, but still do well with listeners and revenue?
 
WAAZ crestview FL (Pensacola) Trading post, Atlanta braves Baseball. Classic Country from the 50's thru the 90s (maybe early or later). No Stereo pilot (but RDS promoting their programs. They did sign off at 11PM weeknights and around 10 on Sundays.
 
Groove1670 said:
This is typical NPR/Public radio fare. I think the question should be directed towards commercial small market stations who don't follow a strict playlist or format, but still do well with listeners and revenue?
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No, actually its not. We operate more as a community radio station then NPR. Most "NPR" stations do all news/talk by day or offer a more NPR like music format.. jazz, classical or some such.
 
If you're looking for even more eclectic styled radio stations, look no further than your LPFM broadcasters. We do a little bit of everything and it works well for many of us. Fixing to start my fifth year of broadcasting next February. This unique mix of CCM, SG styled tunes and three local Preachers thing is still working great for me. :)​

Dan <><

And...I also play songs that none of the big boys will touch. A good bit of my playlist now consists of mainly local and independent styled musicians. These performers fit very well on here. I like the way they present themselves. They tend to create a sound, lick and groove that doesn't conform to the latest musical trends that's in place now. These people are a breath of fresh air and appeal to me in a big way. Who knew that the locals and independents would have such great talent, as well. Glad I can play those people and have success with their presentation too. :)​
 
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KKRB Klamath Falls OR (106.9 FM) - Adult Contemporary station with a gargantuan playlist and lots of rarities you'll never hear on any large-market AC station. Just in the past hour or so they played John Cafferty 'On the Dark Side,' Gino Vannelli 'I Just Wanna Stop,' 'Radiate' by Jack Johnson and Elton John's 'The Heart of Every Girl.' If I could list all the rarities this station plays, it would take 15 or 20 posts...

KOZI Chelan WA (93.5 FM) - Another nice Adult Contemporary station, with a lot of small-town flavor. Morning show has interviews with community leaders and business owners. 2nd Cup of Coffee, airing from 8:45-10:15a M-Sat, is a tradio/open-line program. The music mix is surprisingly good for an adult contemporary station. George Benson, rarities from Gloria Estefan and Steve Winwood, Cameo, 98 Degrees...a surprising amount of '70s music for an AC in this day and age as well.

KLAN Glasgow MT (93.5 FM) - 'Hot AC' with a massive variety for the format style. I have heard rare Rick Springfield ('Celebrate Youth' for example), rare Madonna, Tesla, Winger, even 'Get Together' by The Youngbloods all mixed with mid to late 2010s and new 2020 pop songs. This is a small isolated and conservative town with 3,000 people and a few hundred more scattered in Hinsdale, Malta, etc. mostly farmers and church folks...extremely wide for that area.

Stations who have flipped but I enjoyed the previous format...

KSRW Independence CA (92.5 FM) - Currently Alternative, previously one of the best FM stations I ever heard. It's a shame that the stream was 16kbps mono quality. This station, known as the Sierra Wave, used to have a massive mix of soft rock, gulf & western rock, yacht rock, AAA-type stuff, and some smooth jazz and vocals mixed in. In one hour's span you could hear Natalie Cole, a rare Donald Fagen cut, Annie Lennox, Marvin Gaye, a B-side from Kenny Loggins, Jackson Browne (rare stuff like 'Tender is the Night' got played), Celine Dion, Seal, Bonnie Raitt (I heard several songs from her 2012 album in my airchecks...Split Decision and Marriage Made in Hollywood were a couple), Shawn Colvin (Climb On, Steady On), Jimmy Buffett, Al Jarreau (songs like 'So Good' and the Moonlighting theme) and a smooth jazz song or two...often used as a filler instrumental that would cut off at the TOH news. Adele, Lady Gaga and Rihanna did not exist on this station at all. I am glad I taped about three dozen airchecks from them before they flipped to Alternative in September 2015. The morning show was oldies and classic rock with the late Bob Todd. They had a jazz show on Saturdays, four hours of Spanish programming on Sundays, and long-form news at noon and 5pm along with a buy & sell show and a trivia segment weekday mornings. Prime example of small-town radio with a California feel.

*Seriously, does any FM station left in this country have a format similar to this? Or were they just 'too' unique? I'd love to find a replacement if it's not just my personal Spotify playlists...*

WIMI Ironwood MI (99.7 FM) - Currently satellite-fed classic rock, The Storm. But previously it was a HUGE jukebox of Adult Hits, same branding. They had a '90s at Nine' segment that I enjoyed. Like KSRW the stream was also sadly 16-24kbps mono. Examples of songs...Poco's 'Midnight Rain', Anita Baker 'Giving You the Best That I Got,' One eskimO's 'Amazing,' ABC's 'Poison Arrow,' Shawn Mullins' 'Lullaby', Prince's 'I Hate U' and Paula Cole's 'Where Have All the Cowboys Gone'. They even played some new country music here and there. This is a small town of 5,300 but also serves the Chequamegon Bay area, Ashland and Red Cliff WI, etc, and has a decent signal into Duluth MN.

(A good example of a wide-playlist adult hits station now would be KYOY 92.3 in Hillsdale/Cheyenne WY. Huge playlist of songs, way more than any Bob or Jack FM. They are the only locally-owned station left in Cheyenne BTW.)
 
Speaking of KOZI - I always enjoyed the Triple A station owned by the same company, KOHO 101.1. They dropped triple a for a time and then it seems moved back towards a triple a/hot ac hybrid similar to KVYN.
 
They were Adult Contemporary or Hot AC for a while and then they went back to AAA and some newer pop.
More proof of KOZI's 'local flavor'...on Christmas Eve they ran a radio play of A Christmas Carol! Try getting any FM station in a large market to do that now. Forget it. Then they had a day and a half of all-Christmas music...just about every song was traditional and religious, however. O Holy Night, Angels We Have Heard on High, What Child is This with many covers and artists, some instrumental. Last year they did the same thing, and both times they would ID here and there with 'celebrating 50 years of community radio, KOZI AM and FM Chelan' or something like that. KOZI-AM went on the air in 1957 and is now news/talk and was not // to the FM. This means they were running a tape or minidisc from at least 13 years ago!
 
crainbebo said:
WIMI Ironwood MI (99.7 FM) - Currently satellite-fed classic rock, The Storm. But previously it was a HUGE jukebox of Adult Hits, same branding. They had a '90s at Nine' segment that I enjoyed. Like KSRW the stream was also sadly 16-24kbps mono. Examples of songs...Poco's 'Midnight Rain', Anita Baker 'Giving You the Best That I Got,' One eskimO's 'Amazing,' ABC's 'Poison Arrow,' Shawn Mullins' 'Lullaby', Prince's 'I Hate U' and Paula Cole's 'Where Have All the Cowboys Gone'. They even played some new country music here and there. This is a small town of 5,300 but also serves the Chequamegon Bay area, Ashland and Red Cliff WI, etc, and has a decent signal into Duluth MN.
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As someone who lived in Duluth the signal doesn't really make it there. And if it does its in a few spots up on the hill. Due to inter-modulation in Duluth "out of area" signals are hard to pick up until you get either up on the hill (higher elevation) or out of town.
 
unclehonkey said:
As someone who lived in Duluth the signal doesn't really make it there. And if it does its in a few spots up on the hill. Due to inter-modulation in Duluth "out of area" signals are hard to pick up until you get either up on the hill (higher elevation) or out of town.
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Yeah, not even the 50 dbu hits Douglas County which is the easternmost part of the Duluth market... and for in-home or at-work listening, it takes about a 65 dbu signal to get diarykeepers. And it comes nowhere near either Duluth or Superior proper. Their 60 dbu covers less than 50,000 persons, nearly half in the UP.
 
OK. I know VCY tried to put a translator on 99.7 in Duluth, and once it went on there were a bunch of complaints of interference, so VCY moved the translator to 97.7...
 
crainbebo said:
OK. I know VCY tried to put a translator on 99.7 in Duluth, and once it went on there were a bunch of complaints of interference, so VCY moved the translator to 97.7...
Click to expand...
correct. Because once you got into Wisconsin there were complaints of interference (mostly from Brule and Iron River folks). From a northpine article
WIMI says it received a number of complaints from listeners as far west as Brule and Iron River, WI, stating that they were receiving interference to WIMI's signal

edit: tried to update the pdf with the complaints but file too big. Here is the link

 
KBRD is about as unique as you are going to get. They went non-commercial when the owner passed away. The Bird was the music director. Is is still on the air under the foundation.

KBUX was also a unique station. Here is the old website. They played old tapes, and filed an STA when they went on vacation. Here are a couple of archvied links. Ignore the header. All are different.

KBUX Radio

KBUX Radio, the FM radio voice of Quartzsite, Arizona.
kbuxradio.tripod.com

KBUX Radio

KBUX Radio, the FM radio voice of Quartzsite, Arizona.
kbuxradio.tripod.com

KBUX Radio

KBUX Radio, the FM radio voice of Quartzsite, Arizona.
kbuxradio.tripod.com
 
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Here are a few of my favorite eclectic stations in northern California.

I've included their TuneIn stream url so you can hear them:​


KDRT-LP Davis CA.
Community Block format -- always something different to listen to. Wonderful station - especially if you have wide interests.

KDVS UC Davis , CA.
Freeform college radio. That pretty much describes this endlessly interesting recommendation.

KVCB-LP Vacaville, CA. K-12
Full-disclosure: I'm the radio teacher for this school station. It's all student-produced. Don't be surprised to hear Cold play/Beethoven/Marshmellow/Miles Davis and original music. I'd call that eclectic. All of it is hosted and explaned by the kids on-air. Some of it is produced and performed by their own in-house, "VCS Radio Symphony!"

KZCT Vallejo, CA. This class-A non-com is an eclectic station with more personality than I've ever heard in a community endeavor. Every time I tuned in, it has been an adventure!

KFOK-LP Georgetown, CA. This is a mountain-town tiny community station with surprising variety in its all-volunteer on-air talent.

I hope all the links work.

Ralph
 
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