KZPS was a Clear Channel Classic Rock station for years. They just tweaked the format and rebranded it as Lone Star 92.5. The music is a mix of guitar-based classic rock (Eagles, Marshall Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Miller, Eric Clapton, Bad Company), classic country with a rock flair (Willie Nelson, Bellamy Brothers, Hank Williams Jr.), Alt-Country/Americana music (Ryan Adams, Old 97's, Son Volt, Golden Smog, Wilco, Drive-By Truckers), 80's/90's guitar rock (Black Crowes, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tom Petty, John Mellencamp), and many one-hit and very obscure bands for northerners like myself. While they have core artists that they play regularly, they seem to go very deep into the catalogs of these artists - album tracks, obscure hits and semi-hits, and of course the smashes.
This isn't even close to anything we have on the radio in Boston. It's so refreshing. I don't know all of the songs (a rarity for me), but I keep finding myself checking out what they are playing as I go about my day, having their Internet stream minimized in my toolbar. Plus, their audio quality is excellent for an Internet broadcast.
They put this format on the HD-2 channel last year, and just this week they decided to "promote" the HD-2 channel to the main channel that everyone throughout Dallas can hear, while parking the Classic Rock format on their HD-2 (that far fewer people in Dallas can hear).
Willie Nelson provides the imaging and station voice between every few records. For now, there are no live DJ's, and their commercial sponsorships are done very tastefully, with sponsors being identified between records, NPR-style (Lone Star 92.5, this hour of Lone Star music brought to you by Coors Light)
The did such a great job with creating a mood where all of the music matches. No peaks and valleys. Listening to it, the music fits together remarkably well. In today's world of rigid boxes for music formats, it's nice to find some smart programmers willing to take a risk, take elements of music from very different categories, and mix them up in a brand new box to create a new format of music. In this world of "Mike / Bob / Jack FM's" of "we play anything," laziness, this format took some time to develop and many risks for a radio market the size of Dallas. Last I checked, it was market #5 or 6, and flipping a format in a market that size can be a financially gut-wrenching decision.
Radio takes its lumps and punches in the media, especially with the Don Imus story recently. But, glimpses of creativity and relevance should be rewarded. This station is creative, fresh, and a great listen. I have had it on all day today and yesterday.
4 comments:
I agree. I saw it on Colbert the other night and tuned it in online. I can't stop listening. I've gone from constantly surfing to different streams to just leaving it on one, and i've never done that before. even some of the songs and artists i've never heard fit so well, that I'm actually listening to them and being exposed to new (and good) music. i haven't heard anything new and good on the radio in years. i wish we had this here in town.
Jason,
Thanks for dropping by my blog and my post about Lone Star 92.5. As you might have seen in the comments, the reviews are quite mixed here in Dallas.
Great Radio, Finally!!!!!!!!!!
Keep it Going!
Bo & Jim SUPER AS ALWAYS!
you guys are giving 95.3 a run for their money. don't forget play some todd snider he's right up yall's ally!
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