Pick: WTJU Rock Marathon

Can’t fight this feeling: Connecting through music has always been a comfort in troubled times. This year, WTJU’s Rock Marathon affirms that connection with a transcendent dose of specially curated programming filled with the deep dives, obscure tracks, and whimsy we’ve come to expect from the station over the past 60 years. Tune in to discover […]

Alternative rock: WTJU and UVA Drama collaborate on a wacky new audio drama

Imagine that an enormous, totally round rock has suddenly appeared in Charlottesville. How would people react? Would the rock be considered a threat, a sign from God, or both? Replace Charlottesville with the fictional Elkisbourne, and you’ve got “The Perfectly Circular Rock,” a new podcast produced by WTJU and UVA’s drama department. Early one morning, […]

Uprooting radio: At WTJU’s new home, DJs spin records to break a record

The broadcast to WTJU listeners on the afternoon of Saturday, March 23, began with one DJ announcing to a sea of others, “Here’s Ol’ Blue Eyes, spreading the news that we’re leaving today—Lambeth, that is,” followed by a snippet of Sinatra’s iconic “New York, New York.” It was the first day of operations in its […]

ARTS Pick: Bobby Bones is the face of country radio

One of the most popular syndicated radio shows in America is helmed by Bobby Bones, something that country music fans have known for years. The Arkansas native is funny, honest and unscripted—Bones once got Taylor Swift to offer dating advice to his show’s intern and do a reading from the Titanic movie script. Since 2013, […]

Local radio stations amp up the holiday content

On December 24, 1906, Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first wireless public radio broadcast. It included Christmas songs, stories and, in Fessenden’s words, his own “not very good singing.” Today’s listeners have many—usually very good—derivatives of Fessenden’s holiday work, and here in Charlottesville the programming at local FM radio stations is no exception. “Our perspective is […]

Switching formats: WVAI picks up where WUVA left off

On September 18, WUVA listeners who tuned in to 92.7 FM, the only urban station in Charlottesville, were surprised by the country twang pouring out of their radios. “Obviously, the main reason is economic,” station manager David Mitchell says about WUVA’s sudden transition from one genre to another. Over the past few years, Mitchell says […]