WYXRby Sheena Barnett | photo by Jamie HarmoncommunityNew Crosstown Radio StationProvides Tunes, ConnectionsTo hear what Memphissounds like, tune in to 91.7 FMWYXR.The latest station to hit thelocal airwaves features musicof all genres and voices frommany backgrounds, all in anattempt to bring Memphistogether - musically.“We really wanted genres ofmusic that have beenunderrepresented and peopleand communities that havebeen underrepresented onradio to have a voice,” saidWYXR Executive DirectorRobby Grant. “We also feel likethere is some communitynews, community talk that justdoesn’t have a place on thedial, so we wanted to have aplace for that.”WYXR is a collaborationbetween the University ofMemphis, The Daily Memphianand the Crosstown Concourse- which serves as the station’shome base. The station plays awide variety of artists andgenres, all hand-picked by theMemphians who serve asvolunteer programmers. Thestation’s taglines are “Raisedby Sound” and “Memphis is ourformat,” and that’s evident inthe tunes and shows.Shows include We Belong,which features LGBT-inclusivemusic of all genres (Sundaysfrom 4 to 5 p.m.); Sounds ofAfrica, which showcases thediverse sounds of West Africa;Ring the Alarm, a Caribbeanmusic themed show; DeadWax, a Memphis music historytour; Finders, Keepers, whichshines the spotlight on obscureartists; and Riffin’ on Jazz, acelebration of all kinds of jazz.See the full schedule at https://wyxr.org/schedule/Grant and Program ManagerJared Boyd have worked tofind a diverse group ofprogrammers and DJs who canshowcase not only the best ofProgram Manager Jared Boyd, Operations Coordinator ShelbyMcCall and Executive Director Robby Grant have been workingon WYXR for about a year, and the station officially beganbroadcasting in early October.each genre, but highlight thedeep cuts, too.“What’s cool about thestation is that even if you’refamiliar with certain genres,like soul or funk or rock, you’rehearing one level or two levelsdeeper than in a lot of casesyou would,” Grant said.“Somebody on Twitter said,‘I’ve heard so many songs I likethat I’ve never heard before,’and that’s what we’re trying togo for.”Even Grant and Boyd arebeing introduced to new tunesthrough the station.On a recent episode ofReachin’ Out, DJ Daniel Mathisplayed two hours’ worth ofobscure disco songs from the70s and 80s.“It was just incredible,” Grantsaid. “I’d never heard one ofthose songs before, and I listento a lot of music.”WYXR’s headquartersfeatures everything fromturntables to cassette playersto CD players, plus controllerhookups, so DJs can truly playany music, no matter theformat.“We didn’t want to limitpeople to a certain medium,because we wanted to hear asmany voices as possible,”Grant said.The station can play anystyle of music because it iscommercial-free.“Because we’re noncommercial,we’re not asbeholden to ratings. We’re nottrying to narrow cast our entirestation for a specificdemographic or format. We’retrying to keep it open, so beinglistener-supported helps us dothat,” he said. Donations to thestation can be made on theWYXR website at wyxr.org.The website also featuresthe station’s schedule, as wellas two weeks’ worth ofarchived shows.WYXR will feature evenmore voices next year, as thestation will host a secondstream that’s more focused onthe University of Memphis andits student DJs. So far, though,the station is rocking androlling – and Grant couldn’t behappier.“Our idea is that we createthis microcosm of Memphiswith the station and peopleinteracting, and then peoplelistening to the different showsare staying a little bit longer tolisten to the show after that orcoming back the next daybecause they liked what theyheard the day before,” he said.“They’re hearing differentgenres of music and voicesthey haven’t heard before, andpeople are opening up andexpanding their horizons a bit.”Page 34 / focusmidsouth.com / NOV+DEC 2020 / GO!
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