WUAG
Encyclopedia
WUAG is a radio station
broadcasting a Variety
format. Licensed to Greensboro
, North Carolina
, United States
, the station serves the Piedmont Triad area. The station is currently owned by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
.
For 25 years prior to 2007, WUAG was located in the UNCG theater building. After the Brown Building's renovation, WUAG moved there and now has a modern studio and offices. Jack Bonney became general manager in 2003.
but with a philosophy of "willful eclecticism and minimal musical boundaries". During the weekday business hours the station plays a constantly changing rotation of everything from Americana
, punk
, electronica
, reggae
, hip-hop
, rock
, jazz
, local and world music
. During the night hours (7pm-1am) and weekend the station airs specialty shows that focus on a specific genre of music. Since WUAG is primarily student-run it has to adapt each semester to the influx of new DJs who may have more of an interest in one type of music over the other.
In 2010, music director Matt Northrup said WUAG had 85 CDs in "heavy rotation", and 15 to 20 new recordings each week, introduced on Northrup's weekly show on Thursday afternoons. WUAG had 100 student DJs, who were told "Less talk, more rock" (though the musical genres varied) and to play eight cuts per hour from the CDs in rotation.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting a Variety
Variety (radio)
The term variety as a radio format is loosely defined as a format that plays music across numerous genera.Freeform variety is associated with a wide range of programming including talk, sports, and music from a wide spectrum. This format is usually found on smaller, non-commercial...
format. Licensed to Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the station serves the Piedmont Triad area. The station is currently owned by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro , also known as UNC Greensboro, is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, 61 master's and 26...
.
History
Since 1965 this college radio station has been through several changes. The station has changed location and frequency three times. First it was 89.9, then 106.1, then in 1991 was changed to what it is today, 103.1 FM. WUAG currently broadcasts at 18 watts, but that is enough to reach Greensboro.For 25 years prior to 2007, WUAG was located in the UNCG theater building. After the Brown Building's renovation, WUAG moved there and now has a modern studio and offices. Jack Bonney became general manager in 2003.
Programming
The official format of WUAG is ProgressiveProgressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
but with a philosophy of "willful eclecticism and minimal musical boundaries". During the weekday business hours the station plays a constantly changing rotation of everything from Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, local and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
. During the night hours (7pm-1am) and weekend the station airs specialty shows that focus on a specific genre of music. Since WUAG is primarily student-run it has to adapt each semester to the influx of new DJs who may have more of an interest in one type of music over the other.
In 2010, music director Matt Northrup said WUAG had 85 CDs in "heavy rotation", and 15 to 20 new recordings each week, introduced on Northrup's weekly show on Thursday afternoons. WUAG had 100 student DJs, who were told "Less talk, more rock" (though the musical genres varied) and to play eight cuts per hour from the CDs in rotation.