In the fall of 2012, the UT-Austin Board of Regents unanimously voted to purchase a second FM signal to accompany the university’s existing National Public Radio station. The established KUT 90.5 would transition to full-time news programming, while the newly purchased frequency promised to tune listeners into the “Austin Music Experience.”
On January 2, 2013, with an experienced brain trust of DJs including Jay Trachtenberg, Jody Denberg, and the late, great John Aielli, KUTX 98.9 was born to the tune of Willie Nelson’s “Bloody Mary Morning.”
After storming an initial wave of backlash from public radio skeptics, the station quickly wove its way into the hearts and ears of listeners across the metroplex. Transcending its FM frequency, the station now stands as a bona fide multimedia workhorse, churning out videos, live events, and podcasts that shine a spotlight on Austin-area artistry. Today, KUTX shares an impressive 27,000 faithfully devoted members with sister station KUT.
Looking back on KUTX’s first decade of existence, how has the station managed to stay fresh under the umbrella of what some view as a dying medium?
“We had to upend some assumptions,” laughs Matt Reilly, who has held the reins as program director since KUTX’s inception. “We’re public media, and that audience tends to be a little older, a little whiter.”
He continues: “We had these preconceived notions about what we could and couldn’t do – thinking that if we went too far afield, our audience of older white people would freak out on us and stop donating, just to be fully candid. We decided to start becoming a little more experimental by getting a little louder, playing younger music, and playing more hip-hop, soul, and R&B.
“As we did that, we realized that our assumptions were incorrect – because good music is just good music, and our audience loves good music.”
Look to Saturday night staple The Breaks as a prime example of the programming shift described by Reilly. Launched in 2017 as KUTX’s first hip-hop specialty show, hosts Aaron “Fresh” Knight and Confucius Jones spend the first hour of their 10pm-1am slot spinning tracks by local talent, many of which land on KUTX’s official playlist.
“We were playing Deezie Brown, THEBROSFRESH, and BLK ODYSSY before they ended up in regular rotation,” explains Fresh, an Austin native. “We’ve been able to give these artists that we’ve known for years the platform to really be heard and taken seriously – to not be seen as some one-off thing.”
“We’ve been able to give these artists that we’ve known for years the platform to really be heard and taken seriously – to not be seen as some one-off thing.” – The Breaks’ co-host Aaron “Fresh” Knight
“We always knew the talent was here,” adds Jones. “We always compare [Austin] to early Atlanta, when Atlanta knew it had this culture of hip-hop music that was bubbling and just needed that extra push, and the next thing, you know, everybody in Atlanta is doing it.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, because for every Harry Edohoukwa or BLK ODYSSY, there’s 30 other artists that we think are just as good and that we’re still trying to help,” he continues. “The station gives us the tools to do that – we’re trying to change norms in the city.”
The Breaks‘ hip-hop influence extends beyond the DJ booth. In October 2020, the duo launched a self-titled, KUTX-produced podcast that delves into Texas hip-hop news and history. This July, the pair reinstated their popular Summer Jam showcase, which brought local R&B/hip-hop talent like Grace Sorenson, Jedi512, and Jonny Jukebox to a packed Stubb’s crowd. Both hosts describe their events as a space for hip-hop lovers of all races and ages to coalesce.
“The public radio demographic is kind of older and whiter, so it’s cool to see that audience really take to us and become fans of the show,” says Fresh. “Even people who never thought they would like rap – we meet them, and they say, ‘Thank you for introducing me to these artists.'”
Beyond The Breaks, KUTX’s schedule wields an impressive roster of rising talents who have further diversified the station’s sound in recent years. From 11pm to midnight each Friday, Chicago-raised DJ Shani guides listeners on a cosmic journey through soul, jazz, and deep house during The Groove Temple, while Soundfounder host Andrew Brown expertly curates electronic deep cuts at 8pm on Wednesdays. Purists of KUTX’s adult album alternative (or AAA) radio format might hesitate at the station’s experimentation, but listeners hungry to expand their musical palate will appreciate the broadcast’s ever-evolving programming.
“We are kind of an outlier – we share more with the urban alternative noncommercial stations than we do with a lot of our quote-unquote AAA counterparts,” explains Reilly, who cites U2, R.E.M., and the Rolling Stones as a few of the radio format’s defining artists. “A lot of stations have hung on to that, and we obviously still play some of it, but we’ve branched out.”
On top of new talent, KUTX’s more seasoned hosts work hard to keep things fresh. An inaugural KUTX DJ with two decades of public radio experience, afternoon show host Laurie Gallardo stands as one of the station’s most recognized voices. The El Paso native also hosts and produces the Austin Music Minute, which highlights on-the-rise artists and music-related happenings around town. Recent local spotlights from the brief but jam-packed segment include alt-folk duo Little Mazarn, cumbia pop quartet Como Las Movies, and hip-hop outfit Magna Carda.
“We have so much to show off here, in so many genres that will make your brain spin,” enthuses Gallardo. “Now, if you say Austin music, it means so many more things than just, ‘Well, here’s what we grew up with, here’s Threadgill’s.’ That is in the fabric, but the fabric has grown and spread, and it weaves through so many other things.
“The news about that is, a lot of it’s been here this whole time,” she clarifies. “It’s just that KUT and KUTX paid a little more attention to it.”
On top of an increased diversity of genre, the gender makeup of the station’s staff has also changed with the times. At KUTX’s inception, Gallardo, alongside fellow disc jockeys Susan Castle, Trina Quinn, and Audrey Morton, stood as the only women on the station’s roster of disc jockeys. Today, each of the station’s regular daily shows are hosted by women.
Explaining her hopes for KUTX’s next 10 years of existence, Gallardo cites the need for the station to continue to deepen its investment in local musicianship. While the public radio veteran hopes to shift her focus from DJ’ing into a full-time production role, she describes her relationship with KUTX as an unbreakable one.
“I don’t see myself [continuing] as a DJ. I don’t think that is going to be a part of my future,” she reveals. “But to continue playing a role somehow – that’s a true love thing right there. You’ll never shake that from me.
“Let’s keep this going – let’s make it bigger, although not so big that we lose sight of our mission,” she continues. “Let’s just keep things going with local artists, because the talent is just mind-blowing.”
This article appears in September 22 • 2023.