After 30 years, the alt-rock reign of 102.1 FM, WLUM, has officially ended.
The radio station switched over to a contemporary Christian worship music format on Oct. 28. The change was set in motion when Milwaukee Radio Alliance announced plans in August to sell the station, along with 93.9 FM, WLDB, to Christian music network K-Love.
WLUM responded to the sale with theme days in September, including “No Red Hot Chili Peppers Day” and “Only Red Hot Chili Peppers Day.” On Sept. 29, remaining and former staff posed with Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley as he proclaimed “102.1 FM Day.”
The staff’s mood that day, though somber, was buoyed by defiance with a shot of nostalgia. DJ Ryan Miller and longtime morning host Jon Adler reminisced about guests like Norm Macdonald and Vampire Weekend. Both noted 102.1’s spotlighting of emerging acts at their annual Snow Show.
“This station has always been about us being ourselves,” says former VP Michelle Rutkowski. She’s counting on stations like WMSE and WYMS to “take up the alternative music mantle in Milwaukee. We carved too much of a lane here for it to go abandoned.”
