WRVU

Best radio station in Nashville. It’s dying and needs the support of loyal fans

WRVU is the best thing happening on Nashville’s airwaves. It’s one of two stations I listen to, and the only one that allows djs to create interesting playlists. The authenticity that comes across from the djs is what is so compelling and keeps the station firmly on my car’s first setting.
Because of this I’ve been turned onto tons of new music, and have had many «OMG! I can’t believe they’re playing —! Heart times a million, 91.1!» moments.
Today, as I was cruising along 40 under the baking sun, I slowly began to realize they were playing experimental Impulse-​era Coltrane. I have NEVER heard anything from Coltrane’s later career on the radio, let alone here in the South, and it made me so frigging happy. The mood was perfect for my day and the drive and all was right with the world.
And then.
A couple minutes later the dj revealed that the owners of the station have announced that they are «considering» selling the student-​run station. The only station I truly love. My WRVU. Sad face.
Let’s not let this happen.
You can read about, and hopefully make an impact here:

WRVU is one of my favorite FAVORITE things about Nashville. If you’re into eclectic radio this Vanderbilt University based station will help you out. The station has been around for 50 years and has shows in all kind of genres. Check out their schedule on their website, it has all the shows with their times and a description of the type of music you’ll hear. Shows are weekly, either one or two hours long and come in a range of genres.
One thing that is AWESOME about WRVU that not a lot of people realize is that it is a community radio station. This means that it is open to really anyone who has an interest in being a DJ. So your DJs are coming into it from all types of backgrounds, experiences and with all sorts of tastes. Thats not to say just anyone can walk in off the street and be on the radio, everyone has to go through months of training and testing before their able to have their own show.
WRVU also hosts some of the best concerts that come into town and is the place to go to try and win sold out tickets. One sad thing about WRVU is its neglect by the community. Their equipment is quite aged due to improper funding (come on you wealthy independent radio lovers, help these guys out!) and because of that their broadcasts can be scratchy and fuzzy from time to time.
If you’re interested in checking them out you can tune your dial to 91.1, and give em a call if you like what you’re hearing!

Unless I’m listening to a CD, I always have my car stereo dialed in to WRVU, which basically means that it’s my favorite radio station in Nashville, by default. I don’t listen to any particular shows, but my general impression is that WRVU is pretty much hit-​or-​miss. Sometimes I’ll turn it on and be psyched to hear some great music I haven’t heard in a while or have never heard before, while other times I’ll dial in and then listen with growing impatience while the DJs blab for 5 or 10 minutes at a time, and occasionally play a few songs when they run out of things to say. As is to be expected from a college radio station, the level of expertise and professionalism on the part of the DJs ranges greatly.
That said, I also see a lot of benefits to listening to a college station: there are no ads, the music may not always be what I want to hear, but at least it’s educational, and it’s local (I’m kind of a sucker for the idea of listening to radio that’s being broadcast by the citizens of Nashville.) And not all of the DJs are students — from what I understand, anyone who gets a show approved and fulfills the training requirements can have a slot.

If listening to commercial radio drives you crazy and makes you want to kill fellow travellers on the road, then WRVU is a good alternative (no pun intended). They don’t have regular commercials, which drive me insane on other radio stations; the DJs just read out messages from the sponsors, which can be pretty hilarious in itself.
There’s also no rotation! Yay! I HATE, HATE listening to the same five songs over and over again. When you commute a lot and your ipod gets stolen, it’s enough to drive one to drink. The DJs usually have two hour segments and they are all different.
I particularly like Liberadio, an actual liberal show on the radio. Can you imagine? What a singularly original idea. I also like this crazy old country music show that’s on mid-​morning and seems to be on more often during the summer.

I’m a bit tickled that we have the opportunity to review radio stations here on Unilocal.Now, I don’t want to lead anyone astray when it comes to Nashville’s most beloved college radio station, but that’s just it… it’s a college radio station. For every five minutes of genuinely interesting conversation or fresh, talented local artists, you’re probably going to have to sit through twenty minutes of idle banter and utter musical garbage.
There are a few shows that are clearly put on by skilled young DJs who have a chance at going professional. A friend of mine, Janet Timmons, hosts a show on Saturdays called «Out the Other» where she features fantastic local indie rock acts. She’s even played three or four of my band’s tracks on occasion (not that I’m being biased). In addition to Janet’s show, Indie Ghetto isn’t bad, and if you want to hear some bonkers madcap silliness you can check out the adorable Japanese import Hana Hattori and her husband Whitney spinning some bizarre Eastern tracks and playing weird games on «Grumpstown.»
I have friends who host hip-​hop and indie rock shows at WRVU all the time, but, God bless ‘em, most of the time they have no format and just talk about how fantastic their shows are and how people should call in to compliment them. WRVU is almost always fun, very rarely professional and virtually never my first source of new music or news. There are a couple of shows worth listening to regularly; you’ll just have to check out their website to see what they are.

WRVU is not really a place you can visit, but they will take you on a wonderful journey through the land of individual thought and independent music. WRVU is the student run Vanderbilt radio station. This radio station is a breath of fresh air. They have a new program with a real live DJ every hour or every two hours. Some programs are ‘talk,’ some programs are hardcore rock, some programs are indie rock. Can you imagine a world with so little automation?! WRVU is that world. It’s fantastic to listen to. Even if the genre isn’t what I am into listening to, I still enjoy hearing the DJ’s chatter away. Most of the DJs are on the ametuer side, which in my opinion makes listening even more fun, because these are real human beings we are listening to. There are a few veteran DJs who have some of the better ‘drive-​time’ slots. They play some roots country music, and some blues in addition to great local indie artists.
A couple of my favorite shows are: ‘Grumpstown,’ which is a Japanese pop show, ‘The Peguin Parade,’ which is eclectic dance rock, and the ‘Rebel Music’ show, which is reggae and ska. Go to the WRVU website to get their full schedule of shows. The station is broadcast from Vandy, so you can be assured you are hip with what the young kids are listening to.
Since Nashville is Music City, I think this station really does justice to all the different kinds of listeners this city has. WRVU really has an great offering, so when you are in town, tune in to 91.1 fm!