First Listen: Country’s Battle for Seatle Resumes

It was an acknowledged Country “lifegroup market” that supported two successful Country FMs in the ’80s and then, for a moment, three in the ’90s.

So it was surprising how, by the late ’10s, Seattle became one of many once-healthy markets where Country radio had become a war of attrition, with a Wolf (Audacy’s KKWF) and a Bull (Hubbard’s KNUC) splitting a surprisingly small format share.

Then, last year, The Bull left The Wolf alone in the format to become Triple-A KPNW. Unusually, Wolf not only repatriated KNUC’s shares, but quickly garnered a higher share than the two stations combined, and spent much of the last year at No. 1.

But on April 1, KPNW kept its call letters but relaunched “The Bull” with former morning host and syndicated personality Fitz. Hours later, longtime Hot AC KPLZ (Star 101.5) flipped to Classic Country, using Howard Kroeger’s syndicated Hank FM format.

The Seattle flips are reminiscent of Country’s early ’90s boom, when stations launched hastily, attempting to get a jump on another new launch that still took place almost immediately. During those Garth Brooks-driven boom years, new stations generally helped grow Country radio. Can that happen again after a year of evidence to the contrary?

One reason for the previous war of attrition was (as in many markets) that The Bull and The Wolf were focused on the increasingly narrow “New Country” position. In a market that always had strong Country radio, doing Classic or even “Yesterday-and-Today” Country seemed like an obvious hole. Finally, The Wolf began playing some ’90s again. Given the market heritage, Classic Country seems like an obvious fit.

Hank FM returns the 101.5 frequency to Country for the first time since the ’70s. It’s also Kroeger’s second major launch this year, following KEGA Salt Lake City over the holidays. Like Salt Lake City, it plays a few relatively recent titles. Hank FM is jockless. Like Kroeger’s Adult Hits Bob FM format, the stationality comes from sweepers such as “playing the best songs he can find for everybody … except that guy who always wants to talk to him about crypto. Hank-FM.”

Here’s Hank-FM at 5 p.m., April 3:

• Randy Travis, “Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart”
• Patty Loveless, “I’m That Kind of Girl”
• Michael Ray, “Whiskey and Rain”
• Blake Shelton, “Some Beach” 
• Eddie Rabbitt, “Drivin’ My Life Away” — with a “Hank’s Music Vault” stager
• David Ball, “Thinkin’ Problem”
• Toby Keith, “How Do You Like Me Now?!”
• Brad Paisley f/Alabama, “Old Alabama”
• Brooks & Dunn, “My Next Broken Heart”
• George Strait, “The Chair” — also with a stager: “from back when you could actually hang up a phone”
• Terri Clark, “I Wanna Do It All”
• Tim McGraw, “Don’t Take the Girl”
• Alan Jackson, “Country Boy”
• Zac Brown Band, “Homegrown”

The Bull’s :00 ID announces “Country for the PNW: We back!” Instead of conventional sweepers, it has a series of drops from Fitz that are cadenced to sound more like jock breaks than imaging, including several for currents. One declares, “Country music is back for the PNW and that’s all that matters.” The station already has artist appearances lined up, starting April 20 with Kameron Marlowe and Tucker Wetmore.

Here’s the Bull at 5 p.m., April 3:

• Kenny Chesney, “Take Her Home”
• Russell Dickerson, “Blue Tacoma”
• Morgan Wallen, “Thinkin’ ’Bout Me”
• Florida Georgia Line, “Cruise”
• Nate Smith, “Whiskey on You”
• Zac Brown Band, “Same Boat”
• Thomas Rhett f/Morgan Wallen, “Mamaw’s House”
• Bailey Zimmerman, “Religiously”
• Jon Pardi, “Dirt on My Boots”
• Parker McCollum, “Burn It Down”
• Dylan Scott, “Can’t Have Mine (Find You a Girl)
• Thomas Rhett, “What’s Your Country Song”
• Tyler Hubbard, “5 Foot 9”
• Chris Young & Kane Brown, “Famous Friends”
• Hardy, “Truck Bed”
• Luke Bryan, “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)”
• Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor”
• Luke Combs, “When It Rains It Pours”
• Jason Aldean, “When She Says Baby”

As for the Wolf, it still sounds like the successful Country station I’ve been writing about for most of the last year. P.m. driver Heather was promoting an April 30 show by a yet-unannounced artist called The Big Reveal. One of the things that stands out about the station is its use of patriotic imagery in not just the :00 ID but also in a sweeper saluting the installation JBLM (Joint Base Lewis-McChord) near Tacoma.  

Here’s the Wolf at 5 p.m., April 3:

• Bryan Martin, “We Ride”
• Luke Bryan, “Drink a Beer”
• Scotty McCreery, “Cab in a Solo”
• Kenny Chesney, “She’s Got It All”
• Old Dominion, “I Was on a Boat That Day”
• Jake Owen, “Made for You”
• Lainey Wilson, “Wildflowers and Wild Horses”
• Bailey Zimmerman, “Fall in Love”
• Tim McGraw, “Where the Green Grass Grows”
• Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor”
• Thomas Rhett, “Die a Happy Man”
• Luke Combs, “Fast Car”
• Megan Moroney, “I’m Not Pretty”
• Nate Smith, “Whiskey on You”