Fresh Listen: Austin’s Texas Country Battle

I am sometimes disdainful when the ads are what give you the “sense of place” of a radio station. But five days ago, I heard something I don’t usually hear on the radio, and it made sense that I heard it on a Central Texas radio station. It was an ad for Dr. Pepper, long considered Texas’ favorite soft drink, and it was on KOKE Austin, whose Texas Country format is expected to go online on June 1, following its sale to Spanish-language operator Norsan Media. 

There was, as it happens, plenty more “sense of place” on KOKE. One sweeper declares it “more Texas than visiting your mama in Gatesville Prison.” Some of it comes just from being the format’s hometown radio station (and bearing the call letters of a previous progressive Country outlet). A lot of p.m. driver Eric Raines’ breaks were about the acts and songwriters themselves, or stories behind the songs that go deeper than an artist sweeper.

I’ve always appreciated KOKE as a “real radio” experience of the sort that’s hard to find these days. Over its 12 years in its current incarnation, KOKE has gotten as high as a 2.8 share, despite being on two fringe signals with a specialty format. When WNSH New York flipped, it took more than two years for WBZO Long Island to return Country to even half of the market. But it didn’t take long for somebody to want the “Texas Country” franchise in Austin.

Last Friday, Audacy flipped KKMJ-HD3 (Hot 95.9) from Throwback Hip-Hop to “95.9 Texas Country,” with a promise to “continue delivering this wildly popular format to listeners on the FM dial.”  The station debuted unhosted but promised that personalities are coming. 

Normally, this would be a fond “Final Listen” to KOKE. But the durability of KRTY San Jose after two years has proven that going online-only is not necessarily the end for a heritage Country brand. So I’m declaring this column to be a Fresh Listen, not a Final Listen to KOKE. We also took a Fresh Listen to the new “95.9 Texas Country.” 

In its first days, the new 95.9 felt like the inverse of KOKE. On the latter, Classic Country is the spice. On the new station, it’s the center lane, punctuated by Texas Country. The on-air target is iHeart’s gold-based KVET, judging from liners that promise “way less commercials … you can hang your hat on that.”

There is, however, imaging that aims to capture KOKE’s attitude. One bleeped liner declares the station “more Texas than chickens*** bingo at Jenny’s Little Longhorn.” Another encourages listeners to “take [the] good news [of the debut] and give it a good ole Texas-size spreadin’.”

KOKE’s attitude also extends to Raine’s breaks on that station. When he teased the upcoming “Drive at 5,” he added “we got really creative when we tried to name that hour.” Here’s KOKE just before 4 p.m. on May 23:

• Stoney LaRue, “Feet Don’t Touch the Ground” — with a shout-out to the Texas country core artist who wrote it, the late Brandon Jenkins
• Jon Stork, “Somebody’s Baby”
• Toby Keith, “Who’s Your Daddy?”
• Warren Zeiders, “Pretty Little Poison”
• Chris Stapleton, “Broken Halos”
• Scotty McCreery, “Cab in a Solo”
• Jacob Stelly, “Sweet Irene” — with a story about the Texas A&M classmate who it was written for, unbeknownst to her
• Charlie Robison, “Sunset Boulevard”
• Shane Smith & Saints, “It’s Been a While”
• Tracy Byrd, “(Don’t Take Her) She’s All I Got”
• Restless Heart, “When She Cries”
• Aaron Watson, “Kiss That Girl Goodbye”
• Mike Ryan, “Dear Country Music”
• Waylon Jennings, “I’ve Always Been Crazy”
• The Chicks, “Long Time Gone”
• Flatland Country, “Don’t Have to Do This Like That”
• Asleep at the Wheel, “Boogie Back to Texas”

Here’s 95.9 Texas Country on May 27 at 3:30 p.m.:

• George Strait, “If You’re Thinking You Want a Stranger”
• Ashley McBride, “Light On in the Kitchen”
• Hank Williams Jr., “Family Tradition”
• Don Williams, “Tulsa Time”
• Waylon Jennings, “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line”
• Reba McEntire, “Is There Life Out There?”
• George Jones, “She’s My Rock”
• Aaron Watson, “Run Wild Horses Run” — I also heard “Kiss That Girl Goodbye” on a separate listen
• Zac Brown Band, “Whatever It Is”
• George Strait, “Fool Hearted Memory”
• Lainey Wilson, “Wildflowers and Wild Horses”
• Cody Johnson, “Diamond in My Pocket”