For the last year or so, I’ve thought that a Country station could play Noah Kahan if they wanted to. Kahan had two bluegrass-flavored hits with the lyrical confessionalism that already fits in next to “I Am Not Okay” on pop radio. But Country radio didn’t need pop crossover as much as CHR needed to look outside its walls for product. Country already had strong ratings, especially for a current based format, in most markets.
For several weeks, WBWL (The Bull) Boston has been playing not just Kahan’s hits, but also the similarly folky “Stargazing” by Myles Smith, “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims, “Broadway Girls” by Lil’ Durk & Morgan Wallen, and Hozier’s “Too Sweet.” According to Mediabase, The Bull is also playing older comparable titles such as Elle King’s “Exes and Oh’s,” Mumford & Sons’ “I Will Wait,” Nelly & Tim McGraw’s “Over and Over,” and even Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.”
The Bull is positioning itself as “Boston’s Hit Country.” One sweeper says, “you told us you wanted something different.” Others tout “a playlist perfectly created for Boston” and “a tailgate vibe seven days a week.” There’s also a promise of “more of what you’re listening to and less of the Country your parents like.” Both The Bull and rival WKLB (Country 102.5) go back for a handful of late ‘90s/early ‘00s anthems, but the Bull’s various music mix choices all seem to be leaning noticeably into streaming-era Country.
There are several different histories at work here, some of them going back well before your parents’ generation of Country. Boston was one of those Northeast markets once thought to be unfriendly to Country, unless there were crossovers involved. In the ’70s, stations like WHN New York and WMZQ Washington, D.C., prompted Country radio to play more of the Eagles/Linda Ronstadt/Bob Seger titles not-yet-recognized-as-Country. By the ’80s, it was mostly struggling “non-Country market” stations like WBOS Boston that felt the need to include pop.
A decade ago, after Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” and similar titles had shaken up the format landscape, a handful of Cumulus stations, including both New York and Dallas, experimented with pop titles, including Taylor Swift’s pop-only hits. By that time, it seemed like Boston liked Country on its own terms, with WKLB doing well enough to prompt the Bull’s launch that year. Now, in the January PPM ratings, WKLB has a 3.2 share and The Bull has a 1.4. But it’s hard to know if that means Boston likes Country less these days, or if Country is just too fragmented.
In a way, the Bull is also updating the strategy that iHeart used a decade ago on its younger-imaged “Big” Country outlets in markets like Chicago (now gone) and Pittsburgh (still there). The launch of those stations prompted many other Country outlets, including incumbents, to lock down the “New Country” image. (WKLB is “Today’s Hottest New Country.”) The new Bull seems to be updating that strategy for a less-siloed era. It might also be moving to flank Hot AC WWBX (Mix 104.1), which has its own history with crossing over Country titles.
(Update: This story was originally published March 13, hours ahead of the release of Chappell Roan’s foray into Country, “The Giver.” For the first week or so, The Bull didn’t play Roan, leaving the song instead to Top 40 sister WXKS (Kiss 108). But “The Giver” is now playing 21x a week on WBWL.)
When heard this week, a lot of both the jock content and the imaging was focused on both the new music lean, or encouraging listener feedback on the iHeart Radio app. MD/middayer Amanda Jo also did a break on the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day parade in which she encouraged listeners to “have fun, but don’t be a heathen.” Here’s the Bull at 1 p.m.
- Kane Brown & Marshmello, “Miles on It”
- Shaboozey, “Good News”
- Nate Smith, “Bulletproof”
- Hozier, “Too Sweet”—a cold segue from the previous song
- Ingrid Andress w/Sam Hunt, “Wishful Drinking”—a streaming driven success story that went back into rotation last week
- Koe Wetzel & Jessie Murph, “High Road”
- Kenny Chesney & Uncle Kracker, “When the Sun Goes Down”
- Thomas Rhett, “After All The Bars are Closed”
- Dasha, “Austin”
- Post Malone f/Luke Combs, “Guy For That”
- Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor”
- Morgan Wallen f/Ernest, “Cowgirls”
- Florida Georgia Line, “This Is How We Roll”
- Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
- Dustin Lynch, “Ridin’ Roads”
Here’s a recent listen as well to WKLB just before 4 p.m., February 28 with p.m. driver Ben:
- Keith Urban, “Somebody Like You”
- Brett Young, “Lady”
- Nate Smith, “World on Fire”
- Chris Stapleton, “Think I’m In Love with You”
- Parker McCollum, “Handle on You”
- Jordan Davis, “I Ain’t Sayin’”
- Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”
- Chayce Beckham, “23”
- Bebe Rexha f/Florida Georgia Line, “Meant to Be”
- Tyler Hubbard, “Park”
- Dan + Shay, “Bigger Houses”
- Luke Combs, “She Got the Best of Me”
- Post Malone f/Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help”
- Kane Brown f/Lauren Alaina, “What Ifs”
