Ahead of its relaunch under the Crosstown Radio Partnership of the University of Memphis, The Daily Memphian and Crosstown Concourse, 91.7 WYXR Memphis (formerly Jazz WUMR) has made its first staffing appointments.
Robby Grant joins the station as Executive Director. Grant joins WYXR after a career in digital advertising most recently as Vice President of Development and Technology at Archer Malmo. Grant is also a member of many local music groups and recently performed as part of Mellotron Variations on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series.
Jared ‘Jay B’ Boyd, co-host of PRX’s “Beale St. Caravan“, will serve as Program Director at WYXR. Boyd is also a reporter for The Daily Memphian and will work to integrate the station’s mix of music, news and talk.
Former WUMR PD/host Shelby McCall, who currently works at Entercom Memphis, will return to the station as Operations Coordinator.
The station’s programming will be made up of volunteer contributions from regular content producers and special guests to achieve a dynamic freeform format, providing room for a rotating cast of local personalities and facilitating an educational ground for university students. It intends to launch in early Fall, while also launching a second internet only stream focused on University of Memphis student news, sports and music.
Crosstown Radio Partnership was formed last year with the University of Memphis contributing $100,000 per year to the operation and give access to all the university owned station equipment, the Crosstown Crossroads will house the studios and offices and fund initial staffing and operations, while the Daily Memphian will provide newscasts and assist in developing and acquiring of underwriting support for the station.
A new, non-commercial radio partnership, aimed at amplifying the voices of individuals in the Mid-South, is set for launch on 91.7 FM and online in early fall. The station’s call letters, WYXR, symbolize the station’s commitment to community.
WYXR, which stands for “Your Crosstown Radio,” serves as a nod to Crosstown Concourse,
where the station will be producing and airing its daily broadcasts, and to the staff’s intent to put community radio back into the hands of the listener.
The news comes after University of Memphis, The Daily Memphian and Crosstown Concourse announced a partnership to reimagine UofM’s long-running WUMR radio station in November 2019.
WYXR will be led by Executive Director Robby Grant, who first joined the project as a consultant, before being hired to fill the role full-time. Prior to this venture, Grant co-founded an online marketing company before spending more than 15 years in a defining role to shape Archer Malmo’s digital advertising department. Throughout, he’s maintained a visible presence in Memphis’ music scene, performing, recording and touring with several groups, culminating in a recent appearance on NPR’s popular Tiny Desk series as a part of Mellotron Variations.
“I’ve been wanting to help make a change with Memphis radio, specifically community radio, for a long time,” Grant said. “The fact that it has organically become real is exciting. We are going to amplify voices in Memphis and the Mid-South. By taking a freeform approach, we want to begin finding personalities and DJs who have their own tastes and things they’ve grown up loving and sharing with people. A freeform station allows those DJs to turn people onto music, whether it’s the music they’ve loved their whole lives or what they’ve heard this past week.”
Along with Grant, Memphis-based journalist, DJ and host of NPR-syndicated radio program Beale St. Caravan Jared “Jay B.” Boyd will join the partnership as Program Director. Boyd will work to integrate a mix of music, news and talk on the station’s airwaves.
“Aside from the opportunity to be hands-on in cultivating new and emerging broadcast talent in the Mid-South, I’m most gratified by this radio partnership’s potential to truly reach people in the Mid-South area by virtue of being open and welcoming in nature,” Boyd says. “When you walk into Crosstown Concourse, it won’t be hidden. The nuts and bolts of the operation will be showcased behind glass right in the lobby of the Central Atrium. By design, this community-minded radio station will not just broadcast to its audience but live and breathe alongside it.”
Former WUMR staffer Shelby McCall, who currently holds a role at Entercom Memphis, has signed on as WYXR’s operations coordinator. The University of Memphis is also searching for the role of “Instructor – Student Radio.” This position will facilitate student involvement with the station and also program and plan a second University-focused internet stream, on which students will broadcast news, sports and music.
The station’s programming will be made up of volunteer contributions from regular content producers and special guests to achieve a dynamic freeform format, providing room for a rotating cast of local personalities and facilitating an educational ground for university students.
“We want people to rediscover music they love and be able to go deeper into those interests, but also learn about new genres,” Grant says. “At the same time, we want to be a destination for people to find the pulse of what’s going on.”
WYXR’s studio will include a redesigned control room, production room and live audio feed connections from Crosstown Theater and The Green Room at Crosstown Arts, with future plans to simulcast events from University of Memphis’ upcoming new $40 million Scheidt Family Music Center.
