Friends of KEXP AAA 90.3 KEXP-FM Seattle has announced a series of changes that will take place on Wednesday, September 13.

Eva Walker, who currently hosts the local music “Audioasis” on Saturdays from 6-9pm, will take over the 5-7am “Early” show. Walker, the lead singer/guitarist for the band The Black Tones, will replace Gabriel Teodros on the morning show. Teodros, who also served as Assistant Music Director at KEXP, announced his plans to depart the station in June to spend more time on his own music and education work.

The station will also end three of their specialty shows. The Country focused “Swingin’ Doors”, hosted by station Music Director Don Yates on Thursdays from 7-10pm, will come to an end ahead of Yates’ retirement. Michele Myers’ Dance show “Friday Night” on Fridays from 7-10pm and Johnny Horn’s “Preachin’ the Blues” on Sundays from 9am-12pm will also be eliminated, but both hosts will remain with the station in other capacities.

In their place, KEXP-FM plans shows focusing on modern Indigenous music from around the world, the music of Asia, the Pacific, and the Asian diaspora, and a “cross-genre exploration of psych music”. The station is seeking hosts for the shows with interested applicants able to find more details here.

The station also announced that Kennady Quille will replace Eva Walker on Audioasis, Larry Rose will retire from his regular on-air role on Tuesday nights but remain for fill-in duties as will Johnny Horn, Michele Myers and Vitamin D will move to the station’s “Variety Mix” slots, and Stas THEE Boss will return to the co-host rotation on Street Sounds with DJ Yaddy.

Today, KEXP is announcing a series of upcoming changes to our radio programming lineup, including the addition of three new weekly specialty shows, and a new host for Early. A new KEXP radio lineup will premiere on Wednesday, September 13th.

The new shows we’re adding include programs focusing on modern Indigenous music from around the world, the music of Asia, the Pacific, and the Asian diaspora, and a cross-genre exploration of psych music. All three shows are seeking inaugural hosts now, and we encourage anyone interested to view the job listings and apply at kexp.org/jobs. See more details on these new shows in the FAQ below.

In addition to the new shows, we’re also thrilled to announce that Eva Walker, current KEXP variety mix and Audioasis host and lead singer/guitarist for the band The Black Tones, will take over from Gabriel Teodros on Early, weekday mornings, 5-7 AM.

Listeners may know that Gabriel announced his decision to depart the station in late June, driven by a desire to spend more time on his own music and education work. Following that announcement, Eva was asked to come aboard as his replacement. Of course, there’s no replacing the irreplaceable, and we’ll miss Gabriel’s energy on the air as well as his contributions behind the scenes as Associate Music Director. And we’re incredibly excited to hear where Eva takes the show!

To make room for new programming, the station has also announced the retirement of three current programs – Swingin’ Doors, Friday Night, and Preachin’ the Blues. Michele Myers, host of Friday Night, and Johnny Horn, host of Preachin’ the Blues, will stay on with the station in other capacities. Don Yates, host of Swingin’ Doors, announced his retirement from his role as on-air host and Music Director in early 2023. With Don’s transition already underway, the station embraced the opportunity to bring some under-represented musical perspectives to the air.

Several current KEXP hosts are also making moves on the schedule. These moves include:

• Kennady Quille will become the new permanent host of Audioasis
• Vitamin D will move to a variety mix slot
• The station welcomes back Stas THEE Boss in the Street Sounds co-host rotation, joining DJ Yaddy
• After 29 years on the air, Larry Rose will be retiring from weekly on-air duties, but will remain as a fill-in host
• Michele Myers will move to a variety mix slot following the end of Friday Night
• Johnny Horn will remain as a fill-in host following the end of Preachin’ the Blues.

KEXP’s Chief Programming Officer Chris Kellogg shared this statement about how and why these changes were made:

“While we are fortunate to have such a strong mission guiding us, decisions like this one are not made overnight. The process leading up to this decision involved years of work, and constant conversation about what we’re doing and what we’re not doing. We have regular discussions within the organization, with volunteers, with partners, and with our audience about how well we’re adhering to our programming principles and where we’re falling short; who is being featured and who is missing. While we are sad to have to make the tough choice to retire some wonderful shows, we are incredibly excited about the coming changes to the radio lineup and the impact our new hosts and shows will have on KEXP and our listeners.”