WIIL

WIIL
City Union Grove, Wisconsin, United States
Broadcast area Kenosha/Racine/Milwaukee/Chicago
Branding 95 WIIL Rock
Slogan "The Rock Station"
Frequency 95.1 FM (MHz)
First air date 1961 (as WLIP-FM)
Format Active Rock
ERP 50,000 watts
HAAT 117 meters (384 ft)
Class B
Facility ID 28473
Callsign meaning WIsconsin and ILlinois, also "will"
Former callsigns WLIP-FM (1961–1978)
WJZQ (1978–1992)
Owner Alpha Media
(Alpha Media Licensee LLC)
Sister stations WLIP
Webcast http://wiil.tunegenie.com
Website 95wiilrock.com

WIIL (95.1 FM) is an American radio station licensed to Union Grove, Wisconsin that plays an active rock format. The station serves Kenosha (its original city of license), Racine and Milwaukee in Wisconsin, and the northern suburbs of Chicago. The call letters stand for Wisconsin and Illinois for its dual-state service area; the station is branded as "95 WIIL Rock", with "WIIL" pronounced on air the same as 'will'. WIIL is owned and operated by Alpha Media, and operates at 50,000 watts of power from a transmitter and studio facility at 85th Street and Green Bay Road in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, southwest of Kenosha.

In April 2010, the station received FCC approval to change its city of license from Kenosha to Union Grove in Racine County. This was to allow then-owner NextMedia Group to meet ownership caps with its Chicago cluster, as Kenosha is classified in that radio market by Arbitron/Nielsen Audio even though the station's signal favors Milwaukee more than Chicago; moving the city of license to Racine County placed WIIL in the Milwaukee Nielsen Audio market, but the transmitter and studio remained in the Kenosha area.

History

WIIL began in 1961 as WLIP-FM, a simulcast of its parent sister station WLIP (1050). The station eventually separated from a simulcast and began running its own music programming from 6 a.m. to midnight. The station offered a beautiful music format but in the mid-1970s, it began playing Progressive type AOR format in the evenings, and was known as "Rock 95 LIP-FM". By 1978, the station had converted to an AOR format and changed its call letters to WJZQ. In the early 1980s, "Rock 95" changed to a Top 40/CHR format. In 1990, it became a Dance-leaning Top 40 station, first as "FM 95 WJZQ", and then later as "Power 95 WJZQ". It returned to mainstream top 40 by late 1991/early 1992. The transition to "Power 95" was marked by playing a continuous loop of Snap's "The Power" for 24 hours without interruption or explanation. In September 1992, it became "95 WIIL ROCK" with a Classic rock format. For a short period in the summer of 2003, WIIL was renamed "95.1 The Rock Station", but returned to "95 WIIL Rock" not long after. In 2004, it took a more Active Rock direction, while continuing a Mainstream Rock format. In November 2009, the station shifted to a full-blown active rock format.

On-air personalities

  • Steve Salzman – Overnights
  • Tom Kief & Emily Jacobs – Mornings
  • John Perry – Middays
  • Stu – Afternoons
  • Eddie P - Evenings

AugustFest

AugustFest was a music festival created and produced by Lakeside Productions, Inc, and sponsored by WIIL. It was held in August 2007 and 2008 at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake, Illinois. The all-day festival featured two stages and multiple bands.

2007

The 2007 AugustFest was held on August 25 and featured performances from Chevelle, Saliva, Shinedown, Crossfade, and PreZence.

2008

The 2008 AugustFest took place on August 9.[1] This iteration featured performances from Shinedown, P.O.D., Filter, Alter Bridge and Black Stone Cherry as headliners, with 12 Stones performing on a second stage.

WIIL Rock Fest

WIIL Rock Fest is an annual music festival produced and sponsored by FM Entertainment, 95 WIIL Rock and Route 20 Outhouse in Sturtevant, Wisconsin.

2012

The 2012 WIIL Rock Fest was held on August 11 and featured performances by All That Remains, Saving Abel, 10 Years, Fear Factory, Static-X, Black Stone Cherry, and Shadows Fall and others.

2013

The 2013 WIIL Rock Fest was held on August 24 and featured a partial lineup of Volbeat, HIM, Airbourne, Nonpoint, Trapt, Hurt, SOiL, Red Line Chemistry, and Smile Empty Soul.

2014

There was no WIIL Rock Fest held in 2014.

2015

The 2015 WIIL Rock Fest was held at Franksville Memorial Park in Racine County, Wisconsin. Performing bands included Hollywood Undead, Pop Evil, Royal Bliss, We Are Harlot, Saint Asonia, Red Sun Rising, Starset, Devour the Day, Texas Hippie Coalition, Aranda, Butcher Babies, Failure Anthem and Psychostick.

References

  1. ↑ Lakeside Productions presents August Fest 08'

Coordinates: 42°33′10″N 87°53′38″W / 42.552780°N 87.893825°W / 42.552780; -87.893825

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.