In case you haven’t heard yet, Urban Artifact is launching a new all local radio station, Radio Artifact on 1660 AM! You will also be able to listen online. The impending demise of WNKU is going to leave a gaping hole in each of our hearts and Radio Artifact wants to help fill that hole.
Radio Artifact is tentatively scheduled to go live during Urban Artifact’s second annual Bewilderfest on August 25th – 27th. The signal will broadcast out to a 2.5-mile radius. Areas will include Northside, Clifton, Westwood, Camp Washington, Mount Airy, Norwood, and parts of College Hill.
We sat down with Jeremy Moore, the Music/Entertainment Coordinator at Urban Artifact to get some more details on this exciting development.
CincyMusic: How did the idea of Radio Artifact come to be?
Jeremy Moore: One of the owners, Scott Hand, has been kicking around the idea for a little while now. We finally had all the right pieces together to make it work, now we are in the final push stages on getting this thing rolling.
CM: The diversity of the bands that play at Urban Artifact is impressive. Will the station have the same diversity?
JM: Absolutely. We plan on getting as much as we can in from all walks of the music world to be played on the air and on our streaming site. You can expect to hear everything from indie/rock/Hip Hop/Jazz/Folk/Funk and anything else you'd be able to think about.
CM: I feel that getting local music on the airwaves is imperative in order to get people out to shows. Will show promotion be an angle the station takes?
JM: Yes, for sure. Luckily, we do music 7 nights a week and we will be able to shamelessly plug our own events calendar as well as other events happening around the area. I personally am lucky enough to know the feeling of thrill when I heard my band played on the radio for the first time and plugged. I'm very happy we get to supply those types of feelings to local acts.
CM: I heard through the grapevine that WNKU has given their blessing for Radio Artifact to fill the void that WNKU will be leaving. How did it feel to be passed the torch per se?
JM: It was very flattering to hear that personally because WNKU has been on my pre-sets on my car radio since I was able to drive. We won't nearly have the airwave radius that they do, we are just starting out but one day hope to reach as many people's ears as they have.
