Happy 30th Birthday to WMNF, Tampa


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WMNF 30th headliners Paul Thorn, Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers and Amanda Shires

WMNF 30th headliners (l to r) Paul Thorn; Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers; Amanda Shires (Creative Loafing)

Tampa’s community radio station, WMNF is now 30 years old!  When I created my first mailing list (on Dbase II) in 1985, WMNF and its current program director, Randy Wynne, were on it.  Over the years the station has become more widely listened to, better funded and moved into a state of the art facility just a year or so ago.  Their relationship with BAAMO, a Tampa-based non profit that promotes local musicians, has produced many great events, including their annual party at Yard Dog during SXSW.


I was especially proud to read about WMNF elsewhere on the web as Creative Loafing posted/printed a preview of the 30th Anniversary concert, to be held this Saturday at the Ritz Ybor.  You can bet if Randy, music director Lee “Flee” Courtney and Laura Keane of BAAMO are behind it, it will be a diverse and fun evening of music.  Randy is on the world thing, Laura may have more of a local/singer-songwriter interest and Flee is holding it down with every shade of indie and “alternative” music.

As some the more astute arbiters of taste and proliferators of progressive ideologies, I am surprised there isn’t more of an online connection, or even reportage of community/college radio by “alternative weeklies” and their sites.  There ought to be more of that cooking.  WFNX, the “commercial alternative” radio station in Lynn MA was always part of the Phoenix Group which also owned the local weekly.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday to WMNF!

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