The Loft is an online and app-based music channel on
Sirius XM Radio
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
which features a format of eclectic
adult album alternative
Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...
music, occasionally branching off into more
freeform music and talk programming.
Until November 12, 2008, it broadcast an
acoustic rock
Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adven ...
format. The Loft then changed formats to what sounded like the now-defunct
SIRIUS Disorder and
Fine Tuning
In theoretical physics, fine-tuning is the process in which parameters of a model must be adjusted very precisely in order to fit with certain observations. This had led to the discovery that the fundamental constants and quantities fall into suc ...
stations by that time, with its sister channel,
The Coffee House, adopting the acoustic rock format. Mike Marrone was the channel's program director and primary on-air voice until his retirement in December 2017. He was replaced by Chris Muckley, who is heard regularly alongside DJs such as Franny Thomas and
Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin is a fictional character in the animated television series ''Family Guy''. Meg is the eldest child of Peter Griffin, Peter and Lois Griffin and older sister of Stewie Griffin, Stewie and Chris Griffin, Chris, but is also the family ...
.
In 2018, The Loft transitioned to an entirely online XM presence, as its former channel is now used for limited-engagement theme channels focused on specific artists, such as
The Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...
and
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
.
Current programming
Featured programs on the channel include:
* ''The Loft Over Easy'' - laid-back music for a Sunday morning.
* ''Disorder'' - a freeform show hosted Saturday mornings by
Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin is a fictional character in the animated television series ''Family Guy''. Meg is the eldest child of Peter Griffin, Peter and Lois Griffin and older sister of Stewie Griffin, Stewie and Chris Griffin, Chris, but is also the family ...
.
* ''Celtic Crush'' - an eclectic sampler of Irish sounds hosted by
Larry Kirwan
Larry Kirwan (born 1954, Wexford) is an expatriate Irish writer and musician, most noted as the lead singer for the rock band, Black 47, and conceiver/co-writer of Paradise Square, the Broadway Musical for which he received a Tony Award nomina ...
.
* ''The Loft Sessions'' - a series of live performances recorded at XM's studio facilities.
* ''Chris Muckley In The Loft'' - a freeform show hosted Saturday afternoons by Chris Muckley.
* ''In Spite Of All The Danger'' - one-hour weekly show of new music releases hosted by Franny Thomas (previously hosted by Mike Marrone).
Past programming
* ''Wake Up Sets'' - curated and hosted by Mike Marrone.
* ''Your Roots Are Showing'' - a modern
roots rock
Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...
show hosted by Franny Thomas.
* ''Playing Records with Mike'' - guests joined Mike Marrone to play some of their favorite music.
Playing Records with Mike Marrone and Mavis Staples. ''Mike's Basement'', February 2018.
/ref>
* ''From the Living Room to the Loft'' - music and interviews from the Living Room Club in New York.
* ''Vin Scelsa
Vincent Anthony Scelsa (born December 12, 1947, in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American broadcaster who was at "the forefront of the FM radio revolution" as the host of several Freeform (radio format), freeform radio show, radio programs, the best ...
's Idiot's Delight'' - a freeform program hosted by the longtime New York radio personality.
* ''Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
's New York Shuffle'' - a freeform program hosted by the veteran rocker with co-host Hal Willner
Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...
.
* ''American Roots Radio with Bernie Taupin
Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...
'' - a roots music show hosted by the songwriter with sidekick Paca Thomas.
Core artists
*Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
*The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
*Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
*Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...
*The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
*Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician.
Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...
*NRBQ
NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re-f ...
*Neko Case
Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cri ...
*Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
*David Johansen
David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...
*Larry Kirwan
Larry Kirwan (born 1954, Wexford) is an expatriate Irish writer and musician, most noted as the lead singer for the rock band, Black 47, and conceiver/co-writer of Paradise Square, the Broadway Musical for which he received a Tony Award nomina ...
References
External links
''The New York Times'': "High-Tech Quirkiness Restores Radio's Magic."
Sirius Satellite Radio channels
XM Satellite Radio channels
Sirius XM Radio channels
Adult album alternative radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 2001
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