KRVS (88.7 FM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

broadcasting a

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

format. Licensed to

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234t ...

, United States, it is currently owned by the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

and features programming from

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

and

Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programmi ...

. Programming covers various types of music of Louisiana such as

Cajun music Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tande ...

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

swamp pop Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s by young Cajuns and Creoles, it combines New Orleans–style rhythm and blues, country and weste ...

, swamp rock and other Louisiana singer/songwriter music. KRVS also broadcasts the annual

Festival International de Louisiane The Festival International de Louisiane is an annual music and arts festival held in Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along ...

. The station also carries news and music programming in Louisiana French.

History

The station began broadcasting in May 1963 and was officially licensed on August 8, 1963, to operate a power of 10 watts and a coverage area of about six city blocks. The station initially operated on FM at with an AM carrier current simulcast on . In 1979, the station increased its FM transmission power to 3 kilowatts and shifted to . In November 1982, the station again increased its transmission power to 100 kW and switched to its current frequency of . KRVS's call letters stand for Radio Voice of Southwestern (ULL's name at the time the station signed on was the University of Southwestern Louisiana). Originally a college radio station, it joined NPR in the mid-1970s. Today the station serves roles as regional public radio and an international online resource. KRVS broadcasts at 100,000 watts, providing service to 651,000 residents in 12

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

across southern Louisiana, an area referred to as

Acadiana Acadiana (French and Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane''), also known as the Cajun Country ( Louisiana French: ''Le Pays Cadjin'', es, País Cajún), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained ...

. KRVS programs are also available on the Internet. left, Earlier version of KRVS logo used from 2005 to 2012. KRVS operated a translator at 90.5 FM K213AZ in Lake Charles that was licensed on February 6, 1989. It was shut down on May 22, 2001 after

American Family Radio American Family Radio (AFR) is a network of more than 180 radio stations broadcasting Conservative Christian-oriented programming to over 30 states.

opened a full-power station, KYLC, at nearby 90.3 FM. FCC rules allow a full-power station to force any adjacent translators to shut down. In 2003, KRVS moved its transmitter 30 miles to the west to extend its signal to Lake Charles.

Medicine Ball Caravan

Medicine Ball Caravan airs every Monday through Thursday mornings at 11 am (CST) with repeat broadcasts each following morning at 2 am. Produced and hosted by the station's Music Director, Cecil Doyle, the show features a wide array of musical styles that feature not only local Louisiana sounds but also classic and contemporary recordings, with occasional live in-studio interviews and performances.Medicine Ball Caravan on KRVS http://krvs.org/programs/medicine-ball-caravan-krvs

References

External links

* {{Authority control Radio stations established in 1963 University of Louisiana at Lafayette College radio stations in Louisiana RVS NPR member stations 1963 establishments in Louisiana