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WRFL, Lexington (Radio Free Lexington) is a 7900-watt college radio station that broadcasts live, 24 hours a day, from the
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
campus in Lexington, Kentucky. The station has broadcast continuously at 88.1 MHz on the FM radio band (with rare interruptions due to power loss or other technical failures) since 1988, and prior to COVID-19, without automation. WRFL is operated at all times by volunteer deejays, consisting largely of University of Kentucky students and also of some Lexington community members. A large portion of its programming is left up to the deejays, who plan their own shows in either a general or genre-specific format. Music played on WRFL is strictly "
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
," here defined as material which cannot be heard on other radio stations or through traditional, commercial outlets. This requirement is not only part of the station's culture and character, but is also mandated by the station's educational
U.S. Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
license. WRFL also has a commitment to public affairs and the community, featuring student-produced news programs, student-produced sports programs, and broadcasting the syndicated progressive news program ''
Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
'' five days a week. The station has a strong connection with the Lexington music scene and highlights
underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...
and local artists weekly through its live music program, WRFL-Live, as well as on many of the stations other shows. The Gavin Report listed WRFL in the top 2% of college radio stations in the nation. Current slogans of the station include "All the way to the left," and "The only alternative left."


History

Broadcasting began in 1988 using a 250-watt tower. In 2007, the FCC approved the station for an upgrade to 7,900 watts, which increased its terrestrial broadcast considerably
current propagation
. To finance the cost of a new tower and transmitter, various managerial administrations campaigned under the title, "Build the Tower, Boost the Power". In May 2010, the old 250-watt tower was dismantled and the new 7900-watt tower was installed in its current place atop the
Patterson Office Tower The Patterson Office Tower is a high-rise building on the University of Kentucky (UK) campus in Lexington, Kentucky. It is UK's only current high-rise following the 2020 demolition of the Kirwan–Blanding residence hall complex, which had incl ...
on June 1, 2010. The station has ties to the noise music community as several of its current and former DJs are members of bands such as
Hair Police Hair Police is an American band based out of Lexington, Kentucky, that formed in 2001. They have released records through labels such as Troubleman Unlimited, Hanson Records, Gods of Tundra, Freedom From, and Hospital Productions. They have a ...
and
Wolf Eyes __NOTOC__ Wolf Eyes is an American experimental music group from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1996 by Nate Young. Currently a duo, Wolf Eyes are a prominent act within contemporary noise music. They have collaborated with a variety of artists from ...
. The station is thanked in the liner notes of recent Apples in Stereo albums, and has ties to the Elephant Six Collective. An extensive oral history of WRFL has been catalogued and is publicly available via the University of Kentucky's Oral History Library. WRFL has used many slogans throughout its history, many of which allude to its broadcast frequency on the leftmost portion of the dial and its unofficial social and political tendencies. Examples include: * Revolutions don't happen between commercial breaks * All the way to the left * The only alternative left


RiFLe Magazine

The RiFLe (originally named RiFLe Comix) is the triannual
zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...
of WRFL. The first magazine predated WRFL's terrestrial broadcast in 1987 and is an integral part of the station's tradition.


See also

* Boomslang (music festival) *
List of college radio stations This is a list of Student radio stations operated by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. In the United States these radio stations are called College radio stations, sometimes Campus radio and in the United Kin ...


References


External links


WRFL 88.1 Radio Free LexingtonBoomslang Festival
{{coord, 38.039, N, 84.504, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title RFL Freeform radio stations University of Kentucky 1988 establishments in Kentucky