CFRK-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 92.3 FM in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

owned by

Stingray Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...

. The station airs a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

format branded as ''New Country 92.3''. Based on the current format, CFRK competes with

CKHJ CKHJ (1260 AM) is a radio station in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. The station broadcasts a country format under the '' Pure Country'' branding. The station is owned by Bell Media which also owns sister stations CFXY-FM and CIBX-FM. The ...

who is predominantly an AM only station. The station is the originating station for Weekend Country Heat, which is a Saturday evening program syndicated to most other Stingray country stations across Canada. Weekend Country Heat is hosted by station Program Director John Riordon, who is a former host of The Early Show on CFRK weekday mornings. The present morning host is Dave Lawrence. Middays are anchored by the syndicated Paul McGuire Show, Shilo Bellis hosts afternoons, and The Casey Clarke show fills evening hours.

History

The station launched on July 28, 2005 under a

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

/ classic hits format branded as ''92.3 Fred-FM'' with the first song being "

Layla "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded with their band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, '' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Its contrasting movemen ...

" by Derek & The Dominos. On March 1, 2013, at Noon, after playing "

Free Bird "Free Bird", also spelled "Freebird", is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, written by guitarist Allen Collins and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. The song was released on their 1973 debut studio album. Released as a single in Novembe ...

" by

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

, CFRK flipped to Top 40/CHR as ''Hot 92.3'', whose logo and presentation was patterned after its sister station

CIHT-FM CIHT-FM (89.9 FM, "Hot 89.9") is a radio station licensed to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Stingray Group, it broadcasts a contemporary hit radio format. CIHT's studios are located on Antares Drive in Nepean, while its transmitter is loca ...

in Ottawa. The first song played on "Hot" was "

Scream & Shout "Scream & Shout" is a song by American musician will.i.am and American singer Britney Spears, taken from the former's fourth studio album, '' #willpower'' (2013). It was released on November 19, 2012, by Interscope Records as the second sing ...

" by

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

and

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

. On February 7, 2013, the CRTC approved Newcap's application to modify the technical parameters of the English language commercial radio programming undertaking CFRK-FM Fredericton by decreasing the station's average effective radiated power (ERP) from 93,000 to 42,000 watts (and by increasing the maximum ERP from 93,000 to 100,000 watts), by increasing the effective height of antenna above average terrain from 124.8 to 137.5 metres, by changing the radiation pattern of the antenna from non-directional to directional, and by relocating the antenna and transmitter from their current site at Hamtown Corner to Mount Hope. On June 1, 2015, at Midnight, after playing "Amnesia" by Ilai Swindells, CFRK flipped to

, branded as ''New Country 92.3''. The first song on "New Country" was " Sun Daze" by

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line was an American country music duo founded in 2010 by vocalists and songwriters Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was downloaded over ...

.Hot 92.3 Becomes New Country
/ref> The lack of a local Country FM radio station prompted the format change.

Former logos

File:923FredFMlogo.jpg, 2005-2013 File:Hot923logo.jpg, 2013-2015 File:Newcountry923logo.jpg, 2015-2017 File:Newcountry923logo2.png, 2017-2024

References

External links

New Country 92.3

CFRK-FM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

* Frk Frk Frk Radio stations established in 2005 2005 establishments in New Brunswick {{NewBrunswick-radio-station-stub