KBON (101.1 FM) is an American

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

broadcasting an Americana format, deeply rooted in the music of south Louisiana, including

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 music, countr ...

zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...

, and cajun-French music mixed in with some traditional

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

, country-western, and R&B music. Licensed to

Mamou, Louisiana Mamou is a town in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,242 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 3,566 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Geography Mamou is located ...

, the station serves rural portions of both the Lafayette and Alexandria radio markets. Its studios are located in downtown

Eunice, Louisiana Eunice is a city in Acadia and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 2010 census placed the population at 10,398, a decrease of 1,101, or 9.5 percent, from the 2000 tabulation of 11,499. The St. Landry Parish portion of Euni ...

History

KBON went on the air in late 1997, the brainchild of Paul Marx, a DJ and nightclub owner from

Crowley, Louisiana Crowley (Local pronunciation: ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Acadia Parish, Louisiana, Acadia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 United States census, Crowley had a population of 11,710. Crowley is the principal city of ...

. Marx wanted a mix of music that resembled what he played at DJ gigs — a core of Louisiana music like

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

, and

, with sides of country, blues, soul, and R&B. Station DJs also broadcast in a mix of English and

Cajun French Louisiana French (Louisiana French: ''français louisianais''; ) includes the dialects and varieties of the French language spoken traditionally by French Louisianians in colonial Lower Louisiana. As of today Louisiana French is primarily use ...

. Online streaming introduced KBON to a worldwide audience. In 2003, a reporter for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote about a pilgrimage he made to its Eunice studios: KBON was originally assigned the calls KAHK-FM as a construction permit in 1994, but changed to KBON shortly before signing on. Paul Marx died in 2019 at age 71.

History of call letters

The call letters KBON previously were assigned to an AM station in Omaha, Nebraska. It began broadcasting March 1, 1941, on 1400 kHz with 250 W power (full-time).

References

External links

French-American culture in Louisiana Radio stations in Louisiana Eunice, Louisiana 1997 establishments in Louisiana Music of Louisiana Radio stations established in 1997 Radio stations in Lafayette, Louisiana {{Louisiana-radio-station-stub