WIIL
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| City of license | Union Grove, Wisconsin |
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| Broadcast area | Kenosha/Racine/Milwaukee/Chicago |
| Branding | 95 WIIL Rock |
| Slogan | "The Rock Station" |
| Frequency | 95.1 FM (MHz) |
| First air date | 1961 |
| Format | Active Rock |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | WIsconsin and ILlinois, also "will" |
| Owner | Nextmedia Group |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | WIIL website |
WIIL (95.1 WIIL Rock) (pronounced "95 Will Rock") is a radio station in Kenosha, Wisconsin that plays Active Rock music and serves Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee Counties in Wisconsin, and northern suburbs of Chicago. The call letters stand for Wisconsin and Illinois, as Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, the station's transmitter location, is located on the border of the two states. WIIL is owned and operated by NextMedia and operates at 50,000 watts of power.
In April 2010 the station received FCC approval to change their city of license from Kenosha to the Racine County community of Union Grove. This is to allow NextMedia to meet ownership caps with their Chicago cluster, as Kenosha is classified in that radio market by Arbitron; moving the city of license to Racine County allows NextMedia to continue their ownership of the radio station by placing it in the Milwaukee Arbitron market instead. However the transmitter and studio facilities will remain unchanged in the Kenosha area.
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[edit] History
WIIL began in 1961 as WLIP-FM, a simulcast of its parent sister station WLIP 1050 AM. The station eventually separated from a simulcast and began running its own music programming from 6 a.m. to midnight. The station offered a beautiful music format but in the mid-1970s, it began playing progressive-unto-AOR format in the evenings, and was known as "Rock 95 LIP-FM". By 1978, the station had converted to an all album oriented rock format and changed its call letters to WJZQ. In the early 1980s, "Rock 95" morphed into a top 40 format. In 1990 it became dance CHR as "95 WJZQ" later "Power 95" and gradually returned to mainstream top 40 by 1991-1992. The transition to "Power 95" was marked by playing a continuous loop of Snap's "The Power" for 24 hours without interruption or explanation. In September 1992 it became 95 WIIL ROCK with a classic rock format. For a short period in the summer of 2003 or 2004 WIIL was renamed "95-1 THE Rock Station" but returned to WIIL Rock not long after. In 2004 it took a more active rock direction, while continuing a mainstream rock format. In November 2009, the station shifted to a full active rock format.
[edit] On Air Personalities
- Steve Salzman - Overnights
- Tom Kief & Lisa Tyler - Mornings
- John Perry - Middays
- Marija - Afternoons
- Stu James (On Crack Stu) - Evenings
[edit] AugustFest
AugustFest was an annual music festival created and produced by Lakeside Productions, Inc, and sponsored by WIIL and held in the month of August in 2007 and 2008, both times at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake, Illinois. The all day festival featured two stages and multiple bands.
[edit] 2007
The 2007 AugustFest was held on August 25 and featured performances from Chevelle, Saliva, Shinedown, Crossfade, and PreZence.
[edit] 2008
The 2008 AugustFest took place on August 9.[1] This iteration featured performances from Shinedown, P.O.D., Filter, Alter Bridge and Black Stone Cherry as headliners, with 12 Stones performing on a second stage.
[edit] Discontinuation
The event was not held in 2009, and is not expected to occur again in the future.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Coordinates: 42°33′10″N 87°53′38″W / 42.552780°N 87.893825°W
