Radio station in Mamou, Louisiana
KBON (101.1 FM) is an American radio station broadcasting an Americana format, deeply rooted in the music of south Louisiana, including swamp pop, zydeco, and cajun-French music mixed in with some traditional oldies, country-western, and R&B music. Licensed to Mamou, Louisiana, the station serves rural portions of both the Lafayette and Alexandria radio markets. Its studios are located in downtown Eunice, Louisiana.
History
KBON went on the air in late 1997, the brainchild of Paul Marx, a DJ and nightclub owner from Crowley, Louisiana.[2] Marx wanted a mix of music that resembled what he played at DJ gigs — a core of Louisiana music like Cajun, zydeco, and swamp pop, with sides of country, blues, soul, and R&B.[2] Station DJs also broadcast in a mix of English and Cajun French.
Online streaming introduced KBON to a worldwide audience. In 2003, a reporter for The Washington Post wrote about a pilgrimage he made to its Eunice studios:
Wow. This was no test-marketed format. This was no committee-scripted patter beamed by satellite from corporate HQ and squeezed between certified safe hits. This was...radio. From a real place. With real people doing the talking, who clearly knew the people doing the listening.[3]
KBON was originally assigned the calls KAHK-FM as a construction permit in 1994, but changed to KBON shortly before signing on.[4] Paul Marx died in 2019 at age 71.[5]
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).[6]
References
External links
