KQRS 92.5 FM relaunches with more ‘90s alt-rock and familiar new DJs

A station that ruled the Twin Cities FM radio airwaves for decades by playing classic rock oldies, KQRS (92.5 FM) is now rolling with a younger generation of geezers.

Bob Seger, Foreigner and Styx are out, and Nirvana, R.E.M. and Green Day are in at the new KQ, which formally relaunched Thursday morning following a weeklong buildup. The first song played after the advertised 6 a.m. reboot was the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”

Along with a playlist more heavily steeped in ’90s alternative rock — including a promised bump in Minnesota acts such as Soul Asylum and the Replacements — KQ’s corporate operators Cumulus Media announced the addition of new on-air personalities who will be familiar to listeners of other Twin Cities stations.

Longtime 89.3 the Current midday jockey Jade Tittle and former Cities 97 host and music director Paul Fletcher have joined the remade KQRS staff, a clear attempt by Cumulus to pick up some of those competitors’ audiences.

Tittle will serve as afternoon drive-time host starting Thursday (3-7 p.m. weekdays). Fletcher has joined the KQ morning show alongside the former Black Crowes drummer who has become the station’s new flagship personality, Steve Gorman.

Gorman greeted his new co-host on air Thursday by asking, “Paul, who let you in the building?” They were joined by Ryder Rox (Ryder Bue), who also was part of the morning show before the reboot.

“As we’re ramping this sucker up, we really hope you’ll enjoy it,” Gorman said in his first message to listeners.

After becoming a syndicated radio host in the decade since splintering with the Black Crowes, Gorman moved to the Twin Cities to replace longtime morning show ratings champion Tom Barnard at KQRS in 2023. He has since settled in enough to root for the Minnesota Vikings and to perform in the locally rooted all-star band Golden Smog.

Gorman pledged to play more Minnesota music on the air as part of the relaunch hoopla. He even invited Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner on air Thursday morning to signify the changeover.

“After a few years living in the Twin Cities, the enormous legacy of 92 KQRS couldn’t be clearer to me,” Gorman said in a statement provided by Cumulus. “The most respectful way to honor that legacy is to move forward with great energy. Our spotlight on the music that matters to Minnesota will be evident from day one.”

James Kurdziel, who stayed on as director of content and programming at KQRS, also said in a statement, “This is an obvious evolution for 92 KQRS. An entire generation will no longer be underserved in the Twin Cities. We’re giving them a fresh take on rock that speaks to their lives and passions.”

KQ isn’t entirely giving up on its old classic rock warhorses, however. Promotion for the station’s new format also promised continued airplay of the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty and Led Zeppelin. Would it still be KQ without “Stairway to Heaven” every now and then? Petty’s “Refugee” was the second song aired during Thursday’s morning show.

Tittle’s addition to KQ might be the most surprising and interesting move in the relaunch. She signals a sharp shift away from the curmudgeonly, brawny, anti-woke reputation that Barnard brought to the station.

While at the Current — Minnesota Public Radio’s modern rock outlet — Tittle also served as the station’s music director and openly pledged to play more women and artists of color in that role. She would have her work cut out for her making similar changes at KQRS, where women artists are still scarce on the playlist so far, as are songs newer than 20 years old.

Off the air since quitting the Current in 2023, Tittle teased her new role at KQ in social media posts Wednesday.

“It’s been a minute, but I’m gearing up to be back on your airwaves [Thursday] to kick off a new project,” she wrote. “Pretty excited to being hanging out with you again.”

After falling in ratings in recent years even before Barnard left the station, KQ let go of morning show co-host Brian Zepp and some other staffers a month ago. It then formally announced its relaunch last week, when all of its DJs were taken off the air, and “Under Construction” notices went up on its social media channels.

In the interim, the station made some surprising moves, including nonstop airings of Soul Asylum’s “Somebody to Shove” and R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” on April Fool’s Day.

Some of the other “new” artists played in the buildup to Thursday’s changeover included Soundgarden, Beastie Boys, Sublime, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Jesus Jones, Jonny Lang and Sugar (the latter two acts also with Minnesota ties). Some of these Gen X-branded artists are also played on 93X (93.7 FM), a more metallic sister station to KQ, also run by Cumulus.

Observers of the Twin Cities’ ever-competitive radio industry reacted to the KQ makeover with curiosity but not surprise.

“Much of that music is right in my wheelhouse,” enthused Brian Oake, a longtime DJ formerly at both Cities 97 and the Current. “I hope they do a good job with it, but having logged many years in corporate radio, I’m maintaining a healthy skepticism.

“Rotations will eventually get tightened up considerably. That’s the model.”