North Shore 104.9 FM Radio Gets A Makeover

BEVERLY, MA —North Shore 104.9 wants you to know they're keeping things local. Tuesday, the radio station unveiled a new logo which features the phrase “Keep it Local Radio.”

Along with that change, the station is dropping its oldies format, in exchange for something it's calling "Adult Contemporary." You'll still hear Billy Joel, Journey and Aerosmith, but you'll also be hearing a little Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Mumford and Sons with some Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth, Justin Bieber sprinkled in there, too, on 104.9.

After months of research and testing the station decided on what it said was a more family friendly format, Tuesday.

"We’ve been working on this update for 6 months with the goal of delivering the most Local Radio product complemented with the most mass appeal family friendly product so that we could reach the most amount of people possible inside our North Shore and Merrimack Valley listening area," said Todd Tanger owner of the station.

"The Adult Contemporary format at 104.9 has been in the works for months," it said. “Keep It Local Radio” highlights the station's commitment to live and local programming including local news, weather, sports, happenings, and an interactive local experience with listeners and advertisers, it said.

Fans of former Boston TV Personality Dana Hersey, fret not. Hersey will continue to anchor the morning drive with Mugs McGonagle. Mid-morning host Catherine Browne will be moving to host the afternoon between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. complete with an all request drive home at 5 p.m.

The station will continue to offer Local Lifestyle programming on weekend mornings such as Food Talk, Curtain Up, and other Local Shows, High School Football every Fall and the station will still offer free public service announcements to area non profits.

104.9 FM has had a few different looks since it was first aired in 1964. Back in the day it was known for its classical format, first as WVCA and then WBOQ. After Douglas Tanger bought it in 1988 it kept the classical programming, but added on-air hosts. In the late 1990s, WBOQ transitioned to Broadway and movie music, and later to a jazz standards format. It was only near the end of 2003 that the station's new owner Todd Tanger and Program Director Charlie Curtis started featuring an oldies format. That's also when it came to be known as "North Shore 104.9."

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[Photo: inside the studio right now with the new logos featuring “Keep It Local Radio” courtesy Todd Tanger. ]