There is a moment, usually around dusk, when you are driving through New Orleans and you land on 90.7 FM. Maybe you were scanning stations. Maybe someone told you about it. But suddenly there is a voice that sounds like it has been marinating in this city for decades, introducing a deep cut from Professor Longhair or a live recording from Snug Harbor, and you realize: this is not normal radio. This is WWOZ New Orleans, and nothing else on the American dial sounds anything like it.
WWOZ 90.7 FM is more than a community radio station. It is the sound of New Orleans talking to itself. For over 45 years, volunteer DJs have been spinning jazz, blues, funk, brass band, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, R&B, and everything else that makes this city's musical ecosystem the richest in the country. If New Orleans has a soundtrack, WWOZ is the one pressing play.
Born Above a Bar: The WWOZ Origin Story
The story of WWOZ starts the way a lot of great New Orleans stories start: with a little chaos and a lot of heart. Brothers Jerry and Walter Brock moved to New Orleans from Texas in the mid-1970s, convinced the city needed its own community radio station. With help from community radio pioneer Lorenzo Milam, they secured the 90.7 FM frequency after a four-year licensing fight. The call letters? A nod to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, because the station was never supposed to be about the people behind the curtain. It was always about the music.
On December 4, 1980, WWOZ went live. The first studio was a storage room above Tipitina's nightclub on Tchoupitoulas Street. The DJs would literally drop a microphone through the floor to broadcast the live music happening downstairs. That is about as New Orleans as it gets.
By 1984, the station moved to a small building in Louis Armstrong Park in the Treme neighborhood, surrounded by Rampart Street clubs and the sounds of school marching bands drifting in through the windows. In 1987, with finances stretched thin, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation stepped in to keep the station alive. That partnership is still going strong today, and it is one reason WWOZ and Jazz Fest are practically family.
The DJs: New Orleans Music Radio at Its Finest
What makes WWOZ unlike any other station in America? The people on the mic. These are not radio school graduates reading playlists from a corporate algorithm. WWOZ show hosts are volunteers, each one a walking encyclopedia of their corner of the New Orleans music universe. They donate hours every week because they believe in this music.
Over the years, the station has featured some truly legendary voices. R&B singer Ernie K-Doe held court on the OZ with soliloquies that bounced from men's haircuts to his own unmatched greatness. Bob Dylan, in his autobiography, wrote that his favorite DJ was WWOZ's Brown Sugar. Musicians like Dave Bartholomew, Earl King, James Booker, and Danny Barker sat for live interviews and played live on air. Ellis Marsalis was an early supporter. This is a station built by the people who make the music and the people who live for it.
WWOZ Jazz Fest Broadcasts and Live Music Coverage
If you have ever been to Jazz Fest and wondered how your friend back in Ohio was texting you about the set you just watched, it is probably because they were listening to WWOZ. The station broadcasts live from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival every year, bringing the Fair Grounds to anyone with a radio or an internet connection. They were streaming online as early as 1996, years before most stations even knew what that meant.
But Jazz Fest is just the beginning. WWOZ's live broadcast calendar, which locals call the Livewire, is basically a field guide to the New Orleans music scene. They broadcast live from clubs, festivals, second lines, and cultural events across the city. If you want to know where the music is on any given night, WWOZ's show schedule is your best friend. Forget Yelp. Forget Google. Tune to 90.7 and let the OZ show you around.
When the Levees Broke: WWOZ During Hurricane Katrina
When Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, WWOZ went dark just before midnight on August 27 so staff and volunteers could evacuate. Within a week, the station was back online as "WWOZ in Exile," webcasting through internet servers at WFMU in New Jersey. By October, they resumed over-the-air broadcasts from borrowed studio space at Louisiana Public Broadcasting in Baton Rouge.
For displaced New Orleanians scattered across the country, hearing WWOZ was like hearing home. It was proof that the culture had not drowned. The station became a lifeline, a gathering point on the dial for people who needed to know that New Orleans was still alive. If there was ever a moment that proved Be A New Orleanian Wherever You Are was more than a slogan, it was WWOZ broadcasting from exile and reminding everyone that the music never stops.
Listen to Your City: How Dirty Coast Celebrates WWOZ
At Dirty Coast, WWOZ holds a special place. The station is one of those institutions that makes New Orleans unlike anywhere else. That is why we created the WWOZ Listen to Your City tee. It is a nod to the station and to the idea that if you actually listen to what a city is telling you through its music, you will understand it better than any guidebook could teach you.
Whether you are cranking brass band funk on a Saturday afternoon or catching a deep jazz set on a Tuesday night, WWOZ is the thread that ties it all together. Pair it with our Just Jazz It tee or the Second Line 'Til You Drop design and you have basically got the WWOZ starter pack.
Tune In, Turn It Up, Tell a Friend
WWOZ 90.7 FM is free, volunteer-run, and listener-supported. You can stream it from anywhere in the world. If you are visiting New Orleans, put it on the moment you land. If you are a local, you already know. And if you are one of those people who moved away but still feels it in your bones every time you hear a trombone, WWOZ is how you stay connected.
There is no other radio station in America like WWOZ. Not even close. It is a love letter to New Orleans music, written fresh every single day by the people who know it best. Tune in. You will hear it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of music does WWOZ play?
WWOZ 90.7 FM plays the full spectrum of New Orleans and Louisiana music: jazz (traditional and contemporary), blues, funk, brass band, R&B, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, Latin, and world music. Each show host curates their own playlist, so no two shows sound alike.
Can I listen to WWOZ online?
Yes. WWOZ streams live at wwoz.org and through most major streaming apps. They have been streaming since 1996, making them one of the earliest radio stations to go online.
Where is WWOZ located?
WWOZ currently operates from studios in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The station is owned by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.
Leave a comment
All comments are moderated before being published.
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.