Radio Tucker: The Soundtrack of the City

Becknell hosted the Radio Tucker Music Festival in July 2021 to celebrate the station’s first anniversary.

Radio Tucker:

THE SOUNDTRACK OF THE CITY

L.A. DISON

Over the past eighteen months, as people struggled worldwide to deal with the lockdowns, quarantines and health risks of COVID, many used the time spent in forced isolation to learn a new skill. Tucker resident Jason Becknell decided to launch a radio station.

“COVID actually inspired me to launch Radio Tucker,” said Becknell. “Since I couldn't go out to see live local music, I decided to create a radio station that would bring local music to listeners in Tucker and around the world.”

Becknell was born and raised in upstate South Carolina, and as a child, often travelled to Atlanta on family trips. He knew from an early age that he would someday move to the city, and visiting CNN Center in the 1990s inspired him to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. After graduating college, and a three-year stint as a television news producer in Florence, South Carolina, he realized his dream of moving to Atlanta, where he settled in Tucker with his wife and child. He continued as a television news producer here, first with NBC affiliate WXIA then CBS affiliate WGCL before moving over to The Weather Channel. He had been a producer there for almost three years when COVID hit in spring 2020, and he realized the pandemic opened an opportunity for a new broadcasting venture.

“In my junior year of high school, I started working part-time at a local radio station in Walhalla, South Carolina,” explained Becknell. “I studied broadcast journalism while at the University of South Carolina, but I kept my interest in radio, volunteering as a student DJ at WUSC-FM, the campus radio station. After college I moved from radio to TV news production but continued to dabble in radio as a hobby. When the pandemic hit, and so many people were locked down at home, I decided to create a station with "local flavor," where you could not only hear songs from the great Georgia bands, but also from your friends and neighbors who played local bars and clubs.”

With few FM stations in the Atlanta market still programming classic rock, especially those great Southern and Georgia bands he grew up on, Becknell decided to launch Radio Tucker as an internet-based station, so its reach wasn't limited to a small broadcasting radius like traditional terrestrial radio stations. While the majority of Radio Tucker listeners are from the United States, it has listeners worldwide, including from Germany, Brazil, France, Great Britain, India, Canada, and Mexico. The station averages about 200 listeners daily, and over the past year, people have streamed Radio Tucker more than 80,000 times, streaming over a Terabyte of digital music at 128k/second.

The station broadcasts twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year. Becknell is still employed full-time at The Weather Channel, so keeping the station on-air presents a challenge. “When I'm not busy covering hurricanes and winter storms, I'm working on Radio Tucker,” explained Becknell. “Thanks to modern computer automation technology, the station runs 24/7 without someone having to man the board all the time.”

What does Radio Tucker program? Although Radio Tucker has a global reach,

the heart of the station is in Tucker. “We mix great Georgia music with music you aren't likely to hear on other big corporate radio stations. We play a mix of music from the Sixties to today, including classic rock, alt-rock, alt-country, Americana, and indie. We highlight Georgia bands on our "Georgia Homegrown" show, weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. On Saturdays at 6:00 p.m., we highlight local bands on "Local Time.” (Local bands can submit songs to Radio Tucker for airplay by emailing RadioTuckerDJ@gmail.com.) Meteorologist Ryan Davidson, who also lives in Tucker, reports local Tucker weather updates at the top of each hour from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Tucker resident Robert Thompson, who operates the news site Peach News Now (peachnews.co) also reports local news updates at 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “I like to say, ‘locally programmed, globally enjoyed,’” said Becknell. “Hopefully, people listening around the country and abroad will learn something about Tucker, and maybe they'll want to come visit, move here or do business with one of our local advertisers.” Becknell couldn’t be happier with community response to Radio Tucker. “I'm really thrilled every time someone Becknell honed his radio skills at campus radio station WUSC. tells me they listen and enjoy the station. People love the local music on Radio Tucker. Local bands love being able to share their music. Fans love being able to request their favorite songs on the "Radio Tucker Juke Box," and we've also been able to involve the community with our Guest DJ show on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. Becknell often broadcasts live from local events. Local businesses have been supportive of the station, promoting their products and services with affordable advertising. “Radio Tucker has been able to thrive and grow thanks to generous support from our local sponsors.” As a community-based radio station, Radio Tucker helps raise money and awareness for local charities and groups. Each year, the station picks a local non-profit to promote on #GivingTuesday (the Tuesday after Thanksgiving). Last year, it raised money for food pantry NETWorks Cooperative Ministry; this year, it partnered with Omega Support Center, which supports the Tucker community through events like the Back to School supply bash and food collection drives. What does Becknell see in the future for Radio Tucker? “We will continue to provide a unique mix of music and local news and weather for the Tucker community. As COVID continues to subside, we hope to host more fun events where people can gather and enjoy music together.” Currently, the studio is housed in the basement of Becknell’s Tucker home, but if the station’s profile continues to grow, “I wouldn't be surprised if we needed to move into a dedicated studio soon.” Radio Tucker can be streamed live 24/7/365 at radiotucker.com. The station is also listed on several radio directories, including the popular TuneIn app, Apple Music Radio, Radio.Garden, plus apps are available free for Apple and Android devices. Ask Amazon Alexa or your smart TV to "Play Radio Tucker.” Want to be a guest DJ on Radio Tucker? Details and sign-up available on radiotucker.com.