Don't change that dial

The winners and losers in the KTRU college radio deal

91.7 will no longer be Rice radio.
The KTRU office, where all the esoteric genre shows have been (and will continueto be) recorded for 40 years.
KTRU may not have a huge following, but it had some loyal fans.
Photo by Javan Makhmali

Rice University is selling the radio tower, FM frequency and FCC license currently used by student-run KTRU. The sale to the University of Houston for a reported $9.5 million has been approved by the UH Board of Regents 4-3 and will create station KUHC, a second NPR-branded station.

KUHC will be devoted to classical music and arts coverage, while UH's current KUHF will switch to a full-time news format.

Here's how the deal affects all the players — who wins and who loses.

Loser: Rice students

Though KTRU will still exist in an online format, that the decision and announcement happened entirely without input or recognition of the KTRU staff or student leaders does much to puncture the belief of Rice students that they have a say in university decisions that affect student life — a stark, painful reminder that "student-run" doesn't mean "student-owned."

The Rice board of trustees has essentially announced that they are unwilling to let students use a valuable asset as they see fit unless they meet a commercial metric of success. Should the Rice football team be worried?

The student and alumni dissatisfaction with the deal is epitomized in a tweet from Rice alum Todd Stadler: "Congrats @RiceUniversity on selling KTRU. The extra $$ can be used to print more slick brochures touting student involvement and other BS."

Winner: Newshounds

A 24-hour NPR news station means more World News, more Talk of the Nation, and new-to-the-market NPR-distributed programs including the Diane Rehm Show and America Abroad, with the in-depth, impartial analysis that has disappeared from virtually all other radio and television programming.

Loser: Local musicians

Sure, KTRU will still have a station on the Internet ... as does the Houston ISD. When it comes to getting your music heard, there's simply nothing like 50,000 watts to find a local following — you know, people who might actually show up to a show and create buzz.

KTRU played plenty (OK, too much) esoteric genre shows, but it was unparalleled in showcasing local Houston bands. As Jeff Balke said, "I'm against the KTRU sale in principal. I never liked the vast majority of the programming, but I don't want to see a true independent die."

Winner: Classical music buffs

A 24-hour station will be a boon to the local classical music groups, offering full-length broadcasts and live in-studio performances.

Winner and loser: University of Houston

It's a significant bragging point to be one of a handful of universities in the country with two fully-functioning stations. But though the announcement from chancellor Renu Khator promised the cost would not be recouped from tuition or state funds, there has also been no indication that either station, which will share a staff and a studio, will foster more involvement from UH students.

UH regent Nandita Berry, the vice-chair of the audit and compliance committee, expressed her reasoning for voting no: "We currently have a standalone radio station that bears the University's name and uses the University's resources, over which we have very little oversight and which has not had as its top priority the promotion of the University of Houston, its students or faculty. I'm told that the new station will be different, but I have trouble believing it."

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howling for you

Houston's interdimensional art exhibit books 4 local acts for summer concerts

The four members of Swimwear Department hugging

Photo provided by Meow Wolf

Swimwear Department is heading to Meow Wolf

Things are heating up this summer at Meow Wolf as they host their first ever summer concert series. Four hometown bands will take the stage at the immersive art complex for a series of shows in June and July.

“Houston’s music scene has always been bold, genre-defying, and deeply original, so it felt natural to bring that same energy into our Radio Tave world,” said Aaron Johnson, general manager of Meow Wolf Houston. “This concert series is about celebrating the artists who define Texas' sound and give guests a new reason to experience Meow Wolf in a whole new way.”

Ever since Meow Wolf first opened during Halloween last year in Fifth Ward, the collection of artistic spaces has wowed, delighted, and sometimes confused audiences. Cowboix Hevvven, the venue's "dive bar" with possible links to extraterrestrials, was designed by fifth generation Texan Cole Wilson and features a jukebox of 30 original songs Wilson created in collaboration with other Texas artists. Radio Tave, Meow Wolf's name for the exhibit as a whole, has been a huge critical and popular hit for Meow Wolf, winning two Webby Awards last month.

It's also the perfect place to show off some of the more esoteric bands that make up the Houston sound. The odd four-piece rock band Swimwear Department burst onto the scene in 2023, winning over audiences with their songs about pools and malls as well as a series of stellar music videos shot around the city. Their potent mix of quirk and early-alternative music has made them one of the best novelty acts in Houston.

Meanwhile, The Mighty Orq and Mango Punch have been mainstays for more than a decade. Orq is swamp blues royalty, and always adds a sense of the strange to his concerts thanks to his near-mystical aura. Mango Punch is almost custom built for Meow Wolf thanks to a hectic swirl of Top 40, disco and cumbia.

The schedule for the concerts is below with links to tickets.

Though Houston has never hurt for places weird bands can play, wedding the popular immersive art space at Meow Wolf with concerts is an opportunity to reframe music as performance art rather than just something to listen to while having a drink (though you can still do that at Meow Wolf). Should the summer concert series prove a success, it could quickly become one of the prime venues in the city, at least for groups looking to be a little out there.

meow wolf concerts