| City of license | Pecos, New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Branding | Blu 102.9 |
| Slogan | The Beat of Santa Fe |
| Frequency | 102.9 (MHz) |
| First air date | 2003 |
| Format | Rhythmic Variety |
| ERP | KLBU 3,700 Watts KLBU-1 5,000 Watts |
| Class | C3 |
| Callsign meaning | KLBU (Blu scrambled) |
| Owner | Hutton Broadcasting |
| Sister stations | KBAC, KQBA, KVSF-FM & AM |
| Website | http://www.blu1029.com/ |
KLBU (102.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to Pecos, New Mexico, branded as Blu 102.9, and serving the Santa Fe area. It broadcasts a format consisting of various Rhythmic music.
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102.9 FM signed on in August 2002 as KENC "Enchantment FM 102.9" under Meadows Media, programmed by Jim Duncan, which aired an eclectic music format made up of jazz (without much Smooth Jazz), Classical, World Music, Blues, folk, and Bluegrass as well as Adult Album Alternative. Jim Duncan's goal was to create a radio station which featured music not heard on most commercial radio stations.[1] The signal was very poor throughout its coverage area; it suffered interference from KRGN in Amarillo, Texas, KAZX in Kirtland, New Mexico, and KMEZ in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Many adjustments and minor modifications were made to the transmitter site, however the signal never improved satisfactorily. A 5000-watt booster was added in May 2003 on a cellsite about 1 mile northwest of Santa Fe.
Will Sims, the managing partner of KENC began searching for a buyer for 102.9 FM. Ken Christensen, chief operating officer of Blu Ventures based in Fort Myers, Florida, was looking to buy a Santa Fe radio station. Blu Ventures owns a chain of three sushi bars in Florida named Blu Sushi which are known for their Chill inspired atmosphere. Blu Ventures also owns radioio.com, an internet radio site. Santa Fe was the chosen market because of its eclectic mix of people and its "unique creative energy that radiates outwardly across the US". In November 2003, KENC and the office on Cordova Road were sold to Blu Ventures.
Enchantment FM came to an end at midnight on November 19th, and the new format as Blu 102.9 was launched. Karen Sanchez became KLBU's general manager. The call letters were changed to KLBU and the format still contained Jazz and World Music but was adjusted to include Chill, Lounge, Acid Jazz, Trip hop, House, and softer Dance Hits, as well as Smooth Jazz and Bossa Nova, nearly all of the Classical, Blues, Folk, and Bluegrass was removed from the playlist. Chill, of course, was the most dominant genre in Blu 102.9's format. The music played on Blu 102.9 had a bit more energy than music played on a traditional smooth jazz radio station. Many of the songs played were instrumental but some tracks contained vocals as well. Other songs featured vocal sound samples. Blu 102.9 was given the slogan Santa Fe's Choice for Chill".
Blu also aired a replay of BBC Radio 1's "Gilles Peterson Worldwide" on Sunday and Wednesday nights, hosted by British DJ Gilles Peterson. Blu also began to broadcast live from a local nightclub, the program was called "The Blu Room", which featured local and international mix DJ's who spun live on the air on Friday nights. Blu also had several daytime personalities, including Joann Orner a.k.a. "The Lunch Lady".
In July 2005, General Manager, Karen Sanchez, was fired.
Just before summer of 2007, Blu 102.9 began operating under Hutton Broadcasting with a "special temporary authority" while still under ownership of Blu Ventures. After the STA was granted, Blu 102.9 discontinued airing any programming and began running on automation full time. As it was running on automation, the format slowly began changing, including more Jazz and Rhythmic, and less Electronica. At this point, it was known that KLBU would be sold to Hutton Broadcasting. In September, Blu 102.9 stopped streaming online and song titles were no longer displayed on the website.
In October 2007, Blu 102.9 was sold to Hutton Broadcasting. Management stated that no big changes are planned but the format would "evolve" to include other genres.[2] Hutton Broadcasting also purchased KWRP-FM (formerly "Indie 101.5", now KVSF-FM) and KBAC (98.1 FM). Blu 102.9 moved out from its original location on Cordova Road to Hutton Broadcasting's building on Camino Estrada.
In September 2010 the format changed to playing various rhythmic sounds including pop, urban, dance, rhythmic alternative, and rhythmic hits from the 80's through today. It has also begun streaming it's live broadcast on the internet again.
Chill is also featured on Sirius, XM Satellite Radio and internet radio stations including Digitally Imported and SomaFM's Groove Salad, and is also heard evenings on San Diego alternative station KBZT-FM, but they are not quite the same as KLBU. Chill can also be heard on Y98 KYKY/St. Louis, on the "Sunday Night Chillout", as well as Y98's HD-2 channel, called "Chill 98-1". KLLC in San Francisco also has a chill station on its HD-2 channel.
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