KVCU Radio 1190: live radio from Boulder

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KVCU Radio 1190

Run by whoever showed up.

Nocturnal ambient, daytime guitars, all student-picked.

Student radio at the University of Colorado goes back to 1981, when a KGNU satellite studio on campus broke off and became KAIR, and the students have kept a signal of their own ever since. In 1998 Jacor donated the 1190 AM license to the CU Foundation and Radio 1190 moved onto it, 6,800 daytime watts reaching down the Front Range, with a Denver translator at 92.9 FM added in 2025. The station went dark in 2022 to rebuild and came back in February 2023; in 2026 it left the student union for Carlson Gymnasium without missing an hour.

Every shift is filled by a student volunteer, and the station's own line — no limited playlists, no limited formats — is close to a job description. The overnight Mixtape runs ambient and downtempo picked by the music directors; the daytime grid swings between indie rock, post-punk, hip hop and jazz, often inside a single hour. The newsroom is separate and has the awards to show for it.

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Boulder, United States

KVCU Radio 1190

Run by whoever showed up.

Nocturnal ambient, daytime guitars, all student-picked.

Student radio at the University of Colorado goes back to 1981, when a KGNU satellite studio on campus broke off and became KAIR, and the students have kept a signal of their own ever since. In 1998 Jacor donated the 1190 AM license to the CU Foundation and Radio 1190 moved onto it, 6,800 daytime watts reaching down the Front Range, with a Denver translator at 92.9 FM added in 2025. The station went dark in 2022 to rebuild and came back in February 2023; in 2026 it left the student union for Carlson Gymnasium without missing an hour.

Every shift is filled by a student volunteer, and the station's own line — no limited playlists, no limited formats — is close to a job description. The overnight Mixtape runs ambient and downtempo picked by the music directors; the daytime grid swings between indie rock, post-punk, hip hop and jazz, often inside a single hour. The newsroom is separate and has the awards to show for it.