WRHS (103.1

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a commercial

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

station licensed to Grasonville, Maryland, broadcasting mainly to the

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, wh ...

area and the Eastern Shore of Maryland on 103.1 FM. Owned by Peter & John Radio Fellowship, Inc., WRHS rebroadcasts the

Christian adult contemporary Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC, CAC, or Christian Adult Contemporary Airplay, is a form of radio-played contemporary Christian music, ranging from 1960s Jesus music and 1970s Christian soft rock music to predominately ...

format of co-owned

WRBS-FM WRBS-FM (95.1 MHz, "Bright-FM") is a radio station in Baltimore, Maryland, serving the Baltimore metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Christian adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Peter & John Radio Fellowship, Inc. WRBS-FM h ...

, which is branded on-air as Bright-FM. The station's transmitter is located in Grasonville/Queenstown, on Maryland's Eastern Shore of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

. It is a " Class A" radio station. WRHS mainly focuses on the Annapolis area, as well as the rest of Anne Arundel, Queen Anne's, and Talbot Counties, although the signal covers

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Annapolis, the eastern Washington, D.C., suburbs, and many other densely populated areas.

History

Early years (1979–1981)

WAQA signed on the air in 1979 and was founded by Edward Mason De Maso, as a

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

station, known as Super Q103 with 3,000 watts from a tower at Kent Narrows, Maryland. The studio and tower were co-located.

Bay Country 103 (1981–1991)

In 1981, the call letters were changed to WBEY and the format changed to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. The station was known as Bay Country 103.

103.1 The Underground (1991–1992)

In early 1991, Vision Broadcasting purchased 103.1 and changed the call letters to WHVY and the format to

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

with an emphasis on heavy metal. The WHVY call letters and format were moved from low-power night-time-only non-commercial 96.7 in Baltimore (97 Underground) to 103.1. The studio was moved to Annapolis with a secondary studio maintained at the transmitter site.

Rock 103XZL (1992–1994)

In December 1992, the active rock format was tweaked some and the call letters were changed to WXZL. The station also increased its power to 6,000 watts from a new tower about 4 miles east of the original tower location.

103.1 WRNR (1994–2023)

The station changed its calls to WRNR-FM in 1994. Empire Broadcasting System acquired the station in 1997.

During this era, WRNR-FM's studios were located in

on Admiral Cochrane Drive. The official music format for WRNR-FM was

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...

, but the station added a lot to that format musically with deep tracks of

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

, new

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

, vintage alternative rock,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...

, and more. They are credited as one of the radio stations that helped launch the bands "

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

" and many others. WRNR-FM was one of the few independent radio stations in the Baltimore-Washington area. On November 4, 2022, Empire announced it would sell WRNR-FM to Peter and John Ministries, the owners of Christian AC station

(known on air as Bright FM) and Christian talk station WRBS. Included in the sale was the station's frequency, its licenses, and most of its broadcasting equipment; excluded from the sale was the station's call sign, its format and IP, and its Annapolis studio, all of which station owner Steve Kingston claimed was to be moved to another frequency, with WSMD-FM's frequency already in mind. WRNR-FM's programming remained on the frequency until February 10, 2023, being replaced with messages encouraging listeners to download its app and listen on their website before Bright-FM took over. The sale was also consummated on February 10, at a price of $1.54 million. Peter and John took over all broadcast operations of the station the following day. As of February 11, 2023, WRNR-FM programming is being broadcast online, as well as on former repeater WYRE. The broadcast/webcast plays a top of the hour legal ID that says, "The Voice of the Bay, WYRE, Annapolis and WRNR Online" with occasional "103.1 RNR" spot announcements in between songs.

Bright-FM (2023–present)

Bright-FM programming arrived on WRNR-FM on February 11, 2023, with the station serving as a simulcast of WRBS-FM for the

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Ma ...

and Baltimore's northeast suburbs. The main Bright-FM studios are located in Commerce Drive near

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

Halethorpe, Maryland Halethorpe is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The community is considered to be a sub-section of Arbutus by the United States Census Bureau. It is bordered by the main portion of Arbutus to the north, Ba ...

, using a Baltimore address. On February 16, 2023, the station changed its call sign to WRHS.

References

External links

* Annapolis, Maryland RHS RHS Christian adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1980 1980 establishments in Maryland Queen Anne's County, Maryland {{Maryland-radio-station-stub