Peak’s return means it’s the end of ‘The Buzzard’ as we know it
The long-lost and lamented Peak has arisen again.
On April 11, KZBD-FM (The Buzzard, 105.7) switched formats from classic rock to what it calls “The Peak, Pop Alternative Rock, from the ‘90s to today.”
The new Peak is playing artists such as Linkin Park, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Nickelback, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Avril Lavigne, Jack Johnson, The Killers and others of that ilk.
This is big news for Spokane radio listeners with long memories. The Peak burst onto the Spokane radio scene in 1995 with the R.E.M. song “It’s the End of the World as We Know It,” as a way to introduce the Spokane market to its first alternative rock format.
The old Peak, also at 105.7 FM, went through various ratings peaks and valleys before finally succumbing to market forces in 2003 and adopting a classic rock format, “The Buzzard,” and changing its call letters to KZBD-FM.
Now the new owners, Mapleton Communications’ Radio Spokane, have brought the Peak name and format back to 105.7 FM.
General manager Don Morin said in a press release that the station felt “it’s long overdue in bringing back a radio station that meant so much to the listeners of Spokane.”
Lucinda to Pig Out
Pig Out in the Park, the big food-and-music fair at Riverfront Park, has landed a prestigious headliner: Lucinda Williams on Aug. 31.
Williams is a country, alt-country and folk legend, best known for her song “Passionate Kisses” (made famous by Mary Chapin Carpenter) and the album “Car Wheels On a Gravel Road.”
Too Slim and the Taildraggers will open for her.
Other bands already booked for this free Labor Day weekend extravaganza include: Ricochet, Aug. 29; Curtis Salgado Band, Aug. 29; and Electric Flag featuring the Tower of Power Horns, Aug. 30.
Hope that whets your Pig Out appetite.
Olympia in Montana
Here’s an intriguing theater event that will be take place this summer just over the mountains in Whitefish.
Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis will bring “The Other Side of the Island,” her adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” to the Alpine Theatre Project from Aug. 26 through Sept. 7.
The show, Dukakis’ brainchild, was work-shopped at the Long Wharf Theatre in Connecticut. This will be its first full production.
Dukakis and husband Louis Zorich, a longtime Broadway veteran and Tony nominee, will star in the show.
For more information, go to www.alpinetheatreproject.org or call (406) 862-SHOW.
A second Wolski
Dawn Marie Wolski has been added to the Spokane String Quartet’s season finale on May 11, 3 p.m. at the Bing Crosby Theater.
Wolski, a soprano, will sing two Schubert songs, “Salve Regina” and “Death and the Maiden.”
The wife of Mateusz Wolski, a member of the quartet and concermaster with the Spokane Symphony, she has developed a following through appearances with the symphony and Spokane Opera.
Tickets are available through TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).