Former WOXY (97X)/Oxford-Cincinnati DJs Reuniting For One Final Modern Rock 500 Countdown

The Future Of Rock And Roll 1988-2010

Former BALOGH Alternative WOXY (97X)/OXFORD-CINCINNATI will make a triumphant return online on MAY 22nd to celebrate what would've been the 40th Anniversary of the station. In partnership with CINCINNATI-based streaming station INHAILER RADIO, 97X will return for a Special 2023 "97X MODERN ROCK 500," airing MAY 22–29th in five 100-lap segments from MAY 22-26 and repeat on MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND on MAY 27-29.

 The program that became synonymous with 97X was the annual MODERN ROCK 500. Borrowing thematically from the nearby INDIANAPOLIS 500 and broadcast over MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND, the 97X MODERN ROCK 500 counted down the best alternative songs as "laps." The MODERN ROCK 500 aired on 97X from 1988-2003 and continued on WOXY.COM from 2005-2009. WOXY.com signed off in 2010.

"This new MODERN ROCK 500 will be limited to those songs that landed on the countdown in the past," said MIKE TAYLOR (PD from 2001-2010). "It’s taking a look back from a present-day point of view. Any way you slice it, it’s gonna be 500 great tunes." 

The broadcast will be hosted by over 30 ex-WOXY DJs, including those from the station's fledgling days in the early 90's to the explosion of the format in the 90's and as an online entity in the early 2000s. The 2023 MODERN ROCK 500 is well represented by the people who were there making it happen. The full list of former 97X on-air talent returning for the 2023 97X MODERN ROCK 500 COUNTDOWN includes: AARON BORNS; ALI CASTELLINI; BARB ABNEY; BILL DOUGLAS; BRIAN EWING; BRYAN JAY MILLER; DAMIAN DOTTERWEICH; DAN “DANNY CRASH” REED; DAVE TELLMANN; DORSIE FYFFE; FORREST GRIFFEN; JULIE "JAE FORMAN" CLAY; JEFF ROHRS; JIM MERCER; JOE LONG; JOHN JESSER; JULIE "MAXWELL" ARGONIS; KERI VALMASSEI; LUANN GIBBS (MISS KITTY); MATT SHIV; MATT SLEDGE; MATTHEW HARRIS; MIKE TAYLOR; MIKE WINSTEAD; NICK PLEIMLING; PHIL KOLLIN; RIC “TILE” CENGERI; ROB ERVIN; ROBIN PLAN; STASE WENDLAND; STEVE BAKER; and TINA KRISTINA MUELLER.

The MODERN ROCK 500 also serves as a wrap-up of the 97X-focused podcast "RUMBLINGS FROM THE BIG BUSH" (a reference to a distinctly large shrubbery located on the station’s OXFORD, OH property), hosted by TELLMANN and DOTTERWEICH. 

TELLMAN said, "RUMBLINGS over the last few years has caught up with former air talent, station employees, fans of the station, and some of the artists that we played at 97X. It’s been a blast! The podcast has about run its course; but the idea of capping it with the Modern Rock 500 couldn’t be a better way to sign off.  Rumblings… episodes can be found on all major podcast player sites and on 97Xbam.

The 2023 97X MODERN ROCK 500 is a love letter to its loyal legion of listeners and to station owners DOUG and LINDA BALOGH. The station achieved notoriety in the 1988 ACADEMY AWARD-winning movie "RAIN MAN" ("97X BAM! THE FUTURE OF ROCK AND ROLL"). The special broadcast will be available on INHAILER RADIO, on the INHAILER RADIO app and CINCINNATI PUBLIC RADIO Triple A WGUC-HD3/CINCINNATI. Plans are in the works for an on-demand archive of this historical broadcast.

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