The iconic alternative rock station 89X is back on the air after a five-year absence, flipping formats again on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 28, and reviving a cultural staple of the Detroit-Windsor music scene.
The Windsor-based, Bell Media-owned CIMX-FM (88.7), which switched to a country music format in 2020, relaunched 89X at 8:08 a.m. with Jane’s Addiction’s “Stop!” — the same track that introduced the brand in May 1991.
Now called “Windsor’s Alternative,” the station features a refreshed logo and a renewed focus on its roots. Before the switch, the station wrapped up its Pure Country 89 era by playing four Johnny Cash songs, closing with “The Man Comes Around.”
“We’ve been teasing this for about a week now,” said program director Brad Gibbs. “It felt like we had the ear of the city this morning. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re just so excited to have this brand back. … It feels like a full circle moment.”
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Over nearly 30 years, 89X built a devoted audience across the border, even hosting annual concert events in Detroit such as the Night 89X Stole Christmas and the 89X Birthday Bash. Its alt-rock return is being promoted as “the relaunch of a movement.”
“Windsor’s Alternative is back,” the station posted on its New Rock 89X Facebook account. “Did you miss us? Because we missed YOU!”
Fans, many of whom had speculated about 89X’s return since the station began teasing it, expressed their excitement on social media.
“Jane’s Addiction never sounded so good at 8 a.m.,” one person commented.
“Welcome back, 89X! You’ll be my (No.)1 preset on my car stereo,” another wrote. “I really liked how Pure Country ended its run with those Johnny Cash American Recordings songs.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 89X back on air with alternative rock format after 5 years
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