Christian radio group Peter and John Fellowship Inc. is buying WRNR 103.1 FM for $1.54 million, according to Federal Communications Commission filings.

WRNR 103.1 FM has been the hometown alternative rock station for the Annapolis area for decades, broadcasting from Grasonville with a station in the state capital.

The Christian broadcasting group will purchase the station’s FCC license along with some equipment, but WRNR’s owner, Empire Broadcasting Corp., is retaining its format, intellectual property and call letters. The pending acquisition would leave WTMD 89.7 Towson as the last Adult Album Alternative radio station in the area.

Peter and John Fellowship Inc. will fold 103.1 FM into its existing set of local stations, 95.1 Bright FM and AM 1230 WRBS. Neither Empire president Steve Kingston nor representatives from Peter and John Fellowship Inc. responded to requests for comment.

WRNR is known for pioneering young talent on its airwaves, helping the likes of Portugal. The Man, Maggie Rogers and Brandi Carlile get their start — much of which is due to legendary program director Bob Waugh, who retired in early 2022.

“It’s one less outlet to expose a lot of new and developing, as well as established, artists,” Waugh said in an interview with The Baltimore Banner. “WRNR’s playlist was very unique, and I would dare to say, you know, one of the most unique radio stations in the United States.”

Though the music industry is changing in the age of YouTube and Spotify, there is still massive competition among artists to get a spot on the radio, specifically on stations like WRNR.

The station is frequently listened to by music label executives and agents, all of whom relied on Waugh and WRNR staff’s tastemaking to help discover new artists. Not only that, the frequency itself — 103.1 FM — is a coveted spot on the dial, reaching listeners from the Baltimore area to the Eastern Shore.

According to Amy Kaplan, the director of radio promotion at Mick Management who also represents Rogers, WRNR has been “instrumental” in helping young artists move their careers forward.

“Maggie Rogers is from the Eastern Shore,” Kaplan said. “And when she got to go to WRNR and play a session, it was really important to her and really exciting to have her hometown station that she grew up listening to involved with the building blocks of her career.”

Over the years, the WRNR staff has developed a passionate fanbase and popular annual events with national draw. For example, WRNR’s Rock ‘N River Cruise attracted talent from all over the country to play on the Harbor Queen and sail along the Severn River.

While the event often had nationally known headliners, WRNR always made a point to champion local talent. For years, local band Pressing Strings played the Rock ‘N River Cruise, opening for touring groups like Hippo Campus and Sam Roberts Band.

“Those were some of my fondest memories,” said Pressing Strings lead singer Jordan Sokel.

Sokel said he wasn’t shocked by the sale since WRNR has been hemorrhaging talent for years. Along with Waugh, hosts Carrie Evans and Rob Timm also left the station in recent years and both joined WTMD.

Timm, who just started at WTMD this month, spent 18 years at WRNR. In late 2021, Timm was diagnosed with stage four throat cancer and had to take a leave of absence from his hosting duties. WRNR supporters rallied for his recovery, helping raise over $70,000.

Timm is now cancer free and back on air.

“It was just stunning,” Timm said. “It helped me so much — the expressions of love that these people gave me.”

Evans, who was recently promoted to program director at WTMD, got her start in radio at WRNR. In an interview with The Banner, she spoke just as fondly about her time working on the overnight shift making $7.50 an hour as she did watching Hozier play his crossover hit “Take Me to Church” at St. Anne’s Parish in the the heart of Annapolis.

“It was a little station held together by passionate people,” Evans said.

WRNR’s owners must issue local notice, solicit public comment and gain final approval from the FCC before the deal can go through.

Even though Evans is now at another station, she said she was hit hard by reports of the deal.

“I was very saddened to hear the news because first and foremost, I am a Marylander, and as such, I was really proud to live in a place that had not just one great AAA station, but two — which is almost unheard of,” she said.

brenna.smith@thebaltimorebanner.com