It was always a bit of an uphill battle, honestly. If you grew up in the tri-state area, you knew the deal: New York City was a Top 40, Hip-Hop, and Classic Rock town. Country music? That was something you found on the radio once you crossed the bridge into Pennsylvania or headed deep into the Jersey Pine Barrens. Then, in early 2013, New York NASH FM 94.7 showed up and tried to change the entire frequency of the city. It was loud. It was shiny. It was Cumulus Media’s big bet that the concrete jungle actually had a heart for Nashville.
For six years, it worked. Sorta.
I remember the morning they flipped the switch. One minute it was the ending of "Family FM" (WFAS-FM) and the next, it was "How Country Feels" by Randy Houser. It felt weirdly rebellious to hear a steel guitar echoing off the skyscrapers in Midtown. But the story of New York NASH FM isn't just about a radio station; it’s a case study in how corporate media tries to "brand" a subculture and what happens when the local listeners finally realize the signal is being beamed in from somewhere else.
The Birth of WNSH and the Cumulus Gamble
Before WNSH, New York had been without a full-market country station for over a decade. The last one was WYNY, which drifted away in the mid-90s. Cumulus Media didn't just want to launch a station; they wanted to launch a lifestyle. They trademarked the "NASH" brand, intending to make it the national gold standard for country music. New York was the flagship. The crown jewel.
They moved the studios to midtown Manhattan. They brought in big names. They spent a fortune on billboards. The idea was that country had "gone pop," and therefore, the sophisticated New York listener was ready for Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood. And for a while, the ratings actually looked decent. People were hungry for it.
But here’s the thing about New York radio: it's incredibly provincial. We like our DJs to know which subway line is delayed and where to get the best bagel in Secaucus. New York NASH FM struggled with that balance. Because it was part of a national "Nash" network, it often felt a little too polished, a little too "USA General" for a crowd that prides itself on being hyper-local.
Why the "Nash" Brand Felt Different
Most radio stations are just call letters and a frequency. NASH was different. It was an ecosystem. They had Nash Magazine, they had syndicated shows like NASH Nights Live, and they even had the "Nash Next" talent searches.
Blair Garner, a legendary voice in country radio, was a massive part of this. His overnight (and later morning) presence gave the station a sense of authority. When you tuned into 94.7, you weren't just hearing a playlist; you were hearing the Nashville machine. For some, that was the draw. You felt connected to the Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry while sitting in traffic on the LIE.
However, the signal was always a bit "wonky." WNSH’s transmitter wasn't on the Empire State Building or the World Trade Center. It was located in Newark, New Jersey. This meant that while the station boomed in Jersey and parts of Staten Island, it could get fuzzy in the "canyons" of Manhattan or the far reaches of Long Island. If you can't hear the music, you won't listen to the station. Simple as that.
The Personalities That Kept It Alive
We have to talk about Jesse Addy and Katie Neal. They were the glue.
In a world of syndicated content, these were the folks who made New York NASH FM feel like it actually belonged to the city. Jesse Addy, in particular, became the face of the station for many. He was at every concert at Jones Beach. He was at the street fairs. When a radio station is trying to survive in the most expensive media market in the world, you need humans who actually show up.
The Shocking Flip to Audacy and the End of an Era
In 2019, the rug got pulled out.
Radio is a brutal business. Debt loads and corporate restructuring don't care about "brand loyalty." Cumulus entered a massive station swap with Entercom (now known as Audacy). In exchange for stations in other markets, Cumulus handed over the keys to WNSH.
On a random Friday in May 2019, the "NASH" branding vanished.
It became New York’s Country 94.7. No more "Nash" logo. No more national Nash syndication during the day. It was a cold, hard transition. Entercom basically said, "We like the format, but we don't want to pay Cumulus for the brand name."
For the listeners, it was confusing. The music stayed the same, but the soul felt different. It was like your favorite local bar got bought by a chain—the beer is the same, but the vibe is off. Then, things got even worse.
The 2021 Heartbreak
If 2019 was a rebranding, 2021 was a funeral.
On October 22, 2021, without much warning, the country music stopped. Audacy decided that the ratings and the ad revenue didn't justify keeping country music on the 94.7 FM dial. They flipped the station to "The Block," a classic hip-hop and R&B format.
Just like that, the "country experiment" in New York City was over.
There was no big farewell. No week-long tribute to the fans. Just a format flip that left thousands of country fans in the tri-state area with nothing but static or a weak signal from a suburban station. It was a reminder that in the era of streaming and corporate consolidation, "niche" formats on big-city FM dials are endangered species.
Where Does New York Country Go Now?
You might think that because New York NASH FM is gone, country music died in the city. Not true. It just went underground—or rather, into the cloud.
If you’re looking for that old 94.7 vibe, you have to look a little harder. Here is the reality of the current landscape:
- The HD2 Signal: Audacy kept the "New York Country" brand alive as a digital subchannel. If you have a modern car radio, you can often find it on 94.7 HD2. It’s the same music, but you lose the "live" feel of a primary station.
- WLTW 106.7 HD2: iHeartRadio also runs a country format on one of its digital subchannels.
- Thunder 102 and The Wolf: If you are in the outer suburbs (Orange County, Sussex County, or parts of Westchester), you can still catch local country stations that never tried to be "Nash." They just stayed local.
- The Streaming Shift: Most former NASH listeners simply migrated to Spotify’s "Hot Country" playlist or Apple Music’s "The Sand Bar."
The loss of a dedicated NYC country station changed the concert scene, too. NASH FM used to be the primary sponsor for massive shows at the Prudential Center or MetLife Stadium. Without that "megaphone," it’s harder for new country artists to break into the New York market. You don't see the same level of street-level promotion anymore.
The Nuance of the Failure
Was it the music? No. Country music is more popular now than it was in 2013. Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs sell out stadiums in the Northeast.
The failure of New York NASH FM was a failure of physics and finance. The Newark transmitter meant the signal couldn't reach the millions of potential listeners in Connecticut and Long Island effectively. Combine that with the staggering cost of operating in NYC and a parent company (Cumulus) that was navigating bankruptcy at the time, and you have a recipe for a short shelf life.
It’s also worth noting that "Country" in New York isn't just one thing. NASH focused heavily on "Bro-Country" and Pop-Country. They largely ignored the Americana and "Alt-Country" scenes that actually thrive in places like Brooklyn or Asbury Park. By trying to be a national brand, they missed the chance to be a New York brand.
What You Should Do If You Miss WNSH
Honestly, the era of the big-city country station is probably over for a while. But that doesn't mean you can't find the community.
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- Follow the DJs: Many of the former NASH personalities are still active on social media and have moved to national platforms. Katie Neal, for instance, ended up with a major role at Audacy’s national country platform.
- Check the "Wolf" Stations: Stations like 97.7 and 97.3 "The Wolf" in the Hudson Valley still provide that localized, small-town country radio feel that NASH sometimes lacked.
- App-Based Listening: Download the Audacy or iHeart apps. It’s not the same as turning a dial, but the "New York Country" curated stations are still being programmed by people who know the market.
Radio is a ghost story in New York. You can still hear the echoes of WNEW, WPLJ, and NASH FM if you talk to any commuter who spent hours on the Goethals Bridge. New York NASH FM was a brief, bright moment where Nashville tried to plant a flag in Times Square. The flag is gone, but the fans are still here—they’re just listening in a different way.
If you’re still driving around looking for 94.7, just know that the frequency is still there, but the "Nash" boots have long since moved on. The industry moved to the phone in your pocket, and while that's convenient, it's okay to miss the days when a "Howdy" from a DJ felt like it was coming from right down the street.
To keep up with live country events in the city today, your best bet is to monitor the schedules at venues like Terminal 5, The Bowery Ballroom, or the larger Prudential Center, as they’ve taken over the role of "tastemaker" that the station once held. Watch for local country nights at smaller bars in the city—that’s where the actual "Nash" spirit lives now, far away from the corporate transmitters.