Brian "BT" Turner (left) and Jason Nagel /photo courtesy of Turner
Two more well-known local rock radio DJs are off the airwaves. Again.
Jason Nagel and Brian "BT" Turner – both former longtime jockeys at Cities 97 – were let go from Go 96.3 FM on Friday, a Pohlad family station that they joined two to three years ago when it was still known as K-TWIN.
The DJs themselves revealed the news via Facebook with a photo (seen above) that shows them lifting beers in salutation at Elsie's. "Toasting new corners to turn after both being released today at Go 96.3," their post read.
Requests for comment from Go 96.3 representatives have not yet been returned. The station is also the broadcaster of all of the Minnesota Twins' games, which enjoyed strong listenership this year thanks to the team's success. However, the station's music format has been in flux for many years, with its new modern-rock format unveiled at the start of 2015.
The Pohlads' broadcasting company, Northern Lights Media, is in the process of buying local Christian worship station KNOF 95.3 -- sparking speculation that it might turn its newly acquired outlet into its Twins broadcasting station, and thus make Go 96.3 an all-music outlet.
Nagel and Turner both held midday shifts at the reinvented station, which now skews to a younger audience than when the two middle-aged DJs joined it during the more '90s-flavored K-TWIN era. Turner also did marketing and advertising work there. Nagel's extra duties included the all-local Sunday night show "MN Music," a gig he also maintained for many years at Cities 97.
Their departure from Go follows closely on the heels of last Friday's surprise news that another DJ with strong local music connections, David Campbell, resigned from 89.3 the Current, Go's primary competitor. Former Current mid-day host Barb Abney has been Go 96.3's morning host since February.
Go 96.3 is still ambitiously marketing its music brand -- "Where modern music is going" is its catch-phrase -- with such events as its Dec. 3 Snow Show concert at Northrop Auditorium, featuring Silversun Pickups and Metric -- both recent performers at the Current-sponsored Rock the Garden festival.
