‘What the HELL?’: Surprising Boise listeners, radio station flips formats after 22 years

Even in the era of music streaming services, nothing sets folks off quite like a radio station flipping formats.

So when 107.1 K-Hits reinvented itself Monday as Hank FM, Treasure Valley reaction was predictable.

“What the HELL???!?!?!?” a listener complained on the station’s Facebook page. “Really?”

Yep, really.

After serving the Boise area with classic hits for 22 years — think Elton John, the Eagles, Billy Joel, Queen — KTHI-FM now is playing what it calls “Idaho’s REAL Country.”

In other words, older-school country. But not strictly old-school. I’m not sure who the Hank in Hank FM is supposed to be. But it didn’t take long to hear Hank Williams Jr.’s “Born to Boogie” after I started to “crank the Hank,” as the station instructs listeners to do.

A quick airwaves sampling showed the station dipping as far back as 1982 with “Swingin’” by John Anderson, but also as recent as 2010 with Blake Shelton’s “All About Tonight.” Other songs ranged from Patty Loveless’ “Chains” and Alan Jackson’s “Little Bitty” to Randy Travis’ “Is It Still Over?” and Toby Keith’s “He Ain’t Worth Missing.”

Hank joins three other country stations in the crowded Boise market: 101.9 The Bull (which draws consistently stellar ratings), Wow Country 104.3 and Kissin 92.3.

Listeners hoping for a station somewhat similar to K-Hits can tune to 101.5 Kool FM.

If you follow Nielsen numbers, the remake at K-Hits wasn’t a total surprise. The format had been struggling for a while; 107.1 FM needed to consider an overhaul.

The Hank country format can be found in other markets across the nation. Playlists vary, and some skew more contemporary than others.

Bottom line? If modern-day country ain’t your thing, Hank just might be.