From Our Musical Roots to Free Form Album Rock

Our goal is to bring St. Louis (and the world!) a commercial-free, volunteer-run, community-supported reimagining of the days when FM radio was the place to hear exciting new music played by DJs who selected the music, knew all about the music, and—some would say—pretty much lived for the music.

TheRoots.FM was founded over a decade ago by radio veterans and Album-Oriented Rock enthusiasts who wanted to bring back the magic and community involvement of the days before corporations and consultants turned rock radio into a miasma of repetition, commercials, and sound-alike “personalities” who often had no particular affection for the music they were required to play. Initially flourishing under the banner of Free-Form Album Rock and gaining a dedicated audience by playing the “deep cuts” now overlooked by commercial rock radio. The Roots.FM expanded its boundaries to present other kinds of music that have large, dedicated followings but little or no representation on the radio: Bluegrass, blues, jam bands, Americana, folk, Jazz fusion, indie rock, Latin, and more.

The spirits of the original creators of FM radio are back in charge at TheRoots—FM, which we now call Free Form Radio. Our music collection encompasses over 37,000 albums, and we intend to play every one of them! Our HD signal brings you ultra-high-fidelity, crystal-clear sound wherever you want to hear it via our own website and mobile-device app, Television,  Sonos, Amazon, TuneIn, and other popular streaming-audio facilitators.

Whether you’re missing the fresh, unpredictable excitement of the FM stations you grew up with or you just like the idea of a diverse, commercial-free cornucopia of otherwise-under-represented music selected and presented by real live people who are sharing old and new local favorites for the love of it, TheRoots.FM is here for you—still growing, still discovering, still putting the music first.