Live 105 Is Officially Back on the Air

After four years, at 10:53 AM this morning, Live 105 (105.3 FM) returned to the radio airwaves, reclaiming its title as the premier alternative rock radio in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The station entered the modern rock and alternative rock world in 1985 when on-air personality Steve Masters began incorporating modern rock music into the evening programs. The station became a fully modern rock station in 1986 and has been home to the latest in alternative rock ever since.

Aaron Axelsen became the music director for the station in 1994 and helped incorporate shows into the station’s weekly lineup like “Sound Check” (which focused on highlighting local artists in the Bay Area) and “Subsonic”, an all-electronic and dance music show that ran later in the evenings.

The station was also known for hosting iconic festivals and holiday shows, like the annual BFD (which ran until 2018) and Not So Silent Night, which took place every December and featured the biggest names in rock and alternative.

In 2018, the station name was changed to Alt 105.3 FM, before being ushered completely off the air on October 15th, 2021 where it was turned into Dave FM, which played a mix of Top 40 hits from throughout the decades. When listening to Dave FM, it felt more like a robot using an algorithm to pick popular songs from over the past several years rather than actual human song curation.

The news came last Saturday that the legendary Bay Area station would be returning to the airwaves. The first song played on the newly reinstated Live 105 was Green Day’s “Welcome To Paradise”.

While it’s unclear whether or not shows like BFD or Not So Silent Night will return to the mold, one thing is for certain: Live 105 is back.

Main Image: Live 105 banner at BFD Festival in June 2015. Main Photo Credit: Jared Stossel for Shameless SF.