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‘I love that I can count on Lumpen Radio to play music no other station is playing!’

– Brenda Hernandez, Friend of Lumpen

‘We need outlets like Lumpen Radio to better understand music outside of the mainstream, open opportunities for people whose voices might not be heard, and to have a platform for sonic creatives to let loose on the air.’

– Drew Mitchell, 606 Records

‘Everytime I tune in there is always something cool happening, either fantastic music, special guests, or interesting conversations. It is a great company for any occasion.’

– Sofia Gabriel Del Callejo, Hyde Park Art Center

‘Lumpen Radio is a true Chicago gem, showcasing unique voices that don’t have access to a public media source – like youth, seniors, teachers, and Spanish speakers. While radio and other free local media journalism are being threatened, Lumpen Radio continues to bring news and stories that reflect the community it serves.’

– Vanessa Sanchez, Yollocalli Arts Reach

‘At this moment radio stations like Lumpen Radio meet all of the challenges of getting real information to the masses head on. It is critical that Lumpen Radio remains at the forefront of being a go-to source for news and commentary and amazing music from around the world.’

– Mario Smith, News From the Service Entrance

‘Lumpen Radio lends a much-needed critical ear to the City of Chicago and beyond, while also amplifying the many unique and powerful voices of communities who believe in justice, advocacy, and freedom of expression.’

– Alex E. Chavez, Friend of Lumpen

‘Pongan Caifanes’

– Ariandy Luna, Niña Chida

Lumpen Radio: A Decade of Low-Power to the People • Radio es Cultura

Thank you for kicking it with us at the 10th Anniversary party! We hope you enjoyed jamming out, eating tacos, screen printing your own shirts, visiting the renovated studio, recording your voices for the radio, and hanging out with the community.

Ten years ago, Lumpen Radio launched as an experiment in community-powered broadcasting: a low-power FM station built by artists, organizers, musicians, journalists, neighbors, and people who believed Chicago deserved weird, independent, local media. What began as a grassroots station broadcasting from the middle of a gallery in Bridgeport with little more than a mixer and a couple of microphones has grown into a platform for multilingual storytelling, hyperlocal journalism, arts and culture, and voices too often ignored by mainstream media.

From underground DJs and neighborhood historians to poets, activists, punks, educators, immigrant organizers, and curious late-night listeners, Lumpen Radio has always been shaped collectively. Through protests, pandemics, festivals, elections, mutual aid efforts, dance parties, and quiet overnight broadcasts, the station has remained rooted in the idea that radio is not just entertainment, but a bridge that connects us. Radio es Cultura. Radio is Memory. Radio is Low-Power to the People.

Special shoutouts to the amazing amazing volunteers Jonathan Bucio, Jhonathan Carbonell, Brian Cruz, Mario Smith, Sandra Treviño, Maggie, David Weeks, Dud Lawson and all the PMI Team for their invaluable help and presence throughout the night.

Thank you also to Lisa Armstrong (DJ Letra Set and designer of the 10th anniversary posters), Bobby Conn, DJ LeDeuce, Cqqchifruit, and John Simmons for their incredible sets.

And of course, thank you to all of you for showing up, tuning in, calling in, volunteering, listening, dancing, hosting shows, sharing music, and helping keep this strange little frequency alive for the last decade.

And all the local businesses and organizations that helped make this celebration possible and Lumpen Radio possible:

606 Records

Bridgeport Records

Busy Beaver Buttons & Merch

Estereo & Estereo FM

Hoofprint

La Haciendita (Pulaski)

Marz Community Brewing

National Museum of Mexican Art

Praxis Institute

Time and a Half Books

WLPN-LP 105.5FM, Chicago, Lumpen Radio: A Decade of Low-Power to the People • Radio es Cultura

Photo credits: Sandra Oviedo (ColectivoMultipolar)

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Lumpen Radio: A Decade of Low-Power to the People • Radio es Cultura