This iconic Phoenix alternative station returns after decades away

A beloved Arizona alternative radio favorite has clawed its way back from the dead onto the Valley airwaves, this time with an AI-powered soul.

On Jan. 15, Phoenix station The Zone returned to the FM dial at 94.9 FM, spinning a mix of adult alternative artists from the past and present.

The station is owned by Phoenix-based radio, branding and marketing company Zelus Media Group. It uses the name and logo of KZON, the Valley alternative station that broadcast from 1992 to 2005.

Version 2.0 of The Zone leans into the adult alternative format with hints of classic rock. Artists like Coldplay, Amy Winehouse and The Lumineers have been featured by the station, according to its website, along with jams by Stevie Nicks, Sting and The Pretenders. But this isn’t a straight nostalgia play.

Hello, computer

The new Zone mixes “human music curation” with artificial intelligence-driven content delivery, according to a press release from Zelus Media Group. The result is a hybrid approach that the company says represents the “next chapter of radio.”

The station is powered by SonicTrek.ai, an AI platform built by radio programmers Joel Denver, Dennis Constantine and Mike Agovino.

The technology uses voices licensed from real, living radio jocks, including Constantine, Nicole Sandler and Sean Marten, then filters them through AI-assisted content tools. Kevin Malvey, who worked at the original KZON in the mid-1990s, has also licensed his voice to the revived station.

Zelus stresses that the approach isn’t about replacing DJs but about augmenting them. It’s something the company frames as responsible use of AI rather than automation for automation’s sake.

Whether Valley listeners buy that pitch remains to be seen. In alternative radio, authenticity and personality have always been part of the product, especially during The Zone’s original run.

History of Phoenix alternative station KZON

The original version of KZON, a.k.a. The Zone, was a fixture of the metro Phoenix airwaves from 1992 to 2005. For most of its 13-year lifespan, the radio station broadcast a mix of modern rock and adult album alternative on 101.5 FM.

KZON was home to beloved ‘90s radio personalities like “The Bone Mama” Mary McCann and Leah Miller, with the latter hosting popular locals-only show, “Leah’s Local Zone.” Well-known local jocks Dave Pratt, John Holmberg and Chuck Powell also worked the station’s mics in the early 2000s.

While original KZON doesn’t have the same cultural cachet among Valley lifers as famed Phoenix alt-rock stations The Edge or KUKQ, it built a loyal following during its run.

One Valley resident and fan of the original KZON called it, along with other alternative stations of its era, “the peak of Phoenix radio” in a 2002 post to Phoenix’s Reddit section.

“I miss KZON,” they wrote.

In late 2005, KZON ditched its music focus. After a three-year stint carrying Howard Stern’s famed syndicated morning show, the station switched to an all-talk format. The frequency is now home to Phoenix Top 40 station Live 1015.

The new version of The Zone is entering a Valley alt-radio market not completely dissimilar from its predecessor. Like in the ’90s, it’s competing against a more popular alt-radio powerhouse (which these days is Alt-AZ 93.3) and a scrappy favorite featuring indie rock being played on the regular (in this case, KWSS).

With the corpse of The Zone being revived by AI, will longtime fans of the station flock to its frequency again for a nostalgia hit?

To quote Arcade Fire in “The Suburbs,” we’ll see.