The Acoustic Storm to Celebrate 25 Years on the Air

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, October 19, 2023 | 3:52pm CT

The Acoustic Storm

United Stations has announced that this weekend (October 21-22) marks the 25th anniversary of its weekend program "The Acoustic Storm." The program will celebrate its milestone broadcast with the show being hosted by its late creator and longtime radio programmer Jeff Parets who died in 2018.

This encore presentation is a thematic show featuring songs with titles and lyrics related to storms (of course) including live, acoustic versions of Led Zeppelin's "The Rain Song," the Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane," Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon's "Ridin' the Storm Out" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"

As its title implies, each week "The Acoustic Storm" delivers to Classic Rock and Classic Hits stations a playlist of acoustic-focused music that fits those radio formats. Not only are many specialty and unplugged versions of well-known songs often highlighted, but additionally, each week's music is programmed to a specific theme or topic.

In 2018, not long after The Acoustic Storm aired its milestone 1000th edition of the program, the program lost its creator and host when Jeff Parets died. Starting soon after, Jeff's wife, Audrey Parets took over the programming, production, and hosting of the weekly series.

"The Acoustic Storm" was created and hosted by Jeff Parets, and it first signed on the air on a Sunday morning in October, 1998 as a local show on KSLX-FM in Phoenix. The program's initial promise was to deliver the best variety of acoustic-rock in concentrated blocks, and in its 25 years on the air, the show has never wavered from that promise.

The program went into independent syndication in 2003 and began a marketing partnership with United Stations at the start of 2007. "The Acoustic Storm" is now heard in nearly 100 markets in the U.S. and overseas. When Jeff Parets passed away in late 2018, it was his wish that the program continue to serve and entertain listeners with Audrey Parets at the helm. Audrey is an experienced on-air host and voice-over artist who worked closely with her husband, Jeff, on the weekly broadcasts for many years.

Audrey Parets said, "This show has been a labor of love for my late partner since the beginning, so to be continuing his legacy and now celebrating 25 years is an honor. It's amazing to see how many listeners connect with this brand of acoustic-rock for a quarter of a century. I'd like to thank everyone that has supported The Acoustic Storm over the years, most notably our terrific affiliates."