SiriusXM will make room for the aptly-titled Tom Petty Radio on channel 31 of the service, which will prominently feature Petty himself, selections from his own songbook, including music by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mudcrutch, the Traveling Wilburys, as well as other rare and previously-unreleased selections. But it won’t be all-Petty-all-the-time; the musician will also use the new station to play his favorite classic rock, R&B, and blues cuts.
Petty is not new to satellite radio, having hosted a show called Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure for nine seasons, and Tom Petty Radio will occasionally rebroadcast archived episodes of the show to create continuity between old and new. That said, the added airtime is a significant upgrade for the artist, who will have free reign to share tons of new and old favorites with his loyal fanbase.
In a statement about his new radio channel, Petty expressed his excitement for the new opportunity, saying, “We are so honored and grateful to SiriusXM for giving our fans access to all of our music, from our biggest hits to very obscure tracks only available through this channel. I intend to be very hands on and supply brand new exclusive tracks as well as rarities from our vaults. Our biggest hope is for a channel that is always entertaining in the way only radio can be.”
Petty himself will DJ the first two hours of content on the station this Friday at 6pm, and the station will routinely feature other special guests from the classic rock world who also appeal to his fanbase. Planned guest DJs on the channel include Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams, Roger McGuinn of The Byrds, and many of Petty’s current and former bandmates.
But what’s most exciting for Petty fans is that the musician will be digging into rare archival cuts for the station, providing an opportunity for them to hear never-before-released tracks from one of the world’s most-beloved songwriters.
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