'New Rock 89X' teases return on 8/28

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New Rock 89X Facebook.

FOX 2 - A familiar FM station is set to be reborn - alternative rock stalwart 88.7 89X.

The backstory:

A Facebook page of the Windsor-based Bell Media-owned CIMX posted at noon today a start date of 8:08 a.m. on Aug. 28 with a watching eyes emoji on social media.

This time, it is being branded as New Rock 89X and dropping its Pure Country 89 format. In November of 2020, the station flipped formats after a 30-year run.

Former 89X DJ Greg Gnyp posted on Facebook the social media picture.

"I’m just telling people to check it out, that is the real deal!" he wrote.

Former 89X contributor Lex Kuhne replied, "Seeing what era Bell picks to emulate will be interesting, and how syndicated (I.e. national v. local) it will be. Beyond cost-cutting, can't say the five-year Country experiment bodes well for their decision-makers' skills."

Ouch. 

Back in 1990, CIMX had played a pop-mix format, but in the evenings would host a "Cutting Edge" show of alternative rock starting at 8 p.m. with DJ Greg St. James among a rotating group. 

Eventually, this led to a complete station change starting in May of 1991 with the first (and eventually the last) song played "Stop!" by Jane's Addiction.

The old logo for 89X, which was used in the early 1990s.

89X branded itself as "the only New Rock Alternative" and hosted several concerts in the area over the years, such as the annual "The Night 89X Stole Christmas" and "The 89X Birthday Bash."

In 2017 89X closed its American office, laying off several staff members as it downsized, leading to speculation of its fate.

The current logo for 88.7 "Pure Country 89"

On Aug. 21, a trade publication RadioInsight reported that CIMX had begun dropping references to the Pure Country branding and between songs warning that a "revolution" would bring "Canada's greatest export" and "something familiar" back.