WJCT’s new urban radio show provides musical ‘Taste Test’
Damien Lamar has built his career on introducing new music to Jacksonville audiences. Now he has an even larger platform with his new show on 89.9 WJCT-FM.
“Taste Test” plays a diverse, eclectic mix of urban radio—with genres like R&B, Afrobeat, soul, jazz, reggae, hip-hop, and drum and bass—at 10 p.m. Sundays. The new program premiered
January 7, 2018, with worldwide influences from New Zealand to Sweden to the Caribbean.
“It’s an opportunity for people to go in blind not knowing what they’re going to listen to on the radio,” Lamar said. “I like connecting the dots for people and being the first person to introduce them to something new.”
Lamar is a singer, songwriter, and sound designer who performed with The Groove Coalition for 3 years. He is also the marketing director for the Friends of Hemming Park and a freelance web producer.
“I couldn’t imagine life without music,” Lamar said. “I have lots of musical tastes and influences.”
Lamar chose a wide-ranging line-up for his first show, one that hints at the boundless influences on urban radio with Little Dragon, H.E.R., Lianne La Havas, Chantae Cann, Leslie Odom Jr.,
Hiatus Kaiyote, St. Beauty, and Kimbra, to name a few. Future programs will include interviews with Jacksonville musical artists, like the second show featuring M.J. Baker.
“Whether Sunday is when you wind down at the end of your week or the way you kick off an even better week, I will play music that moves you,” Lamar said.
Lamar aims to bring people back to radio from YouTube and streaming services.
“There’s something magical about having someone specifically curate music for you to enlighten and challenge you with something new,” Lamar said.
Follow Taste Test Radio here on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram where you can find complete tracklists of the songs from each Sunday’s show.
Please contact Denise Reagan at 904-451-0493 for interviews with Damien Lamar.