Our Story

HGR began as an idea between Bruce Roberts and T J Phillips in about 2015 while they worked together at a local radio station. Back in about 2010 when TJ was with iHeart radio, he had an Americana format on an HD2 signal. Bruce fell in love with the Americana music that he heard on this station. In 2021, after Bruce retired from radio full-time, the idea of starting a station with this format began to percolate more and more.

In 2023, Bruce launched an internet-only version of the format called Charleston’s “Real” Radio, and over the course of a few months, the format was dialed in even more. It was still just an internet station, but they had plans. In January 2024, Bruce received a call from a non-profit group that had a low power FM station that was changing their direction and asked Bruce to program the station and maintain it while they decided what to do with it. Since Bruce and TJ already had a stream of music that they liked, the decision was made to just put this stream on the station. It was decided to change the name to Home Grown Radio (HGR). Home Grown Radio was soon offered the station and then the real work began—lawyers, equipment costs, etc.

TJ and Bruce knew from the start that local singer/songwriters were an important part of this format. The educational component of this station is to educate folks on the great artists that live right here in Charleston, SC, while also introducing Americana and keeping it interesting with variety—adding some country, oldies, and even bluegrass at times.