On The Record — Drew Parham

On The Record — Drew Parham Reflects on a Life in Charlotte Radio

By Johnny Caudle | Caudle Media | September 28, 2026

Drew Parham has spent a lot of his life behind a microphone in Charlotte. Over the years, he’s been heard on some familiar stations, worked just about every shift on the clock and watched the radio business change around him.
It all started in about the most traditional radio way possible. He was an intern.

Parham traces his start back to 1986 or 1987 at WROQ 95Q, working with Nights with Kilgo at the station’s Radio Road studios in Oakdale.

“That was such a special time,” Parham said.

He remembers working around people including Chris William, Frank Lasiter, Blaine Kellis and Dwayne Ward. He also remembers Bill Catcher and Catherine Lane being there around that time. For someone just getting started, it was a chance to learn radio by being around people who were already doing it every day.

Parham later attended Western Carolina University, where radio remained a big part of his life. He worked at the college station, WWCU-FM, including time as program director and morning host.

Years later, he would find himself thinking about those college radio days again.

Parham eventually became a familiar voice on several Charlotte stations. His stops included Kiss 102, 95.1 The Edge, which later became Kiss 95.1, and Country 103.7 WSOC. He also worked part-time at WLNK, known for years as 107.9 The Link.

Eventually, though, he figured that part of his life was over.

“I thought I was done with radio,” he said.

Turns out, he wasn't.

When WLNK became Mix 107.9 in 2021, Parham was part of the station’s local lineup. He started in middays and was heard in different time slots over the years. Most recently, he handled weeknights from 7 p.m. to midnight after Mix moved from 107.9 to 100.9 and 99.3.

Coming back gave him something he hadn't necessarily expected: a little of that old college radio feeling.

“I felt like I was back on college radio with the freedom to do whatever I wanted to do,” Parham said. “It was awesome and I will miss it terribly!”

For him, that freedom was a big part of what made Mix fun, but so were the people.

Parham worked alongside a group of familiar Charlotte radio names including Holly Haze, Neal Sharpe, Matt Harris, Liz Luda, Madison James, Hurley and Joe Maus. Like a lot of radio stations today, everyone wasn't necessarily in the building at the same time, so he said getting the entire staff together was rare. He enjoyed the times when it happened.

“Holly Haze was a great mentor and she’s so good on the air,” Parham said. “Nothing but good things to say about everyone on that staff!”

There was something else about Mix that mattered to him. The people listeners heard were actually part of the community.

That may seem like a strange thing to point out about a local radio station, but it isn't a given anymore. Technology makes it possible for a personality sitting in another city to sound like they're broadcasting locally, sometimes on several stations around the country.

That wasn't what Parham and the Mix staff were trying to do.

“We weren’t being piped in from elsewhere,” he said. “And that’s super rare. We worked really hard to stay connected and local.”

For Parham, being local meant a little more because Charlotte wasn't simply another stop on his résumé. It was home.

“Doing radio in my hometown was always such a blessing,” he said. “I had other opportunities in other markets but Charlotte is a special place. Zero regrets.”

Of course, not every memory from those years is a happy one.

COVID affected nearly every workplace in one way or another, and Mix was no exception. One of the hardest moments for Parham was the death of program director Darren Ahrens.

“I was stunned when PD Darren Ahrens died from COVID,” Parham said. “He was fine just 2 weeks before his passing. That was terribly sad.”

The station carried on, but more changes were ahead.

In 2025, WBT’s news and talk programming moved onto 107.9 FM, and Mix moved to 100.9 and 99.3.

Parham still has a sense of humor about that chapter.

“Regarding the frequency move....No Comment LOL.”

Then he gets a little more serious.

“But WBT needed to move to an FM frequency for sure at some point,” he said. “No question about that.”

For Parham, leaving 107.9 also changed the way he looked at Mix's future. So when word eventually came that the station was going away, he wasn't completely surprised.

“My shock was a bit subdued after we were moved to 100.9/99.3,” he said. “Writing was on the wall so to speak.”

Parham has been around Charlotte radio long enough to remember a very different business. Stations have changed owners and formats. Companies have gotten bigger. Technology has changed how shows are produced and where the person behind the microphone can actually be sitting. And listeners now have streaming services, podcasts and countless other choices that didn't exist when he first walked into WROQ.

The job itself has changed, too.

Parham doesn't seem angry about that. He also isn't one of those people declaring radio dead. His take is a lot more practical.

“I loved my time in radio and I would love to jump back in,” he said. “It’s just not a career path anymore. It’s a gig. And I am ok with that.”

Coming from someone who has spent so many years on the air, that's a pretty telling observation. But Parham also made sure a long time ago that radio wasn't his only option.

He jokingly calls himself a “Doomsday Prepper” when it comes to the business.

“I’ve always had Plan B in place while I was in radio,” he said. “And it’s worked in my favor.”

Today, he has a full-time job he says he loves. He also owns Charlotte Event Group, putting some of the same skills he's used entertaining radio listeners to work hosting and producing events.

That doesn't mean he's finished with radio.

If the right opportunity came along, Parham said he'd be open to getting back on the air part-time. But at this point in his life, the next radio shift isn't what defines whether things are going well.

He's in his 50s, has a wife and two children, and when he talks about his life today, one word comes up more than once: blessed.

“I’m in my 50s now and I have a wonderful wife and two amazing kids,” he said. “I’m blessed beyond words. My prayers between me and the man upstairs are typically filled with gratitude. And that’s a good place to be in life.”

Maybe that's part of why he can look back without much bitterness. Whatever the radio business has become, he got to be part of it. More importantly to him, he got to do it in his hometown.

From an internship at 95Q to Kiss 102, The Edge, Kiss 95.1, WSOC, The Link and eventually Mix, Parham has been around for several chapters of Charlotte radio history.

And apparently there are plenty of stories that never made it onto the air.

Parham jokes that his radio career probably isn't “book worthy,” but he says he could certainly fill some time sitting at a bar and talking about it.

“I can sit at a bar and share some amazing experiences I have had,” he said. “Most filled with laughter. Lots and lots of laughter.”

Then comes the part that makes you want to pull up a chair and order another round.

“Ooooh if you only knew.”

Maybe someday we'll get those stories.

For now, Parham sounds pretty comfortable with where life has taken him. He hasn't closed the door on radio, but he also doesn't need another airshift to validate all the years he already spent doing something he loved in the city he calls home.

And when asked if there was anything else he wanted people to know, Drew Parham decided he'd said enough.

“That’s it. I’m done! Consider this my dramatic mic drop.”