Q101 101.1 FM live

Q101 is Chicago's alternative rock station. It broadcasts as WKQX on 101.1 FM, is licensed to Chicago and serves the Chicago metropolitan area with the slogan "Chicago's Alternative". The station is owned by Cumulus Media, and on this page you can listen to Q101 live online, free. The online stream is offered to listeners inside the United States; outside the country it may not play because of rights restrictions.

Alternative rock

Q101 plays alternative rock — new music from the alternative world alongside the songs that made the format. HD2 carries "The Loop", a classic rock channel.

History

The station signed on on October 13, 1948, as WMAQ-FM, the FM sister of WMAQ. The WKQX call letters were first used in the 1970s for an experimental album rock format, and the station carried them from 1977 to 2011. After brief periods as WWWN and WIQI, the WKQX name and the Q101 brand returned.

Sister stations

In Chicago, Cumulus also owns WLS and WLS-FM.

Alternative, anywhere

Press play and Q101 starts in seconds — on the Kennedy, on the L or anywhere you are. The stream on this page carries the same music you hear on 101.1 FM.

A Chicago name

The Q101 name is a familiar one on the Chicago dial, and the station keeps alternative rock on the air for the city.

For new music fans

Alternative radio is where many listeners first hear the bands that go on to fill arenas, and Q101 keeps new music in the mix every day.

How to listen

You can hear Q101 on the radio on 101.1 FM across Chicago, but you do not need a radio at all: this page plays the live stream in any browser, on a phone, tablet or computer. Press the play button at the top, wait a second or two for the stream to connect, and keep browsing while it plays — the player stays on as you move between pages. It is ideal for the drive home or a night out, and it costs nothing: no account, no subscription and no app to install.

Below the player you will find Q101's frequency and home city, the genres it plays, answers to common questions and a list of similar stations, so when you want a change you can jump to another station in the same format or the same area with one click.

• 100% free, no sign-up
• Live stream, 24 hours a day
• Listen from anywhere
• Works on phone and computer