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Text © Cindy Muir. Photos © Greg Dumas.
Carson Cooper hosts from the New Orleans Margaritaville

 Radio Margaritaville DJ Carson Cooper

I had the best interview with one of the nicest fellows during Pardi Gras 2015 in New Orleans. None other than Carson Cooper, longtime DJ on Radio Margaritaville sat down and told me all about what it’s like to be a Sirius DJ… well, a DJ on the best Sirius radio station, Radio Margaritaville.

This man with the smiling eyes grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, but he’s been in Clearwater, Florida since 1981. Carson has been with Radio Margaritaville since 1999, which means he’s been on board since the beginning. Guess who bought the first internet radio station? None other than Jimmy Buffett and one of his friends is Steve Huntington, also a Radio Margaritaville DJ. Steve and Carson had worked together in Sarasota, Florida and Steve brought Carson on board for a unique blend of music, originally on the internet air waves.

Carson Cooper interviewing Trop Rock artists Mike Nash (Southern Drawl Band),
Mike Snodgrass and Melanie Howe (MelaGrass).

Jimmy Buffett orchestrated what is played on Radio Margaritaville. He was quick to say “I don’t want to hear all me,” so the airplay also includes reggae, some tropical country, and a variety of world music and classic singer-songwriters from the 70s and 80s. I love to listen for the occasional Trop Rock artist, too!

Carson Cooper with Thom Shephered at the New Orleans Margaritaville
during the annual Trop Rock even, Six Strings.

In 2005, Sirius came along and scooped up this terrific music station. Most of us know that Sirius is satellite radio, so most of the programming is taped and sent in to Sirius. In fact, Carson can work just about anywhere, as long as he has his laptop computer with a good microphone. He told me the only place he couldn’t work was when accompanied Buffett to France for his Paris show – there was no connectable internet.

I lobbied for a weekly Trop Rock Hour with Carson, but he let me know it’s not up to him or any other Radio Margaritaville DJ. Sirius has the final say on the schedule and they don’t want the music on at the same time on other Sirius stations. Coffeehouse Radio and a few others play some Buffett tunes and a few other artists heard on Radio Margaritaville. I also learned that they’ve had to drop most live recording because of the audio quality. That doesn’t mean that you won’t hear great “live” recorded Buffett concerts on Radio Margaritaville!

Carson interacts often with his listeners and a great way to reach him is through Twitter. His contact address is @carsoncooper. Get to know him – he’s a terrific guy!

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