He’s been a key part of the morning show at an iHeartMedia-owned Classic Rock station since 2005, waking up the Back Bay of Massachusetts alongside Pete McKenzie, Heather Ford and, for the last four years, show producer Kenny Young. Before that, he, McKenzie and Ford were heard in mornings at heritage Classic Rocker WPDH-FM in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Now, listeners and the air staff at WZLX-FM in Boston are coping with the sudden loss of Kevin Karlson.
Karlson, along with McKenzie and Ford, joined WZLX under Infinity Broadcasting ownership following two years in the Mid-Hudson Valley, a move that then-WPDH owner Cumulus disputed, claiming they were under contract. Ultimately, the company could not prove that the hosts were not “at-will” employees, and they had been at WZLX ever since, staying on following its transfer of control to iHeartMedia.
Before joining WPDH in September 2003, Karlson and McKenzie had been with WZNE-FM in Rochester, N.Y.
In the 10am Eastern hour on Friday, WZLX broke the news on X, formerly Twitter. “It is with great sadness that 100.7 WZLX shares news of the unexpected passing of our friend,” the station posted. By 2:30pm Eastern, nearly 174,000 people had viewed the post.
On Instagram, WZLX added, “For almost 20 years, Kevin helped wake up Boston with humor and classic rock. We invite you to share your memories of Kevin as we celebrate his life. If you have a memory you’d like to share please call us at 617-931-1007, we’d love to hear from you.”
On the Karlson McKenzie & Heather X feed, Karlson’s most recent post boasted of the arrival of a new hot tub at his home. That was on October 12.
During WZLX’s midday shift, veteran air personality Carter Alan noted that the cause of Karlson’s death was not yet determined.
According to CBS Boston, Karlson was 59 years of age.
— With reporting from RBR+TVBR in Kingston, N.Y.
