Andy Hawk is a Sacramento radio personality, show promoter, and prominent supporter of the region's local-music community, best known as the host of the local-music radio show Local Licks and as a booker of live shows and the Friday Night Concerts in the Park series.[1][2][3] A Sacramento native, he began his radio career as an intern at 98 Rock (KRXQ) in 1997 and rose through the ranks to become Brand Manager overseeing three of Sacramento's major rock stations.[4][5]
At a glance
- Sacramento native who started as an intern at 98 Rock (KRXQ) in 1997.[4][5]
- Radio host who has worked at Entercom Sacramento stations, including KWOD 106.5 and 98 Rock.[3][6][1]
- Host of Local Licks, 98 Rock's long-running weekly local-and-regional-music show, revived under him in September 2012.[1]
- Member of Play Big Sacramento, the committee that booked the 2012 Friday Night Concerts in the Park series.[3]
- Promoted Wednesday-night shows at Powerhouse Pub in Folsom and later ran a Local Licks live music series.[3][2]
- Credited with breaking Sacramento rock duo Middle Class Rut on local radio.[6][1]
- As of February 2026, Brand Manager of ALT 94.7 (KKDO-FM), Classic Rock 96.9 The Eagle (KSEG-FM), and Rock 98 Rock (KRXQ-FM).[7][4]
Role in the scene
Hawk is described by Submerge as a "radio personality and major supporter of local music."[2] His work spans broadcast radio, live-show promotion, and event booking, consistently oriented toward giving Sacramento-area artists exposure.[1][2]
On radio, Hawk works for Entercom Sacramento stations.[3] He has a long history hosting "specialty radio" local-music programming, including Punk Rock Academy and Sounds of Sac on KWOD.[1] In late 2007 he was at KWOD 106.5 when he received Middle Class Rut's three-song demo, added "New Low" to the station's local-band rotation, and watched the song climb to among the most-requested tracks on the station by year's end.[6] He has expressed a belief that giving local bands radio time lets ordinary listeners discover hometown acts.[6]
Prior to his tenure at Sacramento stations, Hawk also worked at KEDJ in Phoenix; according to RadioInsight, he also worked at the now-defunct Alternative 106.5 KWOD Sacramento before its closure.[7]
Local Licks
Local Licks is one of Sacramento's most beloved radio shows, a weekly program featuring local and regional music that began in the early 1990s and has had many hosts.[1] Its most recent prior host was Mark Gilmore, who was laid off by Entercom when his department was eliminated, which effectively ended the show.[1] Hawk revived Local Licks on 98 Rock, with the relaunch airing Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012 at 10 p.m.[1] He framed the revival as a community commitment independent of ratings, and stated an intent to make the show reflective of the full breadth of Sacramento music rather than only hard rock, noting that earlier hosts had played acts such as Autumn Sky.[1] He pointed to Middle Class Rut as an example of a local act whose career was boosted by airplay on the show.[1] By February 2014, Local Licks aired on 98 Rock on Mondays at 10 p.m. as an hour-long all-local-music program.[2]
To be considered for airplay, Hawk invited bands to submit professionally recorded songs by email (locallicks@krxq.net) or mail to Entercom Sacramento on Madison Avenue.[1]
Local Licks live series
Hawk ran a Local Licks Live Music Series of in-person shows. He originally promoted these on Wednesday nights at Powerhouse Pub in Folsom.[3][2] By February 2014 he had moved the series to every other Saturday at Rounders Sports Bar and Grill in Citrus Heights (7433 Greenback Lane), rebranding it from a full rock show into the "Local Licks Acoustic Series and Sac Open Mic All-Stars," pairing a stripped-down set by a local headliner with a themed open-mic session featuring local musicians.[2] Featured performers and themed open mics included Humble Wolf with a Foo Fighters–themed night (guests included David James of Allinaday, Mark of Defyance, Laith Kaos, and Lindsey Pavao), Some Fear None with a grunge-themed night (guests Race To The Bottom and Highway 12), and an appearance by Jonah Matranga.[2]
Concerts in the Park / Play Big Sacramento
For 2012, the Friday Night Concerts in the Park series at Cesar Chavez Park in downtown Sacramento was booked not by longtime promoter Jerry Perry but by Play Big Sacramento, a committee of local promoters, musicians, and music enthusiasts of which Hawk was a member.[3] Hawk described the committee's aim as assembling a lineup of the best Sacramento had to offer across 13 weeks of headliners, with the area's top DJs added in the beer garden.[3] After the May 4, 2012 opening drew a reported record crowd of over 6,300 people, Hawk noted the prior high was roughly 6,100 for a Mumbo Gumbo show three years earlier, adding that Sacramento turns out when given a reason.[8]
Hawk's relationship with the series and with Middle Class Rut continued: when MC Rut returned from hiatus to headline Concerts in the Park for a third time on July 20, 2018, frontman Zack Lopez recounted that Hawk had a standing offer for the band to play again and praised the work Hawk does for the city.[6]
Radio career trajectory
Hawk's career at KRXQ spans nearly three decades, beginning with his 1997 internship.[4] Between 2009 and 2015 he served as a traffic and weather anchor at KRXQ/98 Rock.[4][9] In 2016 he assumed his first leadership position as Alternative Regional Brand Manager.[9][4] He subsequently became Brand Manager and afternoon host at ALT 94.7 (KKDO-FM), where under his management the station reached the number-one ranking in the Adults 25–54 demographic, a position he personally maintained with his afternoon show.[4][5]
In February 2026, Audacy named Hawk Brand Manager of Classic Rock 96.9 The Eagle (KSEG-FM) and Rock 98 Rock (KRXQ-FM) in Sacramento, adding those stations to his existing oversight of ALT 94.7 (KKDO-FM).[7][4] Audacy Rock Format VP Ryan Castle described Hawk as the "definitive choice" to lead KRXQ and KSEG, citing his "smarts, passion and love for Sacramento."[5][7] Hawk himself framed the appointment as a homecoming, noting that he has "grown up with these stations and have worked alongside the programmers of KRXQ and KSEG for the last two decades."[5][7]
Local status
Andy Hawk is treated throughout the corpus as a fixture of the Sacramento-area music community rather than a touring outsider: he is a Sacramento native[4][5], a local radio host on Sacramento stations, books and promotes shows in Sacramento, Folsom, and Citrus Heights, and is repeatedly characterized as a champion of local music.[3][1][2] The spine sources do not state his birthplace or hometown directly, but the Audacy press release and Inside Radio both confirm he is a Sacramento native. Evidence: he "works at Entercom radio stations and promotes Wednesday night shows at Powerhouse Pub in Folsom," and is "a major supporter of local music" who hosts an "all local music" show.[3][2] Confidence: high that he is a local scene figure.