Rock 95.5 launches “The Morning Mosh Pit”

Existing station personalities come to mornings

iHeartMedia Chicago rock station Rock 95.5 launched new morning show The Morning Mosh Pit Monday with Matt Harris, Michael Mason, and Maria Palmer at the helm. 

“We have assembled an insanely talented group to entertain Chicago’s incredible rock lifestyle fanbase,” iHeart Media Chicago Regional Senior VP of Programming and WCHI PD James Howard said in a release. “We are excited to deliver truly compelling content every morning on Rock 95.5.”

Airing from 6 to 10 a.m. weekday mornings, the show’s features include Top 5 Things You Need To Know, Rock Talk, Fun To Your Head, and Thirstday. 

Before they were on Mosh Pit, all three had been working at the station in some capacity. Palmer has been with Rock 95.5 since the station launched in 2020, serving as Music Director and evening host. Harris has been with iHeartMedia Chicago since 2017 as Promotions Director at Hip-Hop WGCl and Gospel WGRB-AM before becoming morning show producer for Angi Taylor’s morning show in 2023, along with weekend host duties at Rock 95.5. Mason joined Rock 95.5 last August and previously served as producer for Premiere Network’s syndicated Delilah and Clay Travis & Buck Sexton’s show (IHeartMedia owns Premiere Networks and Rock 95.5.)

The move comes as Rock 95.5 has had a mixed ratings performance since its launch nearly five years ago. According to the latest Nielsen PPM numbers, Rock 95.5 tied for 21st place overall, down 28 percent in share from November and 22 percent from October. Two months ago, Rock 95.5 parted ways with Taylor, a victim of nationwide cuts at iHeartMedia, which also claimed Market Manager Matt Scarano’s job.