Popular local DJ announces he’s retiring from radio
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LISTEN TO BRAD BARLOW ANNOUNCE HIS RETIREMENT IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE
IDAHO FALLS — He’s been waking up every day at 4:30 a.m. for nearly 20 years but soon Brad Barlow will finally get to sleep in.
The Z103 DJ announced Monday he’s leaving radio in June to focus on his photography business. Barlow and Tara Moss have hosted the popular Brad and Tara Show for over 15 years.
“Tara is one of my best friends and I’ll miss her,” Barlow tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I’ll miss the Z103 audience. I’ll miss making people laugh. I’ll miss the station.”
Barlow began working weekend shifts at Z103 in 1994 when he was in high school. After graduation, he was hired for an afternoon gig and was then promoted to the morning show. He’s had a few different co-hosts through the years but when he was teamed up with Moss in 2000, something clicked.
“I thought I went to another level when it was me and Tara,” Barlow says. “The show got great when I realized that Tara was funnier than me. When I realized I could let go and follow, things got really good.”
In the ever-changing radio industry, it’s rare to have a team of DJs remain together so long at one station. The pair have “laughed so hard it hurt” and “ugly cried dozens of times” over the years, according to Barlow, and it helps that both were born and raised in Idaho Falls.
“I’ve loved Z103 since the day it launched on the air,” Barlow recalls. “My dad came home from work one day when I was in elementary school and said, ‘They ruined my radio station but you’re going to love it.'”
Barlow is now 40 years old and he and his wife, Amy, have four children. He says he’s thought about retiring from radio since he began working part-time at Z103 in 2016 so he could focus on B2X Photo.
“Photography is my passion and my career is now at a whole new level,” Barlow says. “Having my pictures up in the hallway outside Pro Image (in the Grand Teton Mall) was so big for me. So big.”
Barlow made the decision that it was time to leave Z103 over Thanksgiving weekend. He told his wife, talked to Moss and publicly announced his departure Monday on the radio.
He’s pleased that Jakoby Winters, Z103’s evening DJ, will be joining the morning show next week as Barlow transitions out.
“I hired Jakoby for Z103 nights three years ago and he is funny and charming and kind,” Barlow says. “He will be perfect for this role.”
Barlow will remain on the air for another five months before he says a final goodbye to the listeners who have made him part of east Idaho radio history.
“I wanted to be a radio DJ since I was 5 years old. Talking to you every morning has been a dream come true,” he says.