Indie radio station brings sounds of the Keys to the Cape
Digital broadcast stations hoping to turn cult-classic base into something larger
The sounds of the Keys have arrived, as a popular independent radio broadcast now emanates from Cape Coral.
WRKW, an indie station born in Key West and now broadcasting through its sister signal WSWF in Cape Coral, is entering a new era of growth after five years of quietly building a cult‑classic following, its owner said.
Owned, produced, and created by Maggie DellaGiustina, WRKW is stepping into a new chapter and expanding its reach across Southwest Florida while staying true to the Key West spirit where it was born featuring a blend of Gulf Coast warmth, cosmic humor, and late‑night Americana grit.
“I am very familiar with the radio station choices that are out there, and I think what makes my station different is that they’re commercial free and are curated by me. There’s no algorithms, no anything,” DellaGiustina said. “I wanted something that not only I could listen to, but people could listen to, in a much more relaxed, noncommercial way.”
A former Matlacha and Florida Keys resident, DellaGiustina is now in Cape Coral, which she calls a “lovely” city, and is running the station here. Since its inception in 2021, the station, which can be listened to on a myriad of platforms, has evolved tremendously.
“It’s grown into something that people really connect with,” she said. “I wanted to create a station that felt alive. Something with personality. There’s a lot of humor, and there’s a great deal of atmosphere and environment. So, when somebody listens to the station, they won’t stop listening.”
On the 24/7 station, DellaGiustina said she plays a wide variety of music and that often times her playlist tells stories and evokes a sense of nostalgia, causing listeners to say, “I haven’t heard that song in years.”
“The songs put you in a place that you remember, and it’s kind of addictive,” she said.
The station’s programming blends classic rock, deep cuts, Gulf Coast soul, and an unmistakable influence of the Keys: warm, atmospheric, and emotionally accurate. Listeners describe WRKW/WSWF as “mythic,” “comforting,” and “like being let in on a secret,” she said.
Recent growth in engagement and platform expansion has signaled that WRKW’s moment has arrived. With WSWF now carrying the signal across Cape Coral and Fort Myers, the station is broadening its distribution, refining its signature segments, and embracing a larger audience while keeping its indie backbone intact.
In 2024, DellaGiustina said she reached 256,000 listeners worldwide, with the station averaging 25,000 listeners per month.
“It was amazing,” she said. “I’m humbled by it. That means it’s working, and more than in Southeast Florida.”
The station has a great retention rate, with listeners coming back again and again, she said.
As WRKW and WSWF enter their next era, the stations invite new listeners to tune in, settle in, and experience a broadcast that feels like home — wherever that home might be.
DellaGiustina has been out and about in the community spreading the word of the station, and her ideal future includes a physical location for the station.
“I don’t mean a great big grand radio station because this is not that,” she said. “But I want to be somewhere where somebody’s walking by and says, ‘Oh, hey, there’s WSWF. Let me walk in and say hello.'”
As for why her selections resonate, DellaGiustina said she “came out of the birth canal with a radio in my ear.”
“I have decades of music in my brain,” she said. “I’ve always loved music. I could be walking down the street and something will remind me of something that I’ll associate with a song. That’s how I come up with my music.”
While not being on FM radio is one of the challenges with spreading the word about the station, with the new age of streaming and Bluetooth connectivity in cars, the station can be listened to in any setting with a cellular device.
“WRKW and WSWF are built with intention,” DellaGiustina added. “If you love music that feels like a mood, a memory, or a place. You’ll feel right at home.”
WRKW and WSWF operate as independent Digital Broadcast stations using self‑assigned call letters recognized within the digital broadcasting ecosystem.
For more information, visit radio-key-west.com and radio-key-west-southwest-florida-radio.com.
WRKW and WSWF can be heard on the following streams: LIVE365.com, US-Radio.com, MyTuner-Radio.com, GetMeRadio.com, LiveOnlineRadio.com, and P.Radios.Streema.com.
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com