You never know what will happen in the world of radio. But sometimes, the stars align, thanks to circumstance, timing and perhaps a little luck.
Two on-air personalities—one from Georgia and the other from Washington state— always knew they would pair well as morning show co-hosts. Amber Henderson and Tanner Chambers are now realizing that vision in Sonoma County, starring on Amber and Tanner in the Morning on Froggy 92.9. “We’ve been trying to work together for a couple years,” says Tanner. “We’ve known each other—seeing each other at conferences and on social media. We’ve always had a good chemistry together.”
Hailing from Milledgeville, Ga., Amber’s radio career began as a board operator while she was in high school. After enrolling at the University of Georgia, she found work at a radio station in Athens and was eventually put on-air. “It’s gone from there,” she says. Amber hosted a Top-40 show and a classic country program for Cox Media Group, spending most of her time on Power 100.1.
Tanner was obsessed with radio as a child and it didn’t take long for him to find the college radio station at Central Washington, though he was a theater major. “The day I walked in, I knew this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” Tanner says. He eventually landed an internship, dropped out of school and became an on-air personality for a nationally syndicated country music show on 100.7 The Wolf in Seattle. “I was fortunate to be on those stations, but I’m ecstatic to be here,” he says.
Amber and Tanner knew they had the potential to pair up, but it wasn’t immediately clear to Froggy. “We searched in ways conventional and unconventional,” says Jim Murphy, vice president of programming and operations at Amaturo Sonoma Media Group. Program director at Froggy, Dano Weir, says his station conducted a nationwide search for radio personalities in some of the biggest markets, producing hundreds of applications.
But Weir had a trick up his sleeve. “I’ve known Amber and Tanner for a while,” he says, adding that the radio industry is tight-knit. “They were two of the first I thought of.” Weir contacted Amber through an industry Facebook group, and Froggy, Amber and Weir agreed Tanner was the missing piece. The two spent a week getting situated in the North Bay and hit the airwaves April 1.
The show is new and evolving, but each host knows what the program should be. “Authentic,” says Amber. Tanner agrees. “That’s No. 1 for us,” he says. Adds Amber: “We’re 100 percent real, 100 percent of the time. We talk about our lives unapologetically.”
According to Tanner, many on-air personalities want to live a celebrity lifestyle—that’s not the case for him, or his co-host. “We want to live the life of the listener,” he says. “We want to be a Sonoma County resident and part of the community. We’re nothing more than that—we’re one of you.”
They’re slowly learning what Sonoma County living is like. “People hold doors open for others. People actually say, ‘Thank you,’ here,” says Tanner, adding that the show’s listeners are quick to offer advice on how to best enjoy their new home. “That connection is something I didn’t necessarily get back home,” says Amber. “People want to talk to us. They don’t even care if we put them on air. It’s such a welcoming community.”
The duo’s excitement about a community favorite, Country Summer, is growing. The annual country music festival hosted by Froggy is set to run from June 14 to 16 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Amber and Tanner will meet listeners and some of the biggest stars in country music, including Tim McGraw.
Meanwhile, Amber, 28, and Tanner, 22, are most focused on fine-tuning their morning show, with their built-in chemistry as a foundation. “Our mentality is to get a bit better than yesterday, and don’t take a step back—always take steps forward,” says Tanner. They’ve stepped towards Sonoma County together, moving from meeting at the occasional industry function to pairing up on Froggy, a North Bay radio staple, every morning, and they’re just getting started. “We knew eventually we’d want to work together. We’re fortunate. It happened a bit quicker than we anticipated,” Tanner says. “The universe connected.”
