[5] Mindich retained the modern rock format upon assuming control in March 1983, relaunching it on April 11 as "Boston Phoenix Radio",[10] with the WFNX call letters coming into use ten days earlier.

[10] The classic rock of the previous owners were gradually replaced with new wave, "deep cuts", British punk, and a sprinkling of jazz and reggae.

[11] Nirvana's 1993 Nevermind It's an Interview limited-edition promotional release on Geffen Records was produced and engineered at the station by Kurt St. Thomas and Troy Smith.

In October 1992, the station launched One in Ten, a program dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.

The station sponsored a free Green Day concert at the Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston on September 9, 1994.

The concert ended 20 minutes into Green Day's set when the crowd became uncontrollable, leaving 100 people injured, 24 of whom were sent to local hospitals, and 31 were arrested.

[11] WFNX became the first commercial radio station to broadcast Allen Ginsberg's Howl on Friday, July 18, 1997, despite U.S. Federal Communications Commission Safe Harbor laws.

[5] On March 30, 2006, WFNX vastly increased its power after receiving permission from the FCC to begin broadcasting from a new transmitter and a new antenna located atop One Financial Center in downtown Boston.

[10] The combination of WFNX's signal upgrade and the departure of Howard Stern from WBCN resulted in a significant ratings change in the core rock 18–34 demographic in Boston starting in 2006.

[18] On May 16, 2012, Phoenix Media/Communications Group announced that it would sell WFNX to iHeartMedia (then known as Clear Channel Communications) for $14.5 million, after finding it difficult to sustain its continued operation.

[22] Live programming ended on July 20, 2012,[23] with the last song being "Let's Go to Bed" by the Cure (the first song on WFNX in 1983);[24] an automated version of WFNX remained available online until March 2013, when the Boston Phoenix publication shut down (citing huge financial losses), and was also heard on 101.7 FM[23] until 4:00 p.m. on July 24, 2012, when Clear Channel assumed control of the station.

At that time, after playing "Shake It Out" by Florence and the Machine, 101.7 began stunting with a loop of the Boston-famous song "Dirty Water" by the Standells.

The 2012 sale of the station to Clear Channel did not include WFNX's intellectual property,[25] and the Phoenix continued to stream automated music on WFNX.com.

On January 23, 2024, 95.3 FM; "The Otter" returned its license to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rendering the WFNX call letters available for reassignment.

The new format competes against established country station WKLB-FM (102.5 FM), and serves as the Boston affiliate of the syndicated Bobby Bones Show.

[46][47][48] "Evolution" would be removed from WBWL-HD2 entirely on June 26, 2019, when it flipped to iHeart's "Pride Radio" format of Top 40/Dance music targeting the LGBTQ community.

WFEX was sold to Blount Communications Group, which uses it to simulcast WDER, a Christian religious station out of Derry, New Hampshire, as WDER-FM.

Following WPHX-FM's sale, WPHX (AM) took on simulcasting WFNX until Port Broadcasting bought the AM station in 2012 and changed its call sign to WWSF.

[53] Phoenix Media/Communications Group sold the station to Entercom in March 2004 and reverted to simulcasting WFNX until the transition took effect in April.