Dan Lesniak, who had previously been a disc jockey at WWOL prior to launching WADV, became terminally ill in 1981 and sold the station to Stoner Communications; he died a year later.

Stoner immediately changed the station to a country music format and adopted the call sign used today.

Ramblin' Lou Schriver-owned WXRL 1300 AM had been Buffalo's heritage country outlet for over a decade by the time WYRK had adopted the format.

This event, held at Sahlen Field, celebrated its 16th anniversary on June 12, 2015, with performances by Dierks Bentley, Joe Nichols, Frankie Ballard, Canaan Smith and A Thousand Horses.

In 2013, WYRK hosted the Taste of Country June 14 with acts including Darius Rucker, Sheryl Crow, Rodney Atkins, Gloriana, and Jana Kramer.