“The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” will return to the BJCC Concert Hall on Friday, Oct. 25 for a live broadcast as part of the Magic City Classic lineup.
The return comes after Smiley announced that SummitMedia LLC did not budget for his annual live radio broadcast as they have in years past for the 2023 Classic. Instead, the comedian hosted the show at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover at $30 per ticket without it being a live broadcast.
This year’s live show is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the city of Birmingham. SummitMedia will be on site to broadcast the show nationally.
According to “Rickey Smiley Morning Show” operations manager Derrick Barker, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Alabama State University President Quenton Ross and Alabama A&M University President Andrew Hugine Jr. will be in attendance. Also, special guest Kandi of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” will attend.
Doors to the concert hall will open at 4:15 a.m., and the show will broadcast from 5-9 a.m.
In 2023, Smiley announced that Summit Media did not budget for his annual live radio broadcast for the Classic. The news came after people complained about tickets costing $30 for the live event when the event had previously been free.
Smiley explained on his Facebook page that he decided to pay for the live broadcast out of his own pocket and will attempt to recoup some of the costs.
“The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” is owned by Reach Media and syndicated in more than 100 markets across the country, including 98.7 KISS, a property owned by SummitMedia.
A live broadcast hosted in Birmingham the day before the Magic City Classic football game has been a tradition since the late 1990s. Originally, the live broadcast featured “The Tom Joyner Morning Show,” which was on 98.7 KISS at the time, when it was then owned by Cox Media. In 2013, SummitMedia bought Cox Media stations which included 95.7 JAMZ and 98.7 KISS.
In the last few years of Joyner’s show, “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” started coming to Birmingham for the live broadcast when the show aired on 95.7 JAMZ. Once Joyner retired from radio, “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” moved from 95.7 JAMZ to 98.7 KISS.
Smiley made news this week when he visited “The Breakfast Club” morning show to promote his new book “Sideshow” where he ended a longstanding beef with host Charlamagne tha God.
The almost hour-long interview opened with an apology to Smiley from Charlamagne tha God.
“I saw Rickey a couple of weeks ago in New Orleans at the Inspire NOLA event, and told him something that I want to publicly say now, I want to publicly apologize to Rickey Smiley because several years ago, I gave Rickey Smiley, ‘Donkey of the Day,’ because a radio executive asked me to,” Charlamagne said. “And you didn’t deserve that, brother.”
“I appreciate that man. The first time, when you walked up on me, your energy, the love, and respect, it takes a big person. I knew it was all a part of the game,” said Smiley.
Every year, the Magic City Classic brings Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University battle it out at Legion Field for a potential spot at the SWAC Championship. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Actor Omari Hardwick will serve as the 2024 Ambassador for the Classic. On gameday, Hardwick will be a part of the Magic City Classic Parade, celebrate the traditions of one of the oldest HBCU classics in the country.
Other notable ambassadors at the Magic City Classic have included Rickey Smiley, Ruben Studdard, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, and Wendy Williams.
