Jonathan L

Jonathan Leigh Rosen (born December 5, 1946 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York), better known by his radio handle Jonathan L, is an American radio deejay, programmer, and entertainment media publisher. He organized his first large music festival for alternative station KUKQ in Phoenix, Arizona in 1989, years before the launch of festivals like Lollapalooza and the KROQ Weenie Roasts. For this reason, he is often called the “father of all radio festivals.”

Jonathan L left his parents' Long Island home at age 14 and lived as a street urchin with a gang of juveniles. After quitting school and being convicted of assault charges, he spent three years incarcerated in various juvenile institutions. He was out and on parole shortly before his 18th birthday, and took a job as a parts man for Mack Trucks. He also began writing for an underground newspaper in Long Island called The Express.

In 1973, Jonathan L left New York and headed for Berkeley, California. He fell ill when he and his wife stopped to visit friends in Tucson, Arizona, and they ended up staying there for the next thirteen years. He began self-publishing a monthly pop culture magazine called Newsreal. The publication was known for its eclectic mix of music artists, putting such stars as Joan Jett and B.B. King on the same cover. Begun in 1974, Newsreal’s circulation reached 20,000 before the publication folded in 1985.

While on a summer hiatus in 1978 in New York City, Jonathan L was the editor for two issues of Drugs & Paraphernalia Digest, with the former publisher of High Times magazine.

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