(NEWTON, NJ) -- The Newton Theatre in Newton, NJ, operating as a live performance venue and movie theater, has expanded its operations to include an all-new online radio station, NEWT Radio.  NEWT Radio will launch on Tuesday, December 27th at 7:00 am and will be found at www.thenewtontheatre.com to stream online 24/7. It will also be available on the free app, Tune-In Radio. The music will be a mix of new, up and coming artists, indie, smaller label and classic core artists, featuring those coming to The Newton Theatre. The station will also feature in-studio performances, interviews and local musicians.

At the helm will be station manager, Melanie Thiel, also know as the Dawn Bird, as she wakes listeners up every weekday morning from 7:00am until 11:00am.

Melanie says, “I’m excited to be a part of The Newton Theatre family. This will be a great way to showcase those artists [performing at the theatre]. It’s also exciting to be on the ground floor of something that’s going to keep growing.”

Melanie served as the station manager and award-winning talk show host at WNTI radio for over twenty years. Her accomplishments exceeded her roles as manager and on-air personality, as she also ran an annual three day music festival, headed fund drives, and served as executive producer of radio shows.

Jonathan Peirce, co-owner of The Newton Theatre, says of the project “We are happy to have Melanie to help us realize our dream of running our own radio station and supporting the arts in the tri-state area.”

The rest of the on-air staff will fill in the remainder of the week days and weekends, with a variety of music not found anywhere else.

NEWT Radio will be located at 135 Spring Street in Newton. Passers by will have the opportunity to wave a greeting to the DJs in the window. A NEWT Radio Facebook page is available at https://www.facebook.com/NEWTRadio. Requests may be made by calling (973) 940-NEWT.

Advertising and sponsorship opportunities are available on NEWT Radio. For information contact Melanie Thiel at 973-383-3700, extension 107.

The historic Newton Theatre, located at 234 Spring Street in Newton, NJ, was founded in 1924. Revitalized and fully renovated, Sussex County’s premier entertainment venue reopened in 2011 as a 605 seat capacity live performing arts center. With it’s rich history and diverse programming The Newton Theatre is essential to the buoyancy of New Jersey’s Skylands region.