City Lights with Lois Reitzes
For more than 10 years, longtime WABE host Lois Reitzes explored the creative fabric of Atlanta on City Lights, a daily program highlighting pop culture, music, theater, dance, visual arts, food and more. Lois retired from hosting City Lights in June 2025.
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Meet Lois Reitzes
Lois Reitzes has been a defining voice for Atlanta’s classical music and arts scene for more than 45 years. Known for her unmistakable voice and unwavering dedication to the arts, Lois has played a crucial role in amplifying Atlanta’s cultural landscape through compelling interviews and programming that elevate local artists and creative communities.
Lois first joined WABE in 1979. She debuted as a music programmer and the host of WABE’s Early Morning Music at 6-7 a.m. from 1979 to 1982. She then pivoted to host the beloved Second Cup Concert from 1982 to 2015, introducing generations of listeners to the world of classical music. Lois has also anchored WABE’s weekend broadcasts of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concerts since 1992.
In 2015, WABE launched City Lights with Lois Reitzes, a flagship platform for showcasing Atlanta’s vibrant arts and culture scene. Lois hosted this daily program for over 10 years before retiring from her daily broadcast duties in June 2025.
Lois continues to host broadcasts of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on WABE, a role she has held since 1992. Upon her retirement from City Lights, the ASO awarded Lois its Golden Ticket – a rare honor normally awarded to its retiring musicians.
Impact and Legacy
Beyond hosting, Lois has been a fierce advocate for the arts and public broadcasting. She served as WABE’s Program Director from 1992 to 2007 and became the Director of Arts and Cultural Programming in 2007. Her contributions to Georgia’s radio and arts scene were recognized when she was inducted into the Friends of Georgia Radio Hall of Legends in 2022.
Upon her retirement from hosting City Lights, Lois was named WABE’s Arts & Culture Director Emeritus. WABE further honored Lois by establishing the Lois Reitzes Legacy Fund to honor her extraordinary impact on public media and the arts. The fund supports the development, production, and promotion of content created by or spotlighting Atlanta artists.
WABE also established the annual Lois Reitzes Leader of the Arts Award, celebrating an individual whose work has strengthened the cultural fabric of the region, actively advocated for the arts, and demonstrated a lasting commitment to advancing Atlanta’s creative community.
Personal life
Lois was born in Evanston, Illinois. She received a bachelor of music degree from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University. She pursued graduate study in musicology at Indiana University, where she also had her first and only other radio job at WFIU-Bloomington, the NPR affiliate licensed to Indiana University, before she moved to Atlanta in 1979 with her husband, Don.
Lois famously describes four of her core loves as her “four M’s”: Motown, Mel Brooks, Mozart and the Muppets.
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