Mary Lucia

Mary Lucia is a disc jockey who currently works for the Minnesota Public Radio station KCMP 89.3 FM. She has had a long involvement in the local music scene of Minnesota and also happens to be the sibling of area music icon Paul Westerberg, former frontman of The Replacements. Lucia is best known for her work in radio, but has also done some acting and writes the Soundtrack to Mary column for the local alternative newspaper The Rake (the title comes from a Soul Coughing track of the same name). She is known for her musical knowledge as well as occasionally bizarre commentary between songs.

Through the 1990s, Lucia worked at a series of alternative and partially freeform stations in the Twin Cities market. The first was KJ104 (KJJO 104.1, now WXPT ), then REV-105—probably the most-lamented station of the area from that decade among area music aficionados. Following REV's selloff in 1997, she returned to the station the next year when it was known as Zone 105, where she hosted the station's morning show with Brian Oake and the weekly local music program Popular Creeps. Recorded at the Bryant-Lake Bowl each Sunday, it won awards for "Best Locally Produced Show." After another format change at 105 in 2001, Lucia briefly hosted a talk show on KSTP 1500 AM.

For about three years, she found it difficult to get on-air hosting work in the area. It was during this time that she started penning her column in The Rake. When it was announced in late 2004 that MPR had purchased 89.3 FM (formerly WCAL) and would change it to a contemporary music format, many members of the public requested that Lucia be asked to join the station, which she did.

In 2003, she appeared in the indie film The Last Word. She has also performed in some local stage productions.