Produced in the San Francisco Bay Area and broadcast on both www,KALW.org and www.bluegrasscountry.org, “Bluegrass Signal” combines classic and recent releases, usually in a thematic presentation, and includes background and contextual information, interviews with musicians, in-studio performances, plenty of music from the “left coast,” and the area’s most complete calendar of upcoming events (often with musical previews).
Peter Thompson has been producing and hosting radio programs since 1975, mostly for CBC Radio (Canada) and CFRO (Vancouver) until moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1993. HeÛªs been presenting “Bluegrass Signal” on KALW in San Francisco since 1995, and on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country since 2004.
PeterÛªs a member of the IBMA, California Bluegrass Association, Northern California Bluegrass Society, Redwood Bluegrass Associates, Pacific Bluegrass and Heritage Society (Vancouver, BC), and Berkeley Society for the Preservation of Traditional Music ÛÒ and has served on the Board of Directors for the last three organizations. He taught media production at a Vancouver college for many years, but gave that up to be a bluegrass concert presenter, M.C., record producer, road manager, publicist, and nanny ÛÒ and to continue doing radio shows.
Peter, who grew up in Michigan and now lives in Oakland, says, ÛÏI discovered bluegrass listening to WWVA late at night as a kid, and fell in love with it later ÛÒ the first time I heard the Stanley Brothers sing. The hairs on the back of my neck still wonÛªt go down when itÛªs right. I hope that can happen on every show.Û
