Daley hosts “The Katy Daley Show” on WAMU-FM. Last week, she was named Broadcaster of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.
How did you get your start in bluegrass radio?
I started in 1972 doing the bluegrass calendar on the Saturday “Gary Henderson Show.” It entailed contacting artists and finding out where they were playing, then on Saturday a couple times during the show I would make the bluegrass calendar announcement.
How did you move up the ranks?
We got more hours of broadcasting, so I moved into the producer host show of weeknight bluegrass, which was a couple nights a week.
What got you into bluegrass music in the first place?
My dad was from New Hampshire but we lived in Washington and he would sing [big bluegrass hits] to us. Then I went to North Carolina for college, and that was just the state of affairs, they grow banjo players on trees over there.
Do you think the Washington area has a strong bluegrass scene?
Absolutely. I think it’s important that people realize [WAMU] is a heritage bluegrass station. It’s been broadcasting bluegrass in some form or another for over 40 years.
This is the cosmopolitan version of Appalachian music. Washington was known as the bluegrass capital of the world back in the ’70s. I don’t think people realize how much bluegrass is featured or celebrated in official Washington. There are a lot of [bluegrass] organizations like the D.C. Bluegrass Union, Capital Area Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association. Many bluegrass artists have been awarded the National Endowment for the Arts fellowship award, the Library of Congress has named [bluegrass artist] Ralph Stanley a living legend, the Smithsonian folk festival features bluegrass. Even the Obamas had bluegrass at the White House recently.
— Violeta Ikonomova
