Radio veteran Jeremy Petersen is the newest addition to Colorado Public Radio’s OpenAir, hosting weekday mornings from 6-10 a.m.
“Radio has always been something I've gravitated towards—it was a very early love, fueled by hosts who could send your imagination racing with the right bit of context around a song, or piece of info that made you want more. They have inspired me to do what I do and, ideally, accomplish the same,” said Petersen.
Getting His Start
Jeremy spent his childhood filling endless cassette tapes with the music that he would play if he were on the radio. When his school, Idaho St. University, launched KISU-FM in 1999, Jeremy decided to take the plunge and give it a go on air.
Within a few months, he was hosting KISU’s first local program, “In House." He later served as both program director and music director, and in those roles helped focus the station on independent music, regional performances and in-studio sessions. Some of the programs he created during his tenure are still on the schedule today.
Inside The Portland Music Scene
In 2007, Jeremy moved to Portland, Ore., where he got his start in public radio working for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). At OPB, he helped found and program opbmusic, an online music service that connects OPB to its local music fans. Later, he joined XRAY-FM as host of the two-hour weekly show, “Hooray for Tuesday,” which was named after an album by Denver-born-Portland-based band The Minders.
“[‘Hooray for Tuesday’] was entirely live and essentially free-form, which offered a lot of flexibility but also challenged us to provide focus on new and local music, and what was actually happening in the city. It was a wild ride that ended up being a fairly intense musical education," said Petersen.
In Portland, Jeremy got to experience an intimate music scene chock-full of local talent. He had many self-described “super-fan moments” with musicians, which have also doubled as career highs, but among his favorite was discovering and championing the artists who were just getting their start.
On The Power Of Music…
Jeremy is excited to fill the role of morning host at OpenAir and help listeners along their journey to discover new and independent music.
“Music is intensely personal, so when I hear from a listener saying they appreciated a set or a recommendation or heard a song they didn’t know about, that's a real connection,” said Petersen. “I know how great it feels to discover music that blows you away–it's really close to the feeling I get knowing I’ve helped someone else do the same.”
Petersen is looking forward to connecting with OpenAir listeners in Denver and along the Front Range.
“I'm excited to infiltrate the morning habits of Coloradans! Also, living in a major league baseball town, discovering the secret places only locals get to know about, and maybe, just maybe convincing somebody to give me a DJ night somewhere.”
Join Jeremy Petersen weekday mornings on OpenAir.
