WAMU is celebrating 50 years of public broadcasting in Washington, D.C. this Saturday, October 29th at the National Building Museum. The Gibson Brothers are part of the musical entertainment.

WAMU 88.5 is the leading public radio station for NPR news and information in the greater Washington D.C. area.

On Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, hundreds of station supporters and fans will gather at the National Building Museum for a black-tie celebration of 50 years of WAMU 88.5 on the air in Washington!

 Master of ceremonies will be NPR’s Carl Kasell, joined by special guest Paula Poundstone and bluegrass stars The Gibson Brothers.

The evening will feature a formal dinner, live auction, and dancing to Doc Scantlin and his Imperial Palms Orchestra. Plus, we’ll pay tribute to the Founders of WAMU, and present three special honors to the William J. Clinton Foundation, the Lyndon B. Johnson Library, and Susan Stamberg for their service to the global community and contributions to the field of public broadcasting.

In 1967, the station added the first bluegrass show, the half-hour Bluegrass Unlimited, with Dick Spottswood as host and Gary Henderson as producer.  Stained Glass Bluegrass, with host Gary Henderson, premiered in 1973. 

1977 saw Bluegrass programming expanded to 20.5 hours per week, and WAMU celebrated 10 years of bluegrass on its airwaves with a Bluegrass Family Picnic at Wolftrap Farm Park in September.

In 1978, Katy Daley began sharing hosting duties of Bluegrass Country with Jerry Gray and With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, WAMU launched  BluegrassCountry.org, a 24-hour, high-quality, all-bluegrass radio station on the web in 2001.  

Katy began hosting her own daily show (The Katy Daley Show) in 2006 and was honored by the International Bluegrass Music Association this year as “Broadcaster of the Year”.