It’s easy to listen to Bluegrass Country wherever you are. In the Washington, DC area, you can find us on an HD FM radio at 88.5 HD2. Anywhere in the world, you can listen to our webstream on your computer, tablet or phone using the player on this site, by using the Bluegrass Country apps for the iPhone or Android phone, on an internet radio, or with your Amazon or Google smart speaker. Here’s what you need to know.
Listen on an HD Radio
With an HD radio, listeners in the Washington, DC area will experience excellent reception and audio quality because of the HD technology and the signal’s power, which is the maximum permitted in the Washington area by the FCC. The 88.5 HD2 signal is reliable out to a radius of about 30 miles from the transmitter located in Northwest DC. To learn more about HD radio, go to https://hdradio.com
In your car
Today many cars come equipped with HD radio. If your car doesn’t have one, there are aftermarket radios available from most electronics dealers. To find our if your radio is HD-capable, tune to 88.5 and look for the HD radio symbol, or HD1, which is WAMU-FM news and talk radio. Tune forward one station and you should find us at HD2.
At home
HD radios are available as desktop, portable or component units. There’s a searchable list of models from many manufacturers at https://hdradio.com/get-a-radio. To obtain the best signal in your home, try locating the radio near a window and extending the antenna fully. Moving the radio a small distance and reorienting the antenna will produce a reliable signal. In some locations, you may want to use an outdoor or amplified antenna to improve the HD2 signal.
Listen to our Webstream
Bluegrass Country’s programs are available on a high-quality webstream, and can be heard on just about any device that’s capable of connecting to the internet.
On a computer or tablet
Click the LISTEN button on this website’s navigation menu to launch the high quality streaming Live Radio Player, which will appear in a separate window. The player displays song information, plus some useful add-ons such as links to our Facebook page, YouTube videos or Twitter feeds. Click the menu icon at the bottom left for more options, including information on recently played songs, links to local traffic and weather, and a QR code you can scan to load the player to your mobile device. NOTE: The live radio player doesn’t close automatically when you close the web site or browser.
Have a problem getting the audio stream?
Some users have reported problems getting the live radio stream from the link on the new website. It’s possible that security settings cause a browser to reject the link. In this case, try one of these links to access the player directly. The audio streams for AAC and MP3 are identical
On a desktop:
https://streamdb3web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WAMU should open the AAC player
https://streamdb3web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WAMU2 should open the MP3 player
On a phone or mobile device:
http://radio.securenetsystems.net/cwa/WAMU should open the AAC player
http://radio.securenetsystems.net/cwa/WAMU2 should open the MP3 player
On a phone or mobile device
You can listen to the Bluegrass Country webstream using a free app for the iPhone or Android phone. Look for the app at the App Store or Google Play. If you prefer, you can use your device’s browser to access bluegrasscountry.org, or use the internet radio repeater app TuneIn. (Note: Bluegrass Country may not be available on TuneIn in the UK, as the service has removed many international stations from its service due to a copyright dispute.)
On your Amazon or Google smart speaker
If you have an Amazon speaker, you can listen to Bluegrass Country by saying “Alexa, Bluegrass Country.” If this doesn’t work the first time, you may have to enable these Alexa “skills” by saying “Alexa, enable Bluegrass Country.” She should respond “Started playing Bluegrass Country.” You can also enable these skills on Amazon’s Alexa Skills web page here.
On Google Home, the magic words are “OK Google (or Hey Google), Play Bluegrass Country.” If your speaker responds “OK, playing Bluegrass Country from TuneIn” you’ve reached us.
On ROKU
ROKU TVs and players can access Bluegrass Country through the TuneIn app, available on the Channel Store.
NEW – On a Sonos wireless speaker
Look for WAMU-HD2 Bluegrass Country using the Search function on the Sonos Radio web site.
On an internet radio
Internet radios are desktop or component devices that can play streaming audio from the web. If you can’t find Bluegrass Country on your internet radio, you can directly enter the stream address: http://ice24.securenetsystems.net/WAMU. If you are unable to enter a stream address, contact the radio manufacturer to find out how to update the device, or contact us at support@bluegrasscountry.org and we will do our best to help you.
Broadcast Archives
Per statutory license, Bluegrass Country can offer past broadcasts from our archive under certain conditions, and with a number of restrictions imposed by copyright laws. For example,
- the archived recording must be at least 5 hours long
- pre-published playlists are not allowed
- on-demand selection of specific copyrighted songs is not permitted
Click the button below to open the Archive Player, and enjoy listening to the last few weeks of Bluegrass Country Radio. For more information, including instructions on using the Archive Player, click here.