Holger Petersen: The man behind the music

Published on June 13, 2025

Class of 1970 grad a foundational contributor to Edmonton’s music community

In the music industry, Edmonton isn’t always recognized for its contributions in the same way as places like Toronto or Nashville. But leaving the city to further immerse himself in the global roots and blues scene didn’t occur to Dr. Holger Petersen (Radio and Television Arts '70).

“I liked being in Edmonton,” says Petersen. “Always did.”

From all that he has done, appreciation is clear. A member of the Order of Canada since 2003 and the Alberta Order of Excellence since 2020, as well as a holder of honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Alberta and Athabasca University, Petersen has enjoyed the city as a base to explore and express his passion for all things music.

Perhaps best known as the voice of CKUA Radio’s Natch’l Blues for more than 55 years, and host of CBC Radio’s Saturday Nights Blues for nearly 40, Petersen’s accomplishments read like tracks on a greatest hits album.

He was a founding member of the continuously sold-out Edmonton Folk Music Festival. He authored two books of interviews with the likes of B.B. King, Ry Cooder, Mavis Staples and more. He served on various boards supporting musicians and creatives, including that responsible for the Juno Awards. And he cofounded Stony Plain records, producer of hundreds of albums and itself a winner of numerous Junos.

Looking back on it all, says Petersen, now a recipient of a Honorary Bachelor of Technology in Management, “NAIT helped keep me here.”

From the perspective of fellow CKUA host Grant Stovel, Petersen is “a sterling example of how much of a difference NAIT can make in the life of an individual student, and how that positive contribution can be magnified to an unfathomable degree when those gifts are taken out into the community and shared.”

“I had no idea what I was getting into”

Even from a young age, life in the media was inevitable for Petersen. As a teenager, he was fascinated with the bands of the British invasion, the Rolling Stones, Animals, Yardbirds, and so on. Soon, he found himself focusing on their undertones, exploring the Chicago and Mississippi blues that inspired rock and roll as he knew it.

“But when I got to NAIT, that was when it really opened up for me." 

In his first few months in the program, he got involved with the campus’s volunteer radio station. Not long after, he visited the Nugget student newspaper to ask if they wanted a music writer.

“The editor said, ‘Yes, you’ve got a page every issue,’” says Petersen. “I had no idea what I was getting into, but I knew it could involve record reviews, interviews, concert reviews, news, that sort of thing.”

Combined with the skills he was learning in class, the extracurricular work opened the door to his future. After making community connections to land interviews, Petersen found himself backstage at some of the biggest shows in Edmonton at the time, interviewing everyone from Bo Diddley to Roy Orbison to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.

That initiative impressed staff at CKUA. After calling the station occasionally about songs they  played, Petersen got to know announcer Tony Dillon-Davis, who eventually invited him to share interviews on air. “That's basically how I started at CKUA,” says Petersen.

After then-program director Ed Kilpatrick offered him a job, Natch’l Blues went live in January 1969. Petersen has been there ever since.

“Professionalizing” the music community

“That kind of drive foreshadowed what would become a career and a passion that would set the course for Alberta’s growing music ecosystem – the effects of which can still be felt today,” says Marc Carnes, current CEO of CKUA.

Carnes sees Petersen’s impact most clearly in the “professionalizing” of the Edmonton music community, creating the opportunities for early career artists to get their start without leaving the city. But he also acknowledges the effect the multiple hall-of-fame inductee (most notably by Folk Alliance International into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame) has had on established artists, too.

Ian Tyson’s career, for example, was essentially revived by Stony Plain Records’ 1986 release of Cowboyography, an album that was certified platinum in Canada.

“Many people dabble in these areas, but only someone of Holger Petersen’s stature and capability could lead and achieve so much in one lifetime,” says Carnes. Nevertheless, he adds, you wouldn’t know it to meet him.

From everything he’s done, “It’s gratitude that I come away with,” says Petersen. So far, his life – a “dream come true,” in his view – has been defined by sharing music, creating it and, by virtue of doing so, helping to make Edmonton a place for upcoming generations to carry that work forward.

Just like he never strayed from the city, Petersen hasn’t strayed far from what brought him to this business. He’s still excited about finding new music, and about surprising listeners with something fresh from the worlds of blues and roots.

“I don't have any retirement plans,” says Petersen. Instead, he intends to continue to hit the airwaves, “as long as [the stations] are happy with my work.

“It's really a lifestyle and passion for me to be able to do that.”