Holger Petersen

Holger Petersen, drummer, producer, broadcaster (born 23 November 1949 on Pellworm Island, West Germany), hon D LITT (Athabaska) 2002. Holger Petersen was a drummer in Edmonton groups such as Spiney Norman's Whoopee Band, Hot Cottage, etc. In 1976, in Edmonton, he founded the independent record label Stony Plain Records, serving as its president since that time. Petersen began his career at CKUA, the Alberta public radio network, and has been the host for CKUA radio's weekly show "Natch'l Blues," Canada's longest-running blues program, since 1970. He has also hosted CBC radio's "Saturday Night Blues" since 1987 which is the only national CBC radio broadcast located in Alberta. Petersen has also programmed the BluesTime Channel on Galaxie.

Holger Petersen was a director of SOCAN 1990-2006 and a member of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association (CIRPA). He was a founder and artistic director (1986-8) of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, and a founding member of the Alberta Recording Industries Association.

In 2002, Petersen was awarded an honorary doctorate from Athabasca University for his contributions to public broadcasting and to Canadian Blues music. Holger Petersen became a member of the Order of Canada in 2003. He was a 2008 recipient of the public radio award part of the Keeping the Blues Alive Awards through The Blues Foundation in Memphis Tennessee. The honour is designed to recognize the contributions to Blues music made by people within the industry and Petersen was the first recipient outside of the US to receive the award.