When you Google “Washington is,” some of the automatic suggestions are “broken” and “too close to the banks.” Fair enough – when people think Washington, they think politics. But D.C., while a company town, is also the heart of a six-million person metro area, which can be a pretty dynamic place to live.

Why do I bring that up here, on a music blog? Just to give a quick shout to WAMU Bluegrass Country, 105.5 FM, one of the best radio stations in the country. Most local NPR stations focus on classical music, but in our nation’s capitol, it’s bluegrass and Americana, and they do a great job.

This may not be what you think of when you think Capitol Hill, but I just drove home across the Capitol Hill neighborhood cranking Hank Williams – on the FM dial, not a CD player. “The Dick Spottswood Show” played a short 15-minute radio show from 1949 hosted by none other than Hank himself. He sang Pan American, Lovseick Blues, and I Saw the Light, with some great fiddle interludes. There aren’t too many places in the country where you can drive through an urban area loudly singing along to I Saw the Light with a goofy grin.

So, thank you, WAMU. You keep doing you. And you don’t have to visit DC to hear 105.5 – you can listen along live online.