Sounds Like Home: Discover the Many Voices of Pacific Northwest Public Radio
October 28, 2026
This Public Radio Music Day, explore the music, stories, and local voices that make the Pacific Northwest sound like home.
What does home sound like?
Maybe it’s the familiar voice of a radio host on your morning drive, a piece of music that stops you in your tracks, a tune playing while you’re making dinner, or a song you’ve never heard before that becomes a new favorite.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we’re fortunate to have an extraordinary collection of public, community, and student-powered radio stations that bring those moments into our lives every day.
On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Public Radio Music Day celebrates the people and stations that connect our communities through music. This year’s national theme, Sounds Like Home, is a reminder of the ways music connects us to places, memories, communities, and one another.
At Classical KING, we’re celebrating by highlighting music from our region and inviting listeners to discover the many stations that contribute to the Northwest’s distinctive sound.
From classical and jazz to independent music, dance, global sounds, student broadcasters, and local journalism, each station brings something different to the airwaves. Together, they reflect the creativity, curiosity, and character of the communities we call home.
These stations have different voices, but they share a commitment to their communities and to making meaningful listening available to everyone.
Take a Listening Tour of the Pacific Northwest
This Public Radio Music Day, we invite you to explore a station you already love or discover one that’s new to you.
Whether you’re listening on the radio, streaming online, or using a mobile app, these stations offer ways to stay connected to the Northwest wherever life takes you.
Classical KING | 98.1 FM
At Classical KING, we make room for the music you love and the pieces you haven’t heard yet. We choose music with care, share local performances, and stay connected to the Pacific Northwest’s arts community. It’s a place to return to something familiar or discover something new.
Listen: 98.1 FM | Stream online | Get the app
DANCE 89.5 | 89.5 FM
Turn up the energy with DANCE 89.5. Broadcasting dance and electronic music, the station connects listeners through beats, DJs, and the shared joy of music.
Listen: On-air at 89.5 FM | Stream online | Explore all listening options and the DANCE 89.5 app
KAOS | 89.3 FM
Broadcasting from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, KAOS brings together students and community members for adventurous, freeform radio. Its programming celebrates musical discovery, independent voices, and the creative spirit of the South Sound. The station describes itself as a hybrid community and college radio station serving students, alumni, and community members.
Listen: On-air at 89.3 FM | Stream online | Mobile listening through RadioFX
KBCS | 91.3 FM
Based at Bellevue College, KBCS connects listeners to music and ideas through an eclectic mix of programming rooted in community and discovery.
Listen: On-air at 91.3 FM | Stream online or find the KBCS mobile apps
KEXP | 90.3 FM
A destination for music discovery, KEXP shares our curiosity about what comes next. Our partnership brings that spirit to Saturday nights on Classical KING, with four hours of contemporary classical music and ambient sounds from 8pm to Midnight.
Two hours of Second Inversion lead off the evening, exploring music from the 20th and 21st centuries with an ear toward what comes next. At 10pm, KEXP’s Pacific Notions continues the journey with two hours of spacious, atmospheric music. Together, we’re inviting listeners to explore new sounds and discover how classical music keeps evolving.
Classical KING’s Saturday-night lineup pairs Second Inversion from 8pm-10pm with KEXP’s Pacific Notions from 10pm-Midnight.
Listen: On-air at 90.3 FM | Stream KEXP online | Get the KEXP app
88.9 KMIH The Bridge | 88.9 FM
Student-powered radio brings a fresh perspective to the dial at KMIH, operated by students at Mercer Island High School. Through music, interviews, news, sports, and other programming, young broadcasters gain hands-on experience while sharing their voices with listeners. KMIH 88.9 The Bridge describes itself as a student-run station that provides broadcast and media training at Mercer Island High School.
Listen: On-air at 88.9 FM | Listen online and find the KMIH app
KNKX | 88.5 FM
Jazz, blues, and regional journalism come together at KNKX. With music programming, artist features, and local reporting, the station connects audiences to music and stories throughout Western Washington.
Listen: On-air at 88.5 FM in Seattle/Tacoma and at additional regional frequencies | Stream online or get the KNKX app
KPTZ | 91.9 FM
From Port Townsend, KPTZ brings community voices, local news, and music to listeners on the Olympic Peninsula and beyond. Its locally rooted programming reflects the creativity and connections of the community it serves.
Listen: On-air at 91.9 FM | Stream online or explore mobile listening through TuneIn and Radio Garden
KUGS | 89.3 FM
Serving the students of Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., KUGS provides a diverse program of music and information consistent with student interests. Volunteers are committed to creating programing that provides a greater understanding of human differences and cultural pluralism within the university community.
Listen: On-air at 89.3 FM | Stream online
KSER | 90.7 FM
Serving Everett and the North Puget Sound region, KSER offers community radio with an eclectic mix of music and local voices. Its programming brings listeners closer to the people, ideas, and sounds that shape their communities.
Listen: On-air at 90.7 FM, with sister signal KXIR at 89.9 FM | Stream online and find the KSER app
KUOW | 94.9 FM
Home isn’t defined by music alone. It’s also the voices and stories that help us understand the place we live.
KUOW connects the region through local journalism, conversations, and storytelling. Our partnership brings music into that mix, too: KUOW carries Classical KING’s Classical Calm stream online and in its app, giving news listeners another way to find a moment of peacefulness and reflection. This partnership launched on May 4, 2026.
The organizations also partnered during the 2025 holiday season to make Classical KING’s Classical Christmas stream available in the KUOW app.
Together, we’re making it easier to stay informed and find moments of music and reflection along the way.
Listen: On-air at 94.9 FM in Seattle and additional regional frequencies | Stream online or get the KUOW app
SPACE 101.1 | 101.1 FM
Small in broadcast range but big on creativity, SPACE 101.1 is a community station based at Seattle’s Magnuson Park. With a focus on locally created programming and music, SPACE offers listeners opportunities to hear voices and sounds they might not encounter anywhere else.
The station describes itself as people-powered, arts-oriented radio with programming that includes a focus on local musicians, community engagement, and sharing great music past and present.
Listen: On-air at 101.1 FM in the Seattle area | Stream online from anywhere, including on a mobile browser
Different Stations. Shared Community.
One of the wonderful things about public and community radio is that no two stations sound exactly alike.
Each station reflects the people who make it possible: hosts introducing us to new music, journalists helping us understand our communities, volunteers sharing their passions, students finding their voices, and listeners making it all worthwhile.
Together, they create space for local artists, new perspectives, community stories, and the simple experience of discovering something worth hearing.
Public Radio Music Day is an opportunity to celebrate that work and recognize the many ways these stations contribute to the cultural life of the Pacific Northwest.
Take the Sounds of Home With You
One of the best things about radio today is that the sounds of home no longer must stay in one place.
You can discover a new station during your morning commute, stream a favorite program while traveling, or reconnect with familiar voices from across the country or around the world.
This Public Radio Music Day, we invite you to try something new. Explore another station on the dial, follow a listening link above, download an app, or share a favorite station with a friend.
You might discover a new artist, a different perspective, or a sound you didn’t know you were missing.
And wherever you go, the sounds of the Pacific Northwest will come along with you.
Happy Public Radio Music Day from Classical KING, and from the many voices that make the Pacific Northwest sound like home.
Explore Public Radio Music Day, a national celebration organized by the noncomMUSIC Alliance.
