San Francisco Radio Online: Bay Area Stations, Streaming Live
Published
You can listen to San Francisco radio online in any browser, with no download and no account: open 72FM, search for a station's name, and press play. The Bay Area punches far above its size in radio history — it gave America its first listener-supported station, and it is home to SomaFM, one of the internet's best-loved radio networks.
SomaFM
Listener-supported and commercial-free, SomaFM broadcasts dozens of channels from San Francisco, and many of them are among the most-voted stations in the whole directory:
- Groove Salad — ambient and downtempo, the flagship.
- Secret Agent — spy-film cool and lounge.
- Underground 80s — new wave and synth-pop.
- Space Station Soma, Deep Space One and Drone Zone — ambient and space music.
- Left Coast 70s, Indie Pop Rocks!, Lush, Fluid, Boot Liquor, Folk Forward, Seven Inch Soul and Heavyweight Reggae — and many more.
Public and community radio
- KQED 88.5 — the Bay Area's NPR station, with news and talk.
- KPFA — in Berkeley, the first listener-supported radio station in the United States, on air since 1949 and the founding station of the Pacifica network.
More from the Bay
- Free FM 80s San Francisco — 1980s hits at 320kbps.
- SomaFM DEF CON Radio — music for hackers, from the famous security conference's channel.
The sound of the city
San Francisco was the centre of the 1960s psychedelic scene and has long been a home for independent, listener-supported culture — which is exactly what SomaFM and KPFA are. Ambient radio, chill radio and 80s radio cover some of the sounds SomaFM is known for.
Listening from elsewhere
The Bay Area keeps Pacific time — eight hours behind UTC in winter and seven in summer.
A route in
- SomaFM Groove Salad, for the Bay's best-known internet station.
- KQED, for news.
- KPFA, for the station that started listener-supported radio.
- SomaFM Secret Agent or Underground 80s, for something different.
Down the coast, Los Angeles radio online is next.
Frequently asked questions
How can I listen to San Francisco radio online for free?
Search for the station on 72FM — SomaFM's channels, KQED and KPFA are in the directory — no download and no account, with an hour a day free.
What is SomaFM?
A listener-supported, commercial-free internet radio network based in San Francisco, with dozens of channels such as Groove Salad and Secret Agent.
What was the first listener-supported radio station?
KPFA in Berkeley, on air since 1949.
Is KQED online?
Yes — KQED 88.5, the Bay Area's NPR station, is in the directory.