Karen Petersen
Musician · Mountain Grove, Missouri
Best known for
Bass
Karen Petersen is the matriarch and bassist of The Petersens family bluegrass band — a former mandolin player who switched to upright bass in 2017 when daughter Julianne began learning mandolin, and the band's chaplain whose audience-coined nickname "Get It, Mama" has become a Branson-show signature.
- Mother of the Petersen siblings (Katie, Ellen, Matt, Julianne) and matriarch of The Petersens family band.
- Married to band founder Jon Petersen, a retired Air Force Lt. Col. she met through Campus Crusade for Christ.
- Holds a Master's in Music Education from the University of Oklahoma; played trumpet through her school years.
- Originally played mandolin in the band; switched to upright bass in 2017 when daughter Julianne began learning mandolin.
- Taught all of her children piano before they specialized on their bluegrass instruments.
- Serves as the band's chaplain and helps chart songs and harmony lines for rehearsals.
- Audience members coined the nickname "Get It, Mama," shouted during her bass features at the Branson show.
- Followed her husband during his 23+ year Air Force career before settling in southern Missouri.