The BBC’s local and regional radio stations across the UK will “create a one stop shop for the festival experience” this summer.
From June until September each BBC Local Radio station, as well as BBC Scotland, BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland, will champion one festival. Coverage will be brought together into a collection on BBC Music, complementing the popular Glastonbury Festival, T in the Park, and Radio 1’s Big Weekend.
Each year BBC radio stations broadcast from many festivals, and last year the BBC’s local radio stations broadcast in some way from 120. This will be the first time that coverage will be brought together in one place for audiences to find, meaning listeners on Teesside find it easier to discover live music from the Solent or Manchester.
For many artists and bands the only radio platform they can perform on in their area is community radio and BBC Introducing programmes. The local shows allow bands and artists to upload their music and have it played on local radio, and some go on to perform a live studio session. More than 500 acts have performed for BBC Introducing at major UK festivals over the past nine years. Over 500,000 tracks have been uploaded at the BBC Introducing website.
The BBC says this has kickstarted the careers of Jake Bugg, Florence + the Machine and Jack Garrett.
Each station will feature highlights from the festivals, including behind the scenes insights, interviews and original stories. Some of the festivals already confirmed include Manchester’s celebration of indie music in Parklife, Frome Festival in Cornwall and Newcastle’s Mouth of the Tyne Festival.
Director of BBC Music, Bob Shennan, said: “BBC Music is committed to supporting music at a grass roots level, with initiatives ranging from BBC Introducing to global stages such as our extensive coverage of Glastonbury. This summer, we will be bringing an eclectic selection of festivals straight to our audiences via BBC Local Radio. Listeners will be able to experience the diversity of the UK festival experience like never before, in this celebration of live music.”