BBC Radio 6 Music Festival will still go ahead this year, albeit virtually.
Lauren Laverne announced on her 6 Music Breakfast Show this morning (March 12) that the festival will take place on the weekend of March 26-28 and will feature recently recorded performances from Laura Marling, Michael Kiwanuka, and electronic DJ duo Bicep, live from London’s Alexandra Palace. Brand new performances will also come from Dry Cleaning, Nubya Garcia, shame, Poppy Ajudha, Working Men’s Club, and Black Country, New Road – all filmed in the BBC Radio Theatre in BBC Broadcasting House.
All of the new sets will be available to watch and listen to in full on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, alongside 18 classic sets from the 6 Music Festival archive. A special BBC Four programme, airing at 11 pm on March 26, will show highlights from Michael Kiwanuka and Laura Marling’s sets, as well as interviews with the pair courtesy of Cerys Matthews.
2020’s 6 Music Festival, held in a variety of venues across Camden, was one of the last in-person festivals to go ahead before the UK enforced COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Kiwanuka was due to headline but had to pull out due to illness.
“It feels great to be playing the 6 Music Festival this year, especially because I missed last year – I was so sad and gutted not to perform,” he says in a press release. “This year is a special year because there are very few opportunities to get to play live, with the situation we’re in in the world. So it’s great to be able to express myself the way I know how and with the 6 Music family. It means a lot.”
Samantha Moy, the Head of BBC Radio 6 Music says: “With venues closed across the UK, we are determined to celebrate live music, as we know 6 Music listeners are missing gigs as much as we are. So, we’ve raided the 6 Music Festival archives and moved heaven and earth to record some new performances, to ensure that the festival will go on!”