Cardiff will host this year’s BBC Radio 6 Music Festival from Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd April.
The line-up was announced this morning on 6 Music by Huw Stephens and Mary Anne Hobbs.
The festival will see live performances, DJ sets, In Conversations and more across multiple venues in Wales’ capital city, including St David’s Hall, The Great Hall and Y Plas in Cardiff University Students’ Union and Tramshed.
6 Music presenters including AFRODEUTSCHE, Amy Lamé, Cerys Matthews, Chris Hawkins, Craig Charles, Don Letts, Gideon Coe, Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, Jamz Supernova, Lauren Laverne, Mark Radcliffe, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nemone, Steve Lamacq, Stuart Maconie and Tom Ravenscroft will be broadcasting from Cardiff over the course of the weekend.
They’ll be bringing live music, interviews, DJ sets and more from the festival to listeners, wherever they are across the UK.
A programme presented by Huw Stephens (Sunday 3rd April, 4-7pm) will be simulcast on BBC Radio Wales.
There will also be special editions of 6 Music’s Indie Forever (Saturday 2nd April, 3-4am), Ambient Focus (Saturday 2nd April, 4-6am) and Lose Yourself With… (Sunday 3rd April, 3-5am), curated by Welsh artists. All programmes will be available on BBC Sounds after broadcast.
BBC Radio Wales will also broadcast highlights and a number of the events live, and will re-broadcast Cerys Matthews’ 6 Music Festival programme on the evening of Sunday 3rd April.
On BBC Radio Cymru, Rhys Mwyn, Georgia Ruth, Lisa Gwilym and Huw Stephens will broadcast festival highlights.
BBC Four and BBC Wales will revisit some of the best moments from the festival with a special programme, featuring performance highlights, to be aired at a later date.
Highlights from the festival will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer over the course of the weekend, and for 30 days afterwards.
The line-up features Little Simz, Khruangbin, Father John Misty & members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, IDLES, Bloc Party, Johnny Marr and very special guests Pixies. Plus, audiobooks, beabadoobee, Big Joanie, Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18, Cat Power, Curtis Harding, David Holmes, Deyah, Elkka, Emma-Jean Thackray, Ezra Collective, Georgia Ruth, Green Gartside, Gruff Rhys, Gwenno, H. Hawkline, Ibeyi, Ibibio Sound Machine, Lucy Dacus, Mykki Blanco, Obonjayar, Orlando Weeks, OVERMONO, Porij, Self Esteem, Sherelle, Sports Team, The Bug Club, The Mysterines, Wet Leg and more will also be performing.
Samantha Moy, Head of BBC Radio 6 Music, says: “After two years, it feels very special to say that the 6 Music Festival is back with a bang in Cardiff. This is a city which has always had a thriving music scene and I can’t wait to bring the 6 Music family, of both presenters and listeners, together for the magic of the 6 Music Festival.”
Mary Anne Hobbs says: “The most exciting element about the 6 Music Festival is the coming together, in a physical space, of our beloved 6 Music listeners and the staff at the station, with artists we love. Lockdowns have kept us apart since 2020, so this year’s gigs in Cardiff are going to feel super-charged.”
Huw Stephens says: “It’s great news that the 6 Music Festival is coming to Cardiff. We love our live music here; gigs and club nights are a massive part of what makes Cardiff special, and live music is in our blood. We also love BBC Radio 6 Music and to have this incredible festival happening here at this important time in live music venues’ recovery, is really exciting.”
There will be events in the day as well as at night. 6 Music Festival By Day events will take place at Tramshed and By Night events at St David’s Hall, The Great Hall and Y Plas. Tramshed will also host 6 Music Late, a club night featuring 6 Music DJs and special guests, which follows the 6 Music By Night live gigs.
The 6 Music Festival is part of BBC 100 – an extraordinary year of special content, events and ambitious education initiatives to inform, educate and entertain the nation, marking 100 years of the BBC in 2022.
This story first appeared on radiotoday.co.uk