BBC Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe, Shaun Keaveny sits in BBC Radio 2 21:00 Wednesday

29 May 2024 singer-songwriter Blair Dunlop talks about his new album, Out Of The Rain.

05 June 2024 Singer-songwriter Josienne Clarke is live in the studio, performing songs from her album 'Parenthesis, I'.

12 June 2024 Mark Radcliffe returns to the Folk Show and to Salford, the original 'Dirty Old Town' that inspired Ewan MacColl's famous song. We hear a special collaboration between Peggy Seeger and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra as they perform Dirty Old Town together. American folk legend Peggy was famously the musical and romantic partner of MacColl from the 1950s to his death in the late 80s.

Dirty Old Town will be a focus of the upcoming We Invented The Weekend Festival at Salford Quays on 15 and 16 June. The song was written 75 years ago and depicts human life and love in industrial Salford. It was famously recorded by The Pogues, The Dubliners and many more. Also this week, Mark highlights the 110th anniversary of James Joyce's classic book Dubliners, which famously gave the Irish band their name and inspired many more folk musicians since then.

19 June 2024 Mark Radcliffe welcomes Paul Armfield to the studio. Songwriter Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, where he runs a bookshop. His intimate, honest and disarming songs have won fans including Mark, Guy Garvey, Lauren Laverne, Chris Difford, Caitlin Moran and more. Paul is also a bassist (appearing on records by Michael Kiwanuka), lino-cut artist and player of the musical saw.