BBC Radio This week 2026

Subject: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 16 Dec 25 - 10:21 PM

Regular BBC pages to check :

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BBC Category : Folk
Here's the BBC page which gives links to the current Weekly, Monthly & Seasonal radio programmes.
(There are also a few one-offs on the page.)

Ambell i Gân (Cymru)
A' Mire ri Mòir (Nan Gàidheal)
* Blas Ceoil - (Radio Ulster)
Caithream Ciùil (Nan Gàidhea)
Catgut and Ivory (Scotland)
Celtic Heartbeat (Wales)
Claire and Friends (Scotland\Shetland)
Crùnluath (Nan Gàidheal)
Fae Hameaboot (Scotland)
Folk Club (Ulster)
Georgia Ruth (Cymru)
* Iain Anderson (r2)
Music Planet (r3)
Oota Da Cans (winter only) (Scotland)
Orkney Folk Music with Jennifer Wrigley (Scotland\Orkney)
Orkney Irish Country \What's the Craic with Colin Kirkness (Scotland\Orkney)
Orkney Scottish Dance Music with Liam Muir\Dashing White Farmer (Scotland\Orkney)
Pipeline \Pipes and Drums (Scotland)
The Piping Season (Scotland)
Piping Sounds (Scotland)
Roddy Hart (Scotland)
Saltfish Sessions (Scotland\Orkney)
Take the Floor - Gary Innes (Scotland)
The Folk Show With Mark Radcliffe (r2)
Tim Walker's Folk (Lincolnshire)
Tiompan (Nan Gàidheal)
Trad Ar Fad! (Ulster)
Travelling Folk (Scotland)

- NB This link might try to open your 'Sounds' app which might not give the same information as the web page - you might need to copy it and paste into a browser
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/category/music-folk?sort=title
[not blickified, on purpose]

*regular programmes missing from the page above :
Iain Anderson (country, folk, blues and soul) - Radio2
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074hkv/episodes

Blas Ceoil - Radio Ulster
,,,new releases, gig guide details and live acoustic sessions to keep. (in Gaelic; quite a lot of chat)
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cmsk6/episodes
& check the 'clips' tab for more.

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Available For Over A Year
There is a separate mudcat thread listing BBC radio programmes 'available for over a year'.
mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=171922

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search : Folk
Also of interest might be this search page which gives 20+ pages of radio and TV.
But it isn't sortable, doesn't indicate which pages have available programmes.   ,,, & includes news items e.g. about Folkstone!
It's useful to see what the BBC has broadcast in the past though.
www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=Folk

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Category : World - radio
Current shows; it's a wide interpretation of 'world' plus a few extra programmes.
- open in a browser -
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/category/music-world?sort=title   

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Genre : music : World - radio & TV
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/genres/music/world/player
There are filters for
Africa
Americas
Asia Pacific
Cross Cultural
Europe
Experimental & New
Middle East & Africa

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026 - Peggy Seeger
From: Felipa
Date: 23 Jan 26 - 05:01 PM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0009j4s The Stephen McCauley Show on BBC Radio Ulster 23 Jan 8-10 pm Peggy Seeger in Concert, recording in Belfast June 2025 (just days after her 90th birthday) followed by other recordings of Peggy Seeger (and also Ewan MacColl on the Springhill Mine Disaster), with commentary by the presenter, Stephen McCauley. What I found most interesting was Peggy's interview with Stephen McCauley, which aired before the concert, at 7 pm https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0028xg8

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: Rain Dog
Date: 16 Mar 26 - 08:33 AM

On BBC Radio 4 Extra this morning

Jazzed Up: How Jazz Changed Britain

1. Arrival

Jazzed Up: How Jazz Changed Britain

Episode 1 of 3

A century after the first jazz recordings, Kevin Le Gendre explores how Jazz was received in the UK.

First of a three-part series.

How did the music spread into popular culture after the Original Dixieland Jazz Band first brought the sound of jazz to people's consciousness?

Producer: Harry Parker

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017.


All 3 episodes are available to listen to now.

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 19 Mar 26 - 07:49 AM

A couple of Dick Goughan progs

repeat from Jul 2025, avail for a few days
Dick Gaughan
Travelling Folk -

Anna [Massie] sits down with folk royalty in the form of singer and songwriter, Dick Gaughan. An icon of Edinburgh's folk scene since the 1960s, a stroke in 2016 left Dick unable to perform. He tells Anna about his musical career and the recent campaign to preserve his remarkable body of work from 1969 to 1983, most of it previously unreleased.
We hear some of the music that has influenced him over the years as well as hearing from other artists who have been influenced by Dick including Barbara Dickson, Billy Bragg and Siobhan Miller.   
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002ft8f



March 2026 avail for about 3 weeks
True and Bold: A Night for Dick Gaughan
Travelling Folk

Recorded at Celtic Connections 2026, we have highlights of the True and Bold: A Night for Dick Gaughan concert, put together to celebrate one of Scotland's most significant folk singers and songwriters.
Featuring an incredible host of musicians, including Siobhan Miller, Billy Bragg, Ricky Ross & Lorraine McIntosh, Lisa O'Neill and Paul McKenna, the concert celebrates Dick's amazing back catalogue and even features an appearance from the man himself.   
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002scz0

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Mar 26 - 04:51 PM

Ralph McLean show on Radio Ulster has a Martin Carthy special, broadcast Tuesday 24th, available on BBC sounds.

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: Rain Dog
Date: 13 Apr 26 - 05:20 AM

On BBC Radio 4 Extra

Musical genes - Phil Cunningham


"Tom Morton meets the brother of the late Scottish folk music legend John Cunningham.

Series searching for the true story behind some of our best loved musicians.

Producer: Deirdre Waldie

First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in October 2008."

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST
Date: 06 May 26 - 03:05 AM

On BBC Radio 4 Extra this morning at 10.00

David Attenborough and the Natural History of Folk

4 Extra Debut. David Attenborough explores his early folk music TV work - and its influence upon his natural history programmes. From 2014

David Attenborough and the Natural History of Folk

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 06 May 26 - 04:20 PM

Musical Inspirations & the Legacy of Pete Seeger Available for 27 days

Radio 2 03 May 2026 The Paul Gambaccini Collection 117 mins

Gambo plays songs inspired by other musicians including ones from John Lennon, Van Morrison & Rumer.

Plus, he looks at folk and protest singer Pete Seeger's music legacy - which includes live tracks from Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 09 May 26 - 08:00 PM

BBC R3 Tuesday 5 May In Tune 25 days left to listen
John Tams and Sally Swanson perform the music of War Horse

The much-loved production of War Horse returns to the National Theatre this summer ahead of its 20th anniversary in 2027.
This will also be the first production of War Horse to be staged since the death of composer Adrian Sutton last year. John Tams, who worked closely with Adrian on the music, performs live on In Tune with singer and accordion player Sally Swanson. They are also joined by the co-director of War Horse, Tom Morris, to reflect on Adrian Sutton's life and music.
Katie also chats to Composer Oli Julian about his score for Amandaland ahead of the 2nd series.

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 10 May 26 - 11:02 AM

Some folk, mixed with lots of interesting new stuff

Folk up your dreams… with Zakia
Dream Time - BBC Radio 6 Music.

DJ, broadcaster, writer and dreamer Zakia Sewell provides the soundtrack to your dreams - playing music to ease the mind, soothe the soul, and open portals to new dimensions.

This week Zakia indulges in a belated May Day celebration of sorts with lots of folk-filled sounds for your listening pleasure, as well as a visit from folk royalty - the American singer, collector, multi-instrumentalist and activist Peggy Seeger. At 90 years old, she has been a key part of the folk landscape for decades, performing on and releasing countless records since her debut back in 1955.
Peggy shares reflections on her musical upbringing, her wild dreams of buffalos and ski jumps, and plays a few tracks that have been important to her over the years.

Elsewhere Zakia reaches for some sounds for early May
- there’s a hauling shanty from the Georgia Sea Island Singers recorded by Alan Lomax,
- Lee Moses’ take on a sunshiney classic, and
- beautiful harmonies from The Staple Singers.
There’s plenty of new releases, including Byzantine metal from Father Dionysios Tabakis, psychedelic meditations from Bristol’s Hawksmoor and homemade recordings from Eliana Glass. Plus, we nod to International Dawn Chorus Day with a Dreambience mix filled with birdsong.

John Davis & Group (the Georgia Sea Island Singers) - The Old Tar River

Jim White & Marisa Anderson - Aerie

Peggy Seeger - Katy Cruel

Lee Moses - California Dreaming

Ivy Knight - Red Rock

Fairuz - Ya Ba La La

Eugenia Symela Armeni - "Hail, Virgin Sumela" - Psalter

Hawksmoor - Urdhva Hastasna

Martin Carthy - rigs of the time

Dolores Keane - Ta´ Mo Chleamhneas De´anta

Diana Jones - Lay Me Down

East of the Valley Blues - April 28, 1934 / Fahey Cup

Eliana Glass - On The Way Down

Širom - Hope in an All-Sufficient Space of Calm

Dorris Henderson & John Renbourn - Strange Lullaby

The Staple Singers - Going Away

Francis Kitime - Sikepa Inongwa Mukaye

BCMC - Kaleidosmoke

Pete Seeger - Pretty Saro

Foresteppe - No Time To Hurry

Chamber Choir Of Orthodox Sacred Music - From My Youth - Znamenny Chant

aus & the humble bee - in dark hours, your colours glow their brightest

Peggy Seeger - Thoughts of Time

Peiriant - Wrth y Bwrdd

Cathy Hamer - December Dreaming

Patricia Wolf - Dawn Chorus One

Patricia Wolf - Inflorescence

Anenon - Piano Haze Bass Melt Cry

Charbel Haber - One last stroll in the garden of light

weareforests & Six Missing - transient phenomena

Koji Ishikura - A Fleeting Place

deary - Birding

Hannah Frances - Beholden to the Birds Murmuring Above (feat. Mary Lattimore)

Alice Boyd & Rachel Kitchlew - Tape Session (Live at Shuta Shinoda's Studio) [extract]

Sally Townes - Slow Burning Candle

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002vl91

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: Rain Dog
Date: 18 May 26 - 12:43 PM

Broadcast today on BBC Radio 4

Great Lives - Ade Edmondson on singer Sandy Denny

Ade Edmondson - star of The Young Ones, The Comic Strip Presents, Bottom and much more besides - chooses the singer Sandy Denny.

"I think a large part of my Englishness comes from Sandy Denny," he says of the singer perhaps best known for her work with Fairport Convention.

The programme includes archive of Richard Thompson, Mick Houghton and Sandy herself, plus help from Patrick Humphries, who interviewed Sandy Denny shortly before her early death aged just 31.

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 22 May 26 - 02:58 PM

Friday 20 May 2026 BBC FOUR TV

21:00 ...Sings Dylan Cover versions of Bob Dylan songs by Peter, Paul and Mary, Lulu, The Byrds, Joan Baez, Eric Clapton, Madeleine Peyroux, Bryan Ferry, UB40, Julie Felix and many more.
21:40 ...Sings Dylan II Cover versions of Bob Dylan songs from the BBC archives, with Joan Baez, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Hollies, Adele, Julie Felix, Richie Havens, Bryan Ferry and KT Tunstall.
22:40 Bob Dylan: Shadow Kingdom A showcase of Bob Dylan with his band in an intimate setting as he performs songs from his extensive body of work.

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 22 May 26 - 03:08 PM

Apologies! Friday 22 May BBC FOUR TV - Tonight!

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 26 May 26 - 10:43 AM

Quite a few interesting clips & anecdotes of his music collecting days here.
Sorry only 7 days left to listen.

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In celebration of David Attenborough
Jarvis Cocker's Someday Service
To mark David Attenborough's 100th birthday, Jarvis revisits his interview from 2013.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002vl8n

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 03 Jun 26 - 06:54 AM

Ade Edmondson on singer Sandy Denny - May 2026
Great Lives

"Ade Edmondson - star of The Young Ones, The Comic Strip Presents, Bottom and much more besides - chooses the singer Sandy Denny.
"I think a large part of my Englishness comes from Sandy Denny," he says of the singer perhaps best known for her work with Fairport Convention.
The programme includes archive of Richard Thompson, Mick Houghton and Sandy herself, plus help from Patrick Humphries, who interviewed Sandy Denny shortly before her early death aged just 31."

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002wj06

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: Rain Dog
Date: 14 Jun 26 - 02:18 AM

On BBC Radio 4 Extra this morning.

Poetry Extra: The Turtle Dove Pilgrimage Poetry Extra

«Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive and selects The Turtle Dove Pilgrimage with singer Sam Lee and Will Parsons of the British Pilgrimage Trust.

Sam and Will lead 11 pilgrims on a journey across Sussex tracing the origins of the iconic folk song ‘The Turtle Dove’.

Over 100 years ago, composer Ralph Vaughan Williams travelled through Rusper in Sussex, collecting the stories and songs of the locals he encountered.

He stopped at the Plough Inn, where he set up his Edwardian recording equipment to capture the songs of the pub’s landlord, whose crackled voice and haunting melodies can still be heard today.

Vaughan Williams transformed one of the humble folk songs, The Turtle Dove, into a choral hit – extracting the song from Sussex and exporting it to the concert halls of London.

This Pilgrimage seeks to return the song to the land from which it was taken.

Producer: Claire Crofton

A TBI production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2019."

 

30 minutes

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 21 Jun 26 - 02:15 AM

Tuesday 23 June 1.30pm BBC World Service In the Studio

The Young'Uns

Sean Cooney's work is normally inspired by untold working class history, but he is working on a new album inspired by the canine world.

His wife's guide dog, Nessie, has just been retired after many years of service, so Cooney is celebrating heroic mutts.

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 21 Jun 26 - 02:34 AM

BBC Radio 2 21st Century Folk Monday 29 June 12.01am! to Sunday 5 July

Five renowned folk acts are each writing and composing a song about five Radio 2 listeners whose lives have been touched or transformed by sport.

The folk singer-songwriters taking part this year are Martin Simpson, Katherine Priddy, Eddi Reader and John Douglas, Passenger (AKA Mike Rosenberg), and Megson.

Listeners can hear the songs, contributors and songwriters of 21st Century Folk exclusively on BBC Sounds on Monday 29 June at 12.01am.

From Monday 29 June until Sunday 5 July. The stories and songs will be heard each day on the Jeremy Vine Show, presented by Tina Daheley (weekdays, noon-2pm).

Mark Radcliffe will present a Radio 2 Folk Show special on Wednesday 1 July (9-10pm)

Radio 2 listeners can hear 21st Century Folk on Sunday 5 July, (8–10pm).

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 21 Jun 26 - 03:01 AM

BBC Sounds Tom McKinney takes Radio 3 Breakfast listeners on a coastal adventure this week in Norfolk and Suffolk

At Cley Marsh Visitor Centre he is joined live by the Shackleton Trio, who will be performing songs inspired by the area and its wildlife (Monday 15 June).

There is live music that is steeped in the stories of Norfolk and the sea, as he is joined by folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney. (Wednesday 17 June).

Broadcasting from Carlton Marshes, Tom discusses the wildlife of the lowland fens and peat pools that are typical of the area, and the Rogue Shanty Buoys sing songs of the local fishermen. (Thursday 18 June).

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 23 Jun 26 - 01:48 PM

BBC Sounds BBC Radio 3 In Tune 22 days left to listen
Live music from John McCusker Trio and Benjamin Grosvenor

Katie Derham presents live folk music from the John McCusker Trio in Edinburgh, who are currently on tour launching a new album. Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor also performs live, ahead of his concerts with Aurora Orchestra. Katie speaks to Tom McKinney on the first day of his Coastal Adventure.

Subject: RE: BBC Radio This week 2026
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 05 Jul 26 - 12:44 PM

BBC Radio 3 Sunday Feature King of the Beggars - The Music of Billy Waters
28 June 2026 Available now on BBC Sounds 44 minutes

Actor and author Paterson Joseph explores the extraordinary life and legacy of Billy Waters – Britain’s first popular black musician – who was famous as the ‘King of the Beggars’ in the Regency era but who died in poverty busking outside the Adelphi Theatre, which hosted the hit musical that made his name.

We hear from Dr Mary L Shannon, author of 'Billy Waters is Dancing' (Yale University Press), noted historian of the fiddle Paul Roberts, musicians Angeline Morrison (Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience) and Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne (Radio 2 Folk Award), street performer Chris Welford and the Jump Billy concert at Cecil Sharp House. Also featuring Hamilton Gross, Clarke Camilleri, Maz O'Connor and Martin Simpson.