91Èȱ¬

91Èȱ¬ Radio 2 today announces a scorching summer full of music with memorable live performances and a host of star names.

Jeff Smith, Head of Music, Radio 2 and 91Èȱ¬ 6 Music, comments: "Radio 2 honours its commitment to providing listeners with the widest range of music available, broadcasting over 1,000 hours of specialist music and 260 hours of live music every year, with at least 40 per cent of music in daytime output from UK artists.

"This year will see a concerted effort into weaving the diverse musical offerings of the evening schedule into daytime programming, entertaining all Radio 2 audiences with a rich and diverse diet of music this summer."

Weekend Wogan returns to Sunday mornings from Sunday June 13 (11am-1pm), presenting live performances from Paloma Faith, Sandi Thom, Rick Astley and Nerina Pallot.

Following last year's inaugural visit, Radio 2 is proud to return to the Maryport Festival in Cumbria.  

Paul Jones, who provides the Radio 2 audience with a weekly dose of rhythm and blues, will host a Radio 2 Blues Night on Monday 26 July (7-8pm).  

Paul will present backstage interviews, fringe performances and festival highlights including live tracks from Paul Carrack, Robert Cray, Booker T JonesÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýMica Paris, which will also be played within the daytime schedule.

Paul Jones comments: "Last year's festival was full of memorable musical moments, but I'm expecting this year's line-up to surpass even that."

Big Band Special presents A Tribute To Louis And Ella With The 91Èȱ¬ Big Band, which records on Wednesday 21 July at Birmingham Town Hall, and is to be broadcast on a future Big Band Special show (Monday 10-10.30pm). The band will perform with Australian trumpet virtuoso James Morrison and singer Anita Wardell, performing classics such as Sleepy Time Down South, All Of Me and Struttin' With Some Barbecue.

Folk music is one of the most popular specialist music genres on Radio 2, and the station will return to the Cambridge Folk Festival.

A three-hour folk extravaganza will be broadcast within an extended Mike Harding show, presenting highlights from the festival on Wednesday 4 August (7-8pm) with performances throughout the day on Radio 2.

Produced by Smooth Operations, the show will feature performances from Harper Simon, Natalie Merchant, Kris Kristofferson, Seasick Steve, Lissie, Stornoway, The Unthanks and Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends.

Radio 2 In Concert is a one-stop live music shop (Thursday, 8-10pm), featuring a headline gig specially recorded for the network (both new and archive sessions), a gig guide, a round-up of the week's live music offering across the network and classic live album tracks.

Since its launch in April, the show has featured memorable live performances from Keane, Crowded House and Paul Weller (which featured live collaborations with Richard Hawley, Rox and Lauren Pritchard).

Forthcoming gigs include Jack Johnson in the Radio Theatre (17 June), Steve Winwood from Maida Vale (24 June), for which free tickets have been recently offered to listeners via bbc.co.uk/radio2.

Later this year, Scissor Sisters will perform live for Radio 2 In Concert, and Amy Macdonald's forthcoming live session for Ken Bruce's mid-morning show will also be featured within the programme.

In a Radio 2 In Concert exclusive, Paolo Nutini will return to his home town of Paisley on 17 August to perform a one-off concert at Paisley Town Hall. The concert will be broadcast on Thursday 19th August.

The Radcliffe And Maconie Show, produced from 91Èȱ¬ Manchester by Smooth Operations (Monday-Wednesday, 8-10pm), will feature performances from Suzanne Vega tonight (7 June), Lucky Soul on Wednesday (9 June), Cherry Ghost (16 June), Avi Buffalo (23 June) and Midlake (19 July).

The show's eclectic music mix produced the bronze award at the 2010 Sony Radio Academy Awards for Best Music Programme.

Dermot O'Leary's Saturday show (3-6pm) combines the very best in burgeoning musical talent with established names, earning the show, produced by Ora Et Labora, the gold gong at the Sony Radio Academy Award 2010 for Best Music Programme earlier this year. Forthcoming sessions include The Hoosiers (12 June), Nneka (19 June), Sophie Ellis Bextor (10 July), Sia (10 July), Magic Numbers with strings (17 July) and Grammy Award-winning French popsters Phoenix (31 July).

The Radio 2 Kiri Prize continues a nationwide hunt with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to find an opera star of the future. The initiative further demonstrates Radio 2's commitment to supporting musical talent.

From 630 entrants, and following masterclasses with 40 singers with Dame Kiri, mezzo-soprano Anne Howells and renowned conductor Robin Stapleton, 15 semi-finalists have been selected. They will perform in one of five Friday Night Is Music Night specials, accompanied by the 91Èȱ¬ Concert Orchestra, to be broadcast on Radio 2 on Fridays at 10pm from 30 July to 27 August.

Five singers will perform at the final to be broadcast on Radio 2 on Friday 3 September. Penny Smith joins Radio 2 for the first time as presenter of the semi-finals and the final. The winner will perform with Dame Kiri at 91Èȱ¬ Proms In The Park in London's Hyde Park, on Saturday 11 September, and be given the opportunity to attend a three-week residential course at the Solti Te Kanawa Accademia in Italy.

Jools Holland's series has recently come to an end, fresh from scooping the silver prize for Best Specialist Music Programme at the 2010 Sony Radio Awards. The series featured performances from Cara Dillon, Huey Morgan and Steve Harley and returns in August for another 13 week series.

The Radio 2 Electric Proms is dedicated to creating new moments in music by presenting performances from a unique line-up of international and UK artists which will be broadcast later this year on Radio 2, 91Èȱ¬ Online and 91Èȱ¬ Two.

The last year has been a fantastically distinctive year for music on Radio 2, with the emergence of new artists on the network including Imelda May, Fyfe Dangerfield, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Pixie Lott and Paloma Faith, who were both honoured with "Radio 2 Recommends" concerts many weeks before their singles were released.

Last year also saw U2 perform on the roof of 91Èȱ¬ Broadcasting House on Chris Evans's Drivetime show as well as Spandau Ballet, Bon Jovi, Michael Buble, Morrissey and Yusuf playing live in the Radio Theatre.
Michael McDonald, Yusuf and Christopher Cross entertained Ken Bruce's audience of millions, and Katie Melua, Crowded House and Mika covered classic tracks for Radio 2's Great British Songbook on Simon Mayo's Drivetime.

Jeff Smith, Head of Music Radio 2 and 6 Music, talks about how he and the team put together the music for the Chris Evans Breakfast show .

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