Jo Whiley to present her BBC Radio 2 show live from legendary Preston venue showcasing three local bands

To celebrate Radio 2 in the Park 2024 coming to Moor Park in Preston next month, Jo Whiley, with a co-host, will broadcast her Radio 2 and BBC Sounds evening show live from a legendary music venue in the city on Thursday 5^th September. 

Jo will be presenting her show from 7-9pm in front of a small audience of Radio 2 listeners at The Ferret – an independent music venue in the heart of Lancashire’s music scene - and will showcase three local bands who have been hand-picked from BBC Introducing’s roster of artists to perform live. The programme will also be simulcast on BBC Radio Lancashire from 7-9pm with their BBC Introducing presenter, William Wolstenholme, who will be co-hosting with Jo.

During the show, one of the artists will be revealed as Jo Whiley’s first ever Spotlight BBC Introducing Act in what is a new segment launching that night. Across the year, she will be shining a light on BBC Introducing artists from around the UK, playing their tracks to introduce them to Radio 2 listeners.

The artists performing are:

• Bryony Jarman-Pinto, a Lancashire-based singer songwriter who fuses jazz, soul, and folk elements. Bryony’s second album (released earlier this year) received acclaim from Lauren Laverne and Jamz Supernova on BBC Radio 6 Music, and Clash magazine. 
• Electronic-pop trio LOWES from Lancaster – and made up of Preston-born vocalist Evie Plumb, and multi-instrumentalists Luke Paget and Jamie Walker. The group previously won a Radio 1 Dance Vocalist Award. 
• Blackpool indie-boyband VALA, who previously headlined shows at Manchester’s Deaf Institute and YES Pink Room, and will begin their first UK tour this September.

A small audience have the chance to join Jo at The Ferret for this intimate, live broadcast by registering for the ticket ballot here. 

Jo said: “I’m super excited to get the party started in Moor Park, ahead of the whole weekend of incredible live performances at Radio 2 in the Park as the city has a vibrant music scene, with outstanding local talent. I can’t wait for our listeners to hear our showcase of the region’s best new musicians – and to launch our brand new BBC Introducing segment on my show, as there’s nothing more satisfying than watching a new artist’s journey to success.”

Jeff Smith, Head of Music for Radio 2, said: “Radio 2 is proud to play an incredibly wide range of music, including over 15,000 different songs each year, whether that’s in our daytime schedule or on our brilliant specialist shows, such as The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe or The Jazz Show with Jamie Cullum. With Radio 2 in the Park coming to Preston, we want to shine a spotlight on some of the best local musicians (and hopefully superstars of the future) from BBC Introducing, and are really excited to showcase them in Jo Whiley’s show.” 

Jo’s live broadcast comes ahead of the iconic acts that will perform in Moor Park at Radio 2 in the Park from 6^th to 8^th September. Sting will headline the Saturday night with the Pet Shop Boys topping the bill for the Sunday night. And following the launch of the DJ stage (in addition to the main stage) at Radio 2 in the Park 2023 in Leicester, presenters will also be spinning their favourite tunes to the audience at Moor Park. In addition, new this year is a Pre-Party on Friday 6^th September from 5-11pm, featuring Radio 2 presenters taking to the DJ stage to entertain 5000 revellers in the park and kick off the weekend in style!

As well as introducing artists on the main stage and playing sets in the DJ stage, Radio 2 presenters will be broadcasting live from an on-site studio – which will look out onto the thousands of revellers on the Saturday and Sunday – with shows and sets available live and on demand on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer across the weekend and for 30 days afterwards.  The headline sets will also be broadcast on TV at a later date.

BBC Introducing supports unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar musical talent across the UK. Over one million tracks have been uploaded to the BBC Introducing uploader and over 300,000 artists are registered. Introducing has 23 shows on BBC Radio across the country, including Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with a further six national shows on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1Xtra, Asian Network and 6 Music. William Wolstenholme presents BBC Introducing on BBC Radio Lancashire every Thursday and Saturday from 8-10pm.

Tickets for Radio 2 in the Park are still available for the Friday night (6^th September) and Sunday (8^th September) here.

The full line-up is:

Saturday 7^th September • Sting • Sugababes • Snow Patrol • Craig David • Kim Wilde • Pixie Lott • Shaznay Lewis • Travis •

Sunday 8^th September • Pet Shop Boys • Manic Street Preachers • Sister Sledge feat.  Kathy Sledge • Paul Heaton • Gabrielle• Shed Seven • Delta Goodrem • Haircut 100 •

DJ STAGE

Friday 6^th September • DJ Spoony’s Good Groove • Rylan's Rybiza Anthems • Sara Cox’s Wower Hour • Scott Mills’ Wonder Years • Vernon Kay’s Dance Sounds of the 90s •

Saturday 7^th September • Dermot O'Leary's Alternative Sounds of the 90s • Jo Whiley's Shiny Happy Playlist • Michelle Visage's Handbag Hits • Romesh Ranganathan's For The Love of Hip Hop • Rylan's Rybiza Anthems • Scott Mills' Wonder Years • Tony Blackburn's Golden Years •

Sunday 8^th September • DJ Spoony's Good Groove • Gary Davies' Sounds of the 80s • Michael Ball’s Broadway Bangers • Paddy McGuinness’ Sunday School Disco • Sara Cox's Wower Hour • Trevor Nelson's Rhythm Nation • Vernon Kay's Dance Sounds of the 90s •

BBC Radio 2 is the UK’s most listened to radio station, with a weekly audience of 13.3 million (RAJAR Q2, 2024) and The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show is most listened to Breakfast show in the UK with 6.4 million listeners (RAJAR Q2, 2024) and Vernon Kay (Monday to Friday, 9.30am-12pm) is the UK’s most listened to radio show. The network’s presenters include Michael Ball, Zoe Ball, Rob Beckett, Tony Blackburn, OJ Borg, Revd. Kate Bottley, Rylan, Fearne Cotton, Sara Cox, Jamie Cullum, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Gary Davies, Paul Gambaccini, Mark Goodier, Angela Griffin, Bob Harris, Vernon Kay, Cerys Matthews, Paddy McGuinness, Scott Mills, Jason Mohammad, Trevor Nelson, Dermot O’Leary, Elaine Paige, Mark Radcliffe, Romesh Ranganathan, DJ Spoony, Liza Tarbuck, Jeremy Vine, Michelle Visage, Johnnie Walker, Jo Whiley, Phil Williams and Owain Wyn Evans.

At the 2024 Audio and Radio Industry Awards, also known as the ARIAs, Scott Mills won Gold for the Best Music Entertainment Show, 21^st Century Folk won Gold for the Best Music Special, Windrush 75 won Gold for Best Coverage of an Event, and The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show won Bronze for the Best Music Breakfast Show. Plus, Cerys Matthews won the Best Blues Broadcaster Award for the third time at the annual UK Blues Awards so she has now been elected into the UK Blues Hall Of Fame. 

BBC Introducing provides a platform to propel new acts onto the national stage through Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, 6 Music, the Asian Network and Radio 3.  It gives up-and-coming artists the chance to get played on BBC radio, to record their own Maida Vale sessions, opportunities on BBC television and online, alongside the chance to perform at major festivals and showcases including Glastonbury, Latitude, Reading and Leeds, The Great Escape, and SXSW in Texas. Big name artists including Ed Sheeran, Florence + the Machine, Lewis Capaldi, Raye, Sam Fender, Aitch, Nia Archives and Tom Grennan all received BBC Introducing support at the start of their careers.