BBC Radio 6 Music has announced details for its new 24-hour BBC Sounds extension called Indie Forever. The stream, dedicated to indie music from the 1980s onward, will launch on July 22 with a show hosted by Steve Lamacq and Felix White of The Maccabees.
The new stream will feature playlists with 70 percent UK artists, including The Stone Roses, Oasis, Blur, Pulp, The Verve, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Florence + The Machine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The xx, Wolf Alice, The 1975, Sam Fender and Blossoms.
It will begin with The Morning Session with Steve Lamacq & Felix White, described as a tribute to Radio 1’s Evening Session. Additional programming includes City Soundtracks, a collaboration with Music Venue Trust and BBC Introducing that will broadcast from independent venues across the UK.
Beth Ditto will host Indie Forever Disco on Fridays and Saturdays. The schedule will also air classic episodes of Jarvis Cocker’s shows and archive material from bands such as Oasis and The Smiths.
Samantha Moy, Head of BBC Radio 6 Music, said the stream offers “pure, unadulterated indie.” Mark Davyd of Music Venue Trust called it a tribute to four decades of independent music.