BBC Radio Scotland has revealed details of a pop-up digital service in the run-up to St Andrew’s Day, celebrating the best of the country’s established and emerging talent across a range of genres.
Entitled BBC Radio Scotland Extra, the service will broadcast 24 hours per day from November 23-30. The schedule will include new content with its own dedicated breakfast, mid-morning and drive time shows on weekdays, as well as hand-picked programmes from the BBC archive and exclusive live sessions from the likes of Simple Minds and Travis.
Each weekday, Jenny Farish (pictured) will host the Breakfast Show from 7-9am, followed by Bryan Burnett until noon. Actor and presenter Sanjeev Kohli takes over at Drivetime from 5-6.30pm. Other guest presenters include Bargain Hunt’s Natasha Raskin, Deacon Blue star Ricky Ross, Janice Forsyth and Billy Sloan.
Presenter Farish said: “I am so thrilled to be involved in this exciting project. It's a great opportunity to offer our audience something a little bit different - to introduce new music alongside some huge favourites. It's the kind of station I would seek out and love as a listener and can't wait for it to start.”
Ross added: “I’m looking forward to playing the music I grew up with as well as all the Scottish artists who've influenced my own music. Wall-to-wall music and BBC Radio Scotland - now that's a perfect fit.”
The pop-up will also feature live performance from the likes of Midge Ure, folk musician John McCusker, award-winning composer Martin Green and former Scottish Album Of The Year winner Kathryn Joseph.
The service will close with a celebration on St Andrew’s night with a specially-commissioned programme featuring students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Jeff Zycinski, head of Radio at BBC Scotland, said: “This is a fabulous opportunity for us to celebrate the brilliant music that is made and heard right across Scotland. You will hear the familiar, from Americana and classical to country and folk, but the station will also showcase new talent and explore the issues that impact the Scottish music industry. It will also give listeners the chance to tell us if they would welcome a station that offers an alternative to BBC Radio Scotland’s successful speech schedule. Projects like this shine a light on the exceptional talent on our doorstep.”
BBC Radio Scotland Music Extra will be available on DAB, online, BBC iPlayer, and on the BBC iPlayer Radio website and app.
