BBC Radio 6 Music has revealed the line-up for its new BBC Sounds extension ‘Indie Forever’, including a new show from The Maccabees’ Felix White.
The 24-hour stream will be available exclusively on BBC Sounds from Wednesday July 22, and will be dedicated to indie pop, rock and classics from the 1980s to the 2010s and beyond.
According to the BBC, UK artists will make up 70 per cent of the playlist, with the stream set to feature music from the likes of 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.
The stream will launch with The Morning Session with Steve Lamacq & Felix White, which will see the veteran broadcaster and The Maccabees guitarist dive into the moments, movements, artists, scenes, genres and labels that defined UK indie history.
The programme is billed as a homage to Radio 1’s legendary Evening Session, which was closely associated with Britpop and ’90s indie.
“Over my career, I’ve been lucky enough to have followed the journeys of many, now famous or influential indie artists and bands,” Lamacq said. “I’m really looking forward to reliving those memories each weekday morning with Felix on Indie Forever’s The Morning Session and telling the stories that shaped British independent music.”
‘Indie Forever’ will also include City Soundtracks, a new collaboration with Music Venue Trust and BBC Introducing. Presented by 6 Music and BBC Introducing’s Emily Pilbeam, the programmes will be based in different independent venues across the UK, exploring local indie scenes and showcasing the next generation of artists playing in grassroots venues.
Mark Davyd, CEO and founder of Music Venue Trust, said: “6 Music has always understood that today’s headliners were playing yesterday’s grassroots gig, and that understanding has made it one of the best friends that grassroots music venues have.
“Indie Forever is a joyful tribute to four decades of that music, and City Soundtracks brings it full circle, taking 6 Music and BBC Introducing back into the rooms where it all started. We could not ask for a better partner in telling that story, or in helping write the next chapter of it.”
Elsewhere, Beth Ditto will present Indie Forever Disco on Fridays and Saturdays, bringing listeners two hours of indie dancefloor hits. The Gossip frontwoman recently joined the BBC 6 Music weekend line-up as part of a wider schedule shake-up that also saw Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service return to the station as Iggy Pop took a break from his show.
Classic episodes of Cocker’s 6 Music shows will also be aired on the new stream. His current Someday Service, which he has presented since April, will be repeated on Saturdays, while archive episodes of his original Sunday Service programme, which ran on 6 Music from 2010 to 2017, will air on Sundays from August 2.
The schedule will also include another chance to hear The Rise And Fall Of The Smiths and The Rise And Fall (And Rise Again) Of Oasis, alongside artist collections dedicated to The Smiths and Oasis.
The Oasis programming will feature highlights from the band’s 1996 Knebworth shows, Liam and Noel Gallagher’s 1997 appearance on The Evening Session, and Noel’s reflections on the first 10 years of the band, recorded in 2001.
Other archive material will include historic interviews and sessions from Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes and The Smiths. From August, weekend artist collections will also celebrate acts including The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wolf Alice, The White Stripes and Biffy Clyro.
Samantha Moy, Head of BBC Radio 6 Music, said: “6 Music Indie Forever will tell the stories and play the songs that have soundtracked the UK’s thriving independent music scene through 40 years of song, performance and archive, enriched by the diverse and deep range of artists and catalogue that is synonymous with 6 Music.
“If you want a version of 6 Music that’s pure, unadulterated indie – then this 24hr stream is for you.”
The launch follows a busy year for 6 Music. The station staged its 2026 festival in Manchester earlier this year, where Bloc Party debuted three new songs during their headline set at Victoria Warehouse.
