21st Century Folk returns to Radio 2 for 2026

Pomona Audio are excited to announce the return of 21st Century Folk to BBC Radio 2 in 2026.

Five people inspire five new songs in this unique series, which is returning for the fourth time.

To coincide with a major summer of sporting events, this year’s series has a theme of ‘sport’, but the human stories cover so much more.

Hannah with her songwriter, Katherine Priddy (credit: Artur Tixiliski)

Hannah was a young carer and passionate cyclist until a serious crash put her life on hold - she's now qualified as a firefighter. Andy treasures some boxing gloves that belonged to his uncle Adrian, who was tragically killed aged 18. Victor was forced to be a child soldier in Sierra Leone before sleeping rough in London - he's now a well-loved member of Arsenal's community. Footballer Jackie missed the chance to represent England women in the 1980s but she now plays for the over-60s walking football squad. Jonathan is a passionate advocate for exercise in the west end of Glasgow.

Each of these wonderful people was introduced to a dedicated songwriter. This year’s musicians are Katherine Priddy, Martin Simpson, Eddi Reader & John Douglas, Megson and Passenger.

Musician Passenger with his inspiration, Victor (credit: Artur Tixiliski)

Starting on Monday 29th June, 21st Century Folk will generate a week of content across Radio 2. There will be a two-hour special on BBC Sounds, five live features on Jeremy Vine (presented that week by Tina Daheley) and a special episode of Mark Radcliffe’s Folk Show (a weekly Pomona production).

The emotional moments when each song was revealed to its ‘subject’ for the first time will be posted as videos on Radio 2’s Instagram, TikTok and Facebook pages.

These distinctive songs will be played and supported across the Radio 2 schedule. The project was captured around the UK by Pomona Audio with Ian Stephenson, Tim Hardie and Artur Tixiliski. Additional research was done by George Hodkinson and Nikki Cannon.

21st Century Folk has previously won two Gold ARIAS, two New York Festivals Radio Awards, and ‘Audio Production of the Year’ at the Prolific North Champions Awards.