Radio

Weekender Introducing is about new music in Northamptonshire. Simple. We're not doing it because we have to, or because we're told to, but because we want to. We love music in all its forms and it just so happens that it's our pleasure, nay, privilege, to have a BBC radio show through which to share that love!

This isn't about egos or musical snobbery. The Weekender's mission is to search out the best new talent in our little rural county, and bring it to you, the listeners, in enjoyable chunks - so we'll play tracks from local bands; visit them at gigs; talk to music fans; hang out with bands and record their ramblings... you get the picture.

The opportunities are endless really - and we're open to ideas. The more people talk to us about what they want to hear, the more fun we'll all have - whilst hopefully discovering some great new music in the process.

We're not genre-specific and we'll try to play music which is unlikely to get a shot at some airtime anywhere else. So we'll play indie bands, metal, folk duos, singer-songwriters and rappers and MCs.

And it's not just about people FROM Northampton - we stretch to the surrounding areas such as Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough and we will also select our favourites from the bands passing through the county on tour and releasing records nationwide. It's all part of the 'Introducing...' ethos - to turn you on to something new, interesting or maybe just plain weird!

The show is presented live each week from BBC Radio Northampton based at Broadcasting House in the centre of town. You can pop in and talk to us or send us CDs to that address. For other ways of getting in touch scroll down.

Team Wkdr

Weekender Introducing is led by Ally Dunn and Natasha (Tash) House. Ally currently works full-time on BBC Northampton's consumer show, while Natasha works part-time producing material for the Weekender’s radio show and website.

The idea behind Team Wkdr is to bring on board budding young reporters in the county who know their town and scene better than most. By regularly feeding back information to Weekender HQ we should all be able to discover something new.

We're always looking for people to help out with this, so if you love music, live locally and want to be part of Team Wkdr, simply email us at weekender@bbc.co.uk.

History

The Weekender first went on air in February 2004 and its core mission has remained the same throughout. It was one of the first BBC Local Radio stations to have a show dedicated to local music.

Since it began, The Weekender has won a BBC Gillard award for Best Interactive Show in 2005 having had a successful spell of tying the show's website to its radio output.

Since The Weekender began, other like-minded shows have also begun to take shape around the country. To bring this all together, the BBC has developed Introducing...

Introducing... is now the home of new and unsigned music on the BBC, with over 20 local BBC Radio shows around England, other shows in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and national shows on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and 6 Music all connected by this one brand.

Sharing intelligence and tunes the network will work together to help bring you the best music possible and give the bands the best chance of developing their careers in the music industry.

This means The Weekender is now not only your gateway to local fame, but also the contact for other BBC shows and websites throughout the country.

Contact Us!

You can contact us by email weekender@bbc.co.uk by phone on 01604 737666 and ask for Ally or Natasha or through our Facebook and MySpace pages. Failing that look out for us at gigs and grab us when you can...!