Stormzy, Simply Red & More For BBC Radio 2 Piano Month
Stormzy, Simply Red and Jessie Ware are among the acts participating in BBC Radio 2’s Piano Month.
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Radio 2 Piano Room month sees an abundance of world famous, award-winning artists each perform exclusively with the BBC Concert Orchestra from Monday 30 January to Friday 24 February 2023.
Each performance will be broadcast live from Maida Vale studios on Ken Bruce’s Radio 2 show (Monday to Friday, 9.30am-12pm) and on BBC Sounds, with each artist performing three tracks – a new song, one of their well-known tracks and a classic cover version from another artist – accompanied by members of the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Following the live shows, each performance will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and available for 30 days afterwards. An hour-long special will also be broadcast on Radio 2 each Sunday (7pm-8pm) featuring highlights from the previous week’s performances (Sunday 5, 12, 19 and 26 February).
Jeff Smith, Head of Music, Radio 2 and 6 Music says: “With over 16,000 different songs played every year, music continues to be at the core of Radio 2, so I’m excited for the return of our biggest ever celebration of live music – Piano Room month. Twenty days of live performances from a glittering line up of artists is just what we need to get us through these winter months!”
Mick Hucknall of Simply Red says: “We’re very happy to be performing on Ken Bruce’s Piano Room on Valentine’s Day. We look forward to creating something special and unique with the BBC Concert Orchestra, and we’re particularly excited to share some new music too.”
BBC Radio 2 Piano Room line-up
Monday 30 January – Richard Marx (covering a Hall & Oates track)
Tuesday 31 January – Louise (covering a Justin Timberlake track)
Wednesday 1 February – Belinda Carlisle (covering a track by The Carpenters)
Thursday 2 February – Michael Ball (covering an Elvis Presley track)
Friday 3 February – Sugababes (artist and track to be revealed on the day)
Monday 6 February – Ellie Goulding (covering a Cara Dillon track)
Tuesday 7 February – Tom Chaplin (covering a Taylor Swift track)
Wednesday 8 February – RAYE (covering a Bill Withers track)
Thursday 9 February – Suzanne Vega (covering a Blondie track)
Friday 10 February – Lemar (covering a Michael Kiwanuka track)
Monday 13 February – Freya Ridings (covering a Cyndi Lauper track)
Tuesday 14 February – Simply Red (covering a Paul McCartney track)
Wednesday 15 February – P!nk (artist and track to be revealed on the day)
Thursday 16 February – Haircut 100 (covering a Harry Styles track)
Friday 17 February – Lady Blackbird (artist and track to be revealed on the day)
Monday 20 – Jessie Ware (covering a Cher track)
Tuesday 21 February – Suede (covering a Patti Smith track)
Wednesday 22 February – Sophie Ellis Bextorn (covering a Madonna track)
Thursday 23 February – Jake Shears (covering a Pet Shop Boys track)
Friday 24 February – Stormzy (covering an Oleta Adams track – this session will be pre-recorded)