Introducing the Future Stars of Glastonbury

It always feels really special returning to Glastonbury as it's where it all began for BBC Introducing in 2007.

BBC Introducing was set up to support unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar artists across the BBC and one way we wanted to do that was by giving new musicians big live performance opportunities. Our first thought, obviously, was Glastonbury!

In 2007 it was a new stage in a new area of the festival, The Park, and we were bringing 24 brand-new musicians to the festival to play the gig of their lives.

Back then we asked the newly set up network of BBC Introducing radio shows across local radio and all of the national networks, Radio 1, 6Music, 1Xtra and Asian Network to recommend artists from their area they felt needed to be seen by a wider audience. They each sent us three artists and we then pulled together a panel of music experts from across the BBC and beyond to listen. The likes of Steve Lamacq, Huw Stephens, Ras Kwame, Zane Lowe, Bobby Friction and Emily Eavis all listened and based on their selections we booked who'd perform on our stage.

Four years later and the principle is still the same. We are back in a new part of the festival, the Dance Village, but we are still bringing an eclectic mix of some of the hottest new acts from across the UK to festival-goers and those watching and listening to the BBC coverage at home.

We still programme the stage in the same way but now many of the artists that local radio shows suggest have come via the BBC Introducing uploader. Any new musician can go to the website and upload music they are making. Based on the postcode they enter it gets sent direct to their local BBC Introducing show - if they like it they will broadcast it, forward it onto Radio 1 or 6Music and maybe suggest them for a festival slot, which could lead to Glastonbury! So far more than 23,000 musicians have uploaded their music...

We always knew Glastonbury was a festival we had to have a stage at. It's legendary and continues to push boundaries with its line ups. That totally fits with the ethos of the BBC Introducing stage. You can go from a folk artist to a punk act, to an MC within a few hours and playing at Glastonbury all means something very special to the range of artists.

I have been lucky enough to call some of the musicians to let them know we'd like them to play the stage. Quite often there is screaming, disbelief and sometimes just a whispered 'thank you', as they explain that they are sat in the office, at their day job, surrounded by their work colleagues! Some then go on to tell you that they have been going to Glastonbury since they were kids and have always dreamed of playing. Others have never been, and aren't too sure about the sheer scale of the place - I remember one artist asking me if their friend would be able to sit outside in the car whilst they performed so they could get a lift home and I have seen quite shocked faces as they trade in their box fresh white trainers for wellies on arrival!

For the bands that play the BBC Introducing stage it isn't just about reaching an audience at the festival - we record and film the sets and each year we have seen the BBC's coverage of the stage grow. This year you will be able to hear tracks from the stage during 6Music's rolling coverage all weekend, plus on Radio 1 there will be highlights in their Monday night special from 7pm and Huw Stephens' Wednesday night show from 9pm. 1Xtra will be reflecting the stage on Sunday night in 100% Homegrown. Plus live tracks will go out in Bobby Friction's Wednesday night show on Asian Network and on the 37 local Introducing shows in the following weeks.



We also film the sets which will be streamed online at bbc.co.uk/glastonbury and tracks each day will go out on the red button and TV coverage - giving audiences the chance to see the big hitters next to some newer names who may become the big hitters of the future.

We are increasing our TV coverage this year with a documentary about the stage and three artists playing it (DME, Celt Islam and Lettie) which will air later this year on BBC Four. It will follow the acts from the rehearsal room to Glastonbury itself and all the nerves, tension and excitement that come in between.

So, back to 2007, the stand-out band of the year were the Ting Tings, who played to a very muddy but appreciative 40 people. Fast forward 12 months for them and they were playing in front of thousands who were packed into see them on the John Peel Stage. They have since returned to the Introducing stage to perform a special acoustic set to say thank you for the early support BBC Introducing gave them.

There are many other artists playing at this year's Glastonbury who got their first festival performance via one of the BBC Introducing stages including Florence and the Machine (2008), Marina and the Diamonds (2009), Bombay Bicycle Club (2009), Two Door Cinema Club (2009), Chipmunk (2008), Bashy (2008) and Donaeo (2008).

So who will be the breakthrough artists this year? Well that's for you to decide. If you're heading down on site see you at the stage in our new home The Dance Village. And if you're watching at home do go online each day at bbc.co.uk/glastonbury and check out all the bands playing the BBC Introducing stage - I think you'll like what you see.

Related Links

BBC Introducing website

BBC Introducing blog

Related Posts

A Truly Interactive Glastonbury

The Glastonbury Advance Party

Glastonbury Takes Over 6 Music

Bringing Glastonbury to Television

• The photo of Marina and the Diamonds was taken on the BBC Introducing stage at last year's Radio 1 Big Weekend.
• Keep up with all of the BBC's coverage on the Glastonbury home page.
• Follow @BBCGlasto on Twitter for news, retweets and links from the festival.
• We'll be scanning Twitter for use of the #BBCGlasto hashtag and publishing some of the tweets we find so use the hashtag when you're tweeting about the BBC's Glastonbury coverage.