21st Century Folk makes waves on BBC Radio 2 and beyond
7digital have produced a major new specialist music project for the BBC.
21st Century Folk connects five real people with five talented songwriters, to inspire a set of brand new songs.
The five people all live and work in the North East of England. Andrea Bell runs a foodbank and soup kitchen in Sunderland. Delyth Raffell runs a charity in memory of her late daughter. Dr. Iftikhar Lone is a Middlesbrough GP and football fan who overcame nine days in intensive care with Covid. Michael Dodds is a foyboatman on Sunderland docks, mooring big ships on the quayside 24/7. Katie Toner hosts accessible sleepover parties for neurodiverse children.
Their songs have been written and performed by some of the UK’s finest songwriters and folk musicians: Martyn Joseph, Thea Gilmore, The Young’uns, Squeeze’s Chris Difford with Kathryn Williams, and Angeline Morrison with The Unthanks.
The story of each person and their song is told in an audio series on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 2.
BBC Music’s YouTube channel is hosting emotional videos of the songs being performed for the first time.
21st Century Folk is produced in connection with Mark Radcliffe’s Radio 2 Folk Show, and designed to help folk music reach audiences outside of its usual bubbles.
Articles about 21st Century Folk have run on BBC News (TV and online), The Guardian, the Radio Times and beyond. The series was highlighted on Radio 4’s Pick Of The Week.
7digital also worked with The One Show to create a TV feature.
21st Century Folk won silver for Best Music Special and bronze for Best Original Music at the 2023 New York Festivals Radio Awards. It’s a finalist for Audio Production of the Year at the Prolific North Champions Awards.
7digital Creative specialises in telling stories that represent the whole UK. ‘Coming Out Out’ with James Barr and Dan Hudson (A Gay and a Non-Gay) presented 30 personal accounts of coming out. It was created for Kiss during Pride Month, in partnership with the Audio Content Fund.
The People’s Songs (Radio 2) was an epic 50-part series that weaved the memories of British pop fans with the social history of the Britain.
In November 2022, The Listeners’ Charts (Radio 2) celebrated the 70th birthday of the UK Singles Chart via the memories of listeners.
