Radio 2 is to launch a spin-off radio station dedicated entirely to country music. It is pure coincidence, of course, that the man who runs Radio 2, Bob Shennan, is a devoted country fan and is putting his considerable muscle behind the pop-up digital audio broadcasting (DAB) station, Radio 2 Country. Airing for four days only, from 5 to 8 March, Radio 2 Country will broadcast live coverage from the C2C: Country to Country festival live from London’s O2, featuring Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum and Jason Aldean among others, and shows presented by Bob Harris, Simon Mayo, Steve Wright and Patrick Kielty, who catches up with Garth Brooks. It is not Radio 2’s first pop-up station, having previously spawned a temporary sibling to coincide with last year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Shennan is also the BBC’s head of music, overseeing output across all TV and radio. Surely the moment for a spin-off TV station as well, no?
