Radio 2 Folk Awards In Manchester Move

BBC Radio 2 has this week announced details of its Folk Awards 2012 – the annual awards ceremony that celebrates and rewards the best in folk music from the previous 12 months.
DJ Mike Harding also revealed that the event would move out of London for the first time and take place instead at The Lowry, Salford on Wednesday 8th February 2012.
The awards will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 and online at bbc.co.uk/radio2, and will feature live performances from a number of folk artists.
Revealing the news, Mike Harding, whose Radio 2 Folk show has just achieved a record weekly audience of 920,000 (RAJAR Q3 2011) also outlined that he is set to host the awards alongside a special guest.
The Radio 2 Folk Awards, which is produced by independent production company Smooth Operations, is one of the jewels in the network’s musical calendar. Previous ceremonies have featured live performances from artists including James Taylor, Nanci Griffith, Bellowhead, Laura Marling and Donovan, who was honoured at last year’s event with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Head of Music for BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music, Jeff Smith, said: "Folk is an important component of the network’s specialist music offering, and Radio 2 is looking forward to welcoming hundreds of our listeners to the 13th Radio 2 Folk Awards."
The nominations - which follow a first round of voting by the 170-strong panel of folk professionals - cover a broad cross-section of the world of folk, roots and acoustic music. The panel will vote again for a winner in each category.
(BMcC/GK)