BBC 6 Music Launches 'Indie Forever' Streaming Channel with The Killers, Oasis on the Playlist
BBC Radio 6 Music has announced a new BBC Sounds extension channel called Indie Forever, launching on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. It will run 24 hours a day, streaming indie pop, rock and classic tracks from the 1980s through the 2010s, exclusively on the BBC Sounds platform. According to the BBC, British artists will make up 70% of the playlist, with acts including The Stone Roses, Oasis, Blur, Pulp, The Verve, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Florence + The Machine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The xx, Wolf Alice, The 1975, Sam Fender and Blossoms.
Show lineup
The channel's flagship launch show is The Morning Session with Steve Lamacq & Felix White, co-hosted by veteran broadcaster Steve Lamacq and The Maccabees guitarist Felix White, airing weekdays. The show will focus on key moments, scenes, labels and figures in British indie history, positioned as a tribute to the legendary Radio 1 show Evening Session, closely associated with Britpop and the 1990s indie wave.
In an official statement, Lamacq said he's looking forward to revisiting, alongside Felix, on every weekday morning on The Morning Session, the stories that "shaped British independent music."
On Fridays and Saturdays, The Gossip singer Beth Ditto will host Indie Forever Disco, a two-hour show each episode playing indie dancefloor hits. Ditto had already joined BBC 6 Music's weekend lineup earlier. Jarvis Cocker's current show Someday Service will be repeated on Saturdays; archive episodes of his Sunday Service, which he hosted from 2010 to 2017, will air on Sundays starting August 2.
The channel also features a segment called City Soundtracks, hosted by 6 Music and BBC Introducing's Emily Pilbeam, produced in partnership with the Music Venue Trust, exploring independent venues across the UK, documenting local indie scenes and introducing emerging grassroots artists.
Archive content and artist takeovers
Indie Forever will also rebroadcast the two documentary programs The Rise And Fall Of The Smiths and The Rise And Fall (And Rise Again) Of Oasis, and will launch artist takeover segments for The Smiths and Oasis. Oasis-related content includes highlights from their 1996 Knebworth shows, a 1997 Evening Session interview with Liam and Noel Gallagher, and a look back at the band's first decade recorded by Noel in 2001.
Other archive material includes historic interviews and session recordings from Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes and The Smiths. Starting in August, weekend artist takeover segments will successively spotlight The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wolf Alice, The White Stripes and Biffy Clyro.