Introducing the BBC Weekender duo

Ally Dunn and Natasha House
The Weekender team

Tash and Ally do the Weekender because they want to

The Weekender Introducing is about new and local music in Northamptonshire.

We play tracks from local bands and artists, whilst going to gigs, recording live music, and talking to music fans.

The Weekender's mission is to search out the best new talent in our little rural county, and bring it to you, the listeners, in enjoyable chunks.

We're not doing it because we have to, or because we're told to, but because we want to.

We're not genre-specific and we'll try to play music which is unlikely to get a shot at some airtime anywhere else. So we'll play indie bands, metal, folk duos, singer-songwriters and rappers and MCs.

And it's not just about people FROM Northampton - we stretch to the surrounding areas such as Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough and we will also select our favourites from the bands passing through the county on tour and releasing records nationwide.

It's all part of the 'Introducing...' ethos - to turn you on to something new, interesting or maybe just plain weird!

The show is presented live each week from BBC Radio Northampton based at Broadcasting House in the centre of town. You can pop in and talk to us or send us CDs to that address. For other ways of getting in touch scroll down.

Meet the team

Of course no radio show would be possible without a couple of mugs to present it. So after several line up changes (if it were a band The Weekender would surely be Spinal Tap) the current Weekender Introducing show is presented by Ally Dunn and Natasha (Tash) House.

Music is but one of Ally's many talents. When she's not scaring the living daylights out of the county's bemused Indie boys, she's a consumer rights champion for BBC Northampton's consumer show, on air between 11am and 2pm weekdays.

She has filled the boots of her predecessor Jon Raitt (now an assistant producer at BBC 6 Music) with ease, even managing to inspire a Weekender fan in Russia (!) to dub Ally and Tash "super leaders" - a title they are proud to bear!

Tash works part-time at the BBC producing material for the Weekender's radio show and website.

She started out as a news reporter for a local newspaper way back in 2002, quickly realising that rather than writing about village fetes and pensioners turning 100, she would much rather write about her first love - music.

After years writing for various websites, magazines and ad hoc reviews for Griff and Jon when the Weekender first started out, she launched her own music magazine for Northamptonshire called Music For Squares.

Now she is happy to be working part time at the BBC in Northampton focusing on what she does best - seeking out the best new music in the county.

History

The Weekender first went on air in February 2004 and its core mission has remained the same throughout. It was one of the first BBC Local Radio stations to have a show dedicated to local music.

Since it began, The Weekender has won a BBC Gillard award for Best Interactive Show in 2005 having had a successful spell of tying the show's website to its radio output.

Soon, other like-minded shows began to take shape around the country and were gradually all brought together undet the BBC's Introducing... brand name.

Introducing... is now the home of new and unsigned music on the BBC, with over 20 local BBC Radio shows around England, other shows in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and national shows on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and 6 Music all connected by this one brand.

Sharing intelligence and tunes the network will work together to help bring you the best music possible and give the bands the best chance of developing their careers in the music industry.

This means The Weekender is now not only your gateway to local fame, but also the contact for other BBC shows and websites throughout the country.

Contact Us!

Want to get in touch? Email the Weekender team or alternatively phone us on 01604 239100 and ask for Ally or Natasha or through our Facebook and MySpace pages.