Backstage Radio

Backstage Radio is made for the people who work behind live events, including sound engineers, lighting technicians, stage managers, riggers and touring crews. Operated by Show Works Ltd, it approaches radio from the working lives of the people who prepare a show, keep it running and clear the venue afterwards. That occupational community, rather than a single town or musical decade, defines the station.

Music is accompanied by conversation about the live events industry, experiences from touring and contributions from crew members. Familiar favourites and less obvious selections share space with practical perspectives from people who understand the demands of production work. The broadcaster invites ideas for programmes and participation from its audience, giving backstage experience a direct role in shaping what is heard.

The schedule borrows its language from a working production: The Early Shift, Pre Show Warmup and Overnight Call frame the day. Fit Up Mondays and Loading Bay Beats sit alongside decade-themed strands such as 10s Tuesdays and Naughty Wednesdays. Tech Table Podcast and Conversations With Sound Designers give industry discussion a defined place, while Matinee Rush with Kieran Cooper and Conversation Vacant with Bram add named voices to the programme.

The station also supports Backup Tech, the charity associated with the technical entertainment industry. That relationship fits its wider purpose of connecting and championing crew, including people whose jobs are usually out of public view. Backstage offers a musical companion to that working culture while providing room for its stories, professional knowledge and sense of shared experience.