A country music radio show from the UK and presented by CMA member Ben Atkinson. Our show has been on the air for thirteen years and is broadcast on stations in the UK, Ireland and Australia. We feature the best in country, roots, Americana and bluegrass, plus there's News from Nashvill, This Week in Country Music History and the Billboard charts.
Ben’s Country Music Show – UK Country Music Radio Show, Syndicated Internationally and celebrating fifteen years on air in 2023.
Ben’s Country Music Show is a two-hour UK based radio programme bringing listeners the best in country, roots, Americana, and bluegrass each week. The show consists of news, album features, interviews and on occasion, special documentaries. Recent documentaries include the history of CMA Fest to mark the festival’s 50th anniversary, on the life and career of Loretta Lynn, the Ken Burns Country Music USA series, and the story of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. A wide range of artists have appeared on the show over the years, including Matt Stell, Logan Mize, Lynn Anderson, Charlie McCoy, The Shires, Lindsay Ell, Jerry Vandiver, Caitlyn Smith, Gretchen Peters, Michelle Wright and more. Over the years Ben’s Country Music Show has developed a reputation in the UK for championing songwriters and their craft and introducing new artists to fans in Europe and beyond.
In May 2023, Ben’s Country Music Show, will celebrate 15 years on air – making it one of the longest continually running country music radio programmes in the UK and one of the premiere independent shows on UK radio.
Ben Atkinson has been presenting on UK radio for over fifteen years. His presenting career began on 103 The Eye in his home town of Melton Mowbray. This was the first community radio station to be awarded a five-year licence by the UK government, and reamins one of the oldest stations on UK community to this day. Ben learnt his craft at the University of Lincoln, graduating with a first class BA(Hons) in Media Production, an MA in Digital Media and has been awarded by the institution for his Outstanding Contribution to the Lincoln School of Film and Media.
Ben’s training and experience within the creative industries is widespread and includes being an alumnus of the prestigious BBC Production Talent Pool, a six-month sabbatical studying and teaching at the Minnesota State University Moorhead in the USA, founding and managing a student radio station, Brayford Radio, and several years at the helm of his own design company, Tall Lime Limited, working mostly with non-for-profits and the charity sector in the UK and internationally.
Ben’s interest in country music began as a child, discovering the music collection of his parents and grandparents. Over the years he has written extensively about the genre, focusing his research on the changing British attitude to country between the 1960’s and the present day. In March 2020, Ben set out on the next stage of his journey into the history of country music, by embarking a PhD study in Music and American Studies where he will focus on the experiences of women in country music of the 21st century.
Ben has been a member of the Country Music Association of America (CMA) since 2014.
