Guy Garvey, Carl Palmer, Gruff Rhys, and Weyes Blood Set for BBC Proms Debuts

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The BBC PROMS PROG ROCK PROM will feature the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ames.

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The BBC Proms, running from Friday 17 July until Saturday 12 September, has announced new details for the 2026 season, including a series of collaborations that bring leading voices from rock, indie and alternative music into the orchestral spotlight.

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The opening weekend of the BBC Proms launches with the first ever Prog Rock Prom (18 July) with legendary drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer – one of the biggest bands of the 1970s – and Peter Hammill, founder member and the original singer of the prog rock band Van der Graaf Generator. They will be joined by Elbow frontman Guy Garvey, Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys and singer-songwriter Jane Weaver. The concert is conducted by Robert Ames and presented by BBC Radio 6 Music's Stuart Maconie and features symphonic tributes to ELP, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield , Renaissance and more, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra. Seated tickets for this Prom are sold out, however 1,000 £8 Promming tickets will be available on the day.

Weyes Blood, aka Natalie Mering, presents an intimate late-night Prom, taking a symphonic dive into her wistful, transcendent folk-pop (8 September, Late Night). She joins forces with Jules Buckley and his orchestra, whose previous Proms collaborations include Florence + The Machine, Laura Mvula , Jacob Collier and St. Vincent.

As part of the BBC Proms across the UK, Tyneside sisters and folk pioneers The Unthanks headline the first ever Middlesbrough Prom (23 July, Middlesbrough Town Hall), joined by Mercury Prize‑winning Leeds band English Teacher, Conor O'Brien of Villagers, North East-based writer, producer and singer Jodie Nicholson and Philip Selway, drummer of Radiohead. The Prom features songs shaped by the North of England, reimagined with cinematic arrangements performed by the Royal Northern Sinfonia conducted by Ellie Slorach.

BBC Introducing, designed to discover, support, and promote unsigned and grassroots UK music talent, hosts a Prom at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead. Presented by musician and rapper Shakk, the Prom includes performances from rising talents corto.alto, Maddie Ashman and ATFK (23 July, Gateshead).

The weekend in the North East of England also sees South Tyneside-born indie-rock singer-songwriter Nadine Shah collaborating with the Royal Northern Sinfonia to perform songs from every one of her albums (24 July, Gateshead). She'll be supported by ‘Geordie jazz' band Knats, from Newcastle Upon Tyne. The band made their Proms debut in 2024 as part of the BBC Introducing stage at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music.

In Bristol, BBC Radio 2 presenter Jamie Cullum hosts 'Round Midnight: a live edition of Radio 3's acclaimed late‑night jazz show. The concert will feature a tribute to John Coltrane's music with Cassie Kinoshi and seed. (formerly known as SEED Ensemble), and Waldo's Gift (8 August, Bristol Beacon, Lantern Hall).

Hannah Donat, Director of Artistic Planning for BBC Proms: “The Proms is a celebration of the orchestra – and it's a celebration for everyone. We want audiences to experience the orchestra's power, versatility and relevance to all kinds of music. That's why you'll find an evening of Prog Rock, a tribute to the great Miles Davis , and collaborations with wonderful artists such as Weyes Blood and Nadine Shah, alongside music by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. We explore with a spirit of curiosity, presenting a wide-ranging, eclectic line-up, with each concert shining a light that reflects off the others. We'd love you to join us this summer to discover something unexpected and unforgettable.”

Every Prom will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and a special week of five Proms will air on Radio 2 – the UK's most popular radio station with a weekly audience of 12.6m listeners – from 17 August. Prog Rock: A Fanfare for the Common Man will be broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music. The Proms airing on Radio 2 are Prog Rock: A Fanfare for the Common Man (17 August), Black Dyke Band (18 August), Under African Skies: Songs from Graceland (19 August), Marvin Gaye : Prince of Soul (20 August) and Miles Davis Centenary (23 August).

Helen Thomas , Head of BBC Radio 2 said: “The Proms is one of the most precious jewels in the BBC's musical crown, so I'm delighted to showcase five Proms across a week on Radio 2 this year.”

This strand of cross-genre programming continues the Proms' long‑standing commitment to opening the festival to a wider range of musical styles – a tradition dating back to its inception in the festival's founding year – and features artists collaborating with world‑class orchestras and arrangers. These concerts form a key part of the Proms' mission to showcase the breadth of contemporary music and to welcome new audiences to the festival at the Royal Albert Hall and venues across the UK, with this year's destinations in Bristol, the North East of England and Mold, Wales.

Other genre-crossing and family Proms this year include Horrible Science: The Big Bang Experiment (25 July, matinee and evening), Under African Skies: The Songs of Graceland (5 August, Late Night), Marvin Gaye : Prince of Soul (14 August), Miles Davis Centenary (20 August), Bond and Beyond (25 August, and broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer), Ultimate Calm (27 August, Late Night), Altın Gün (28 August) and Enchanted: Alan Menken 's Music for Disney (31 August).

Every Prom will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds, with Proms programmes televised on BBC TV and iPlayer.

General booking for the 2026 BBC Proms opened at 9am on Saturday 16 May. Almost 104,000 tickets were sold, and by the end of the day 12 Proms had no tickets available, including Martha Argerich Plays Beethoven, which was the first Prom to sell out, as well as the First Night of the Proms (17 July), Prog Rock (18 July) and American Classics (24 August).

Although seats for 12 Proms are currently unavailable, up to 1,000 Promming tickets will be released for every single Prom, priced at £8 and available at 9.30am the day before concert. Returns are often available from the Royal Albert Hall Box Office. Tickets for the majority of the 2026 BBC Proms are still available.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Guy-Garvey-Carl-Palmer-Gruff-Rhys-and-Weyes-Blood-Will-Make-BBC-PROMS-Debut-20260603)._