Country Radio Stations in the UK

Country music isn’t often played on mainstream radio stations, so finding a good specialist station is the best way to get your country music fix.

We’ve collected together some of the best country radio stations you can listen to in the UK on DAB and online in this list.

Chris Country

Website: chriscountry.co.uk

Chris Country is a UK-based radio station with a team of DJs and presenters who love everything americana and enjoy nothing more than chilling out to some country tunes.

Founded in August 2012, Christ Country has been bringing country classics to a UK audience. They have a mix of old and new music and frequently have competitions, live performances and a bit of general chatter.

The Chris Country schedule is super easy to find on their website. Here you’ll discover a jam-packed list of programmes each day, with presenters like Chris Stephens, Scott Phillips and John Collins.

They all play a range of country staples; “Carrie, Miranda, Brad, Toby, Keith and Taylor, with a dash of George, Alan and Hank for good measure” and the newest, freshest faces from the country genre too!

You can’t get much more country if you tried (unless you pop your radio atop some cowboy boots).

Listen in on Saturday at 8 am for the Country Top 40 and grapevine your way into the weekend!

How to Listen

• DAB – including London, Manchester and Liverpool
• Online
• App

 

Country Hits Radio

Website: planetradio.co.uk/country-hits

This fresh-faced radio station was released just this year (2019) on 5th April, so they have plenty of energy to bring to the UK country music radio scene.

You can actually watch the moment that Baylen Leonard launch Country Hits Radio in the video below.

They are the UK’s first national country music station, available country-wide on DAB, so tune in now! Don’t worry if your DAB radio can’t find it, you can listen online 24/7.

As well as Baylen, you can get to know lots of other DJs and presenters: Lou Nash, Ty Bentli and Una Healy (formerly of The Saturdays fame).

The schedule is 100% country music, so you can tune in any time to hear your favourites and you might even find a new artist to add to your list!

Give Matt Spracklen’s show a listen if you want to hear some UK-made country music.

Get your country hits blaring from your speakers and sing and dance along. You might even fancy entering some of the competitions this radio station runs.

How to Listen

• DAB – Nationally
• Online
• App

 

Downtown Country

Website: planetradio.co.uk/downtown-country

Downtown Country is another offering from Planet Radio. It’s based in Northern Ireland and was launched in April of 2015.

With a 24/7 offering of the best in country music from all around the world, you’ll never be short of honky-tonk, rockabilly or Western swing.

DJs and presenters include Stuart Banford, Jason Hughes and Ken Bruce, all of whom have a love of country music just as strong as yours.

If you like some sprightly songs to get you through your morning routine, tune into Keith Law’s Breakfast Show, but if you want to heel dig and weave your way into the night, turn on the evening show with Big T.

It’s not just music on the Downtown Country site. If you’re a country-obsessed single guy or gal, then you could make use of the Dating section on the Downtown Country website to find your very own cowboy or cowgirl!

How to Listen

• Online
• App

 

UK Country Radio

Website: ukcountryradio.com

UK Country Radio is a Leeds-based, online-only country radio station which founded on 1st September 2007 and has since been playing the very best up-and-coming country artists, alongside some of the greats too.

The original founders of UKCR are still very much a part of the line-up featuring every week in the stations full-to-the-brim schedule.

If you’re interested in the ins and outs of country music, you’ll enjoy Graham Rodgers’ The Songwriter’s Hour every fourth Tuesday of the month, where he looks at how some of the greatest country songs were written.

If you’re up with the larks each morning, you might want to tune in at 5 am on weekdays to catch The Vault, playing some of those country tunes you don’t get to hear all that often.

This is another great radio station for country music lovers, but since it is only available online, you might not be able to tune in as much throughout your day if you don’t have any connection.

How to Listen

• Online

 

BBC Radio 2 – Some country programming

Radio 2 is the BBC’s most popular radio station in the UK with millions tuning in every day. Their usual musical offerings consist of adult contemporary and album-oriented rock, which do cover a fair few genres and plenty of classic pop songs of the past decades.

Country-specific programming is pretty limited on Radio 2, aside from the odd popular song which falls into the country genre. But, to get your country music fix, make sure to listen to The Country Show with Bob Harris on Thursdays at 9 pm.

The previous radio stations listed here are probably better suited to you if you want to listen solely to country music. Radio 2’s typical programming does not cater very specifically to the cowboys and cowgirls of the world, but it is available nationwide on FM radio, so you can tune in anywhere!

How to Listen

• FM – 88-91 MHz
• DAB – Nationally
• Freeview – 702
• Freesat – 702
• Sky TV – 0102
• Virgin – 902
• Online
• App