BBC presenter Ros Atkins will perform a drum’n’bass DJ set at Glastonbury , two years after he revealed his hidden past as a festival and club DJ. Atkins, who has become known for presenting Outside Source on BBC News , revealed in an interview in 2022 that while as a student at Cambridge University, he would run dance music events and perform drum’n’bass sets at festivals. He said he last performed in the mid-Noughties at a festival in Regent’s Park, but hit pause on his part-time DJ’ing gig when his first daughter was born.
After Atkins made his secret talents publicly known, he was invited to perform a set on BBC6 Music and went viral on social media. He was then invited to play several gigs in London, but soon realised that most DJs had moved away from vinyl and his kit needed a major upgrade. Speaking about the backstory behind his forthcoming Glastonbury booking , Atkins said on X/Twitter: “Most of my music was on vinyl and the only kit I had was my pair of indestructible Vestax turntables (still very much going strong.
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Given most DJs had moved away from vinyl, this didn’t seem like a plan.” Atkins praised famous DJs such as Andy C and Ray Keith who sent him words of encouragement on social media, and gave him a helping hand in re-familiarising himself with the kit. The presenter then met up with Ray Keith, who spent two hours with him, running through the kit, mixing techniques and song selection.
“In the summer of 2022, at Ray’s invitation, I.