Gruff Rhys, Laura Marling to play BBC 6 Music tenth birthday shows

Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys and Laura Marling are among the first wave of artists confirmed for BBC Radio 6 Music's forthcoming tenth anniversary celebrations.

The first announcement was made on Shaun Keaveny's breakfast show on Monday morning (February 6).



Rhys will perform at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at London's Southbank Centre on Friday, March 16, with Mercury Prize 2011 nominee Anna Calvi and Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny in support.

Houghton told the station: "This is exciting for us, because we are genuinely huge fans of 6 Music. It was an atrocity when it almost slipped out of our hands... It really is there because of the music, not because of what sells records."

Marling will play at the venue's Purcell Room on the same night, supported by BBC Sound of 2012 longlist nominee Lianne La Havas.

6 Music was launched on March 11, 2002, but was threatened with closure in 2010. However, the decision was reversed following a three-month consultation and campaign to save the station from the axe.

The BBC Trust said in a report published in summer 2010 that a case had not been made for 6Music's closure.

The station recently reported record audience figures of 1.44 million in the three months to December 18, 2011.

Further shows to celebrate the station's 10th anniversary are to be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the March 16 shows go on sale at 9am this morning.