Mercury Prize 2025: A Historic Year as Award Show Moves North with Diverse Nominee List
A New Chapter for British Music’s Most Prestigious Award
The Mercury Prize is making history in 2025 by moving beyond London for the first time ever, as the prestigious award ceremony relocates to Newcastle in partnership with Newcastle City Council and The North East Combined Authority. This move signals a new dawn for the esteemed prize.
The Nominated Albums
The 2025 Mercury Prize’s 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ were announced on Wednesday, September 10th, on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Sounds by Lauren Laverne. The shortlist includes CMAT’s ‘EURO-COUNTRY’, Emma-Jean Thackray’s ‘Weirdo’, FKA twigs’ ‘EUSEXUA’, Fontaines D.C.’s ‘Romance’, Jacob Alon’s ‘In Limerence’, Joe Webb’s ‘Hamstrings & Hurricanes’, Martin Carthy’s ‘Transform Me Then Into A Fish’, Pa Salieu’s ‘Afrikan Alien’, PinkPantheress’ ‘Fancy That’, Pulp’s ‘More’, Sam Fender’s ‘People Watching’, and Wolf Alice’s ‘The Clearing’.
Notable Achievements and Records
This year’s nominations have set new records, with folk musician Martin Carthy becoming the oldest-ever Mercury nominee at 84 years old for his album ‘Transform Me Then Into a Fish’. Additionally, PinkPantheress’s mixtape ‘Fancy That’ is believed to be the shortest-ever nominated album at just over 20 minutes.
The Upcoming Ceremony
The Award Show will take place on Thursday 16th October at the Utilita Arena, featuring live performances from many of the twelve shortlisted artists. The evening will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner, with BBC Music providing coverage of the event.
The Mercury Prize continues its tradition of recognizing the best new British & Irish music, celebrating artistic achievement across various contemporary music genres. As an independent arts prize, it champions the album format and serves as a snapshot of the year in music, while providing a major platform for up-and-coming artists. The Prize has historically been an important milestone in many artists’ journeys, offering a stepping stone to wider success both domestically and internationally.
