The likes of Jessie Ware, Jeff Smith (Head of Music at 6 Music and Radio 2), Clara Amfo (BBC Radio 1), Kate Tempest, Jamie Cullum, Annie Mac, Naughty Boy and Will Hodgkinson (Chief Rock and Pop Critic at The Times) will all be sat around the Mercury Prize judging panel this year.
The influential UK awards ceremony will this year take place on Thursday 15th September at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.
For the second year, BBC Music will be providing live television and radio coverage of the event on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music.
A shortlist of 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ will be revealed at a live launch, hosted by BBC 6 Music’s Shaun Keaveny, taking place on August 4th.
From there, five finalists and an overall winner will all be chosen by the expert Hyundai Mercury Prize Judging Panel, based solely on artistic merit.
The event, sponsored by Hyundai, will feature live performances, plus a special collaboration to mark the Prize’s 25th Anniversary.
Albums by British and Irish artists with a UK release date between 26th September 2015 and 29th July 2016 (inclusive) are eligible for the 2016 Prize.
Shaun Keaveny said: “Each year the Hyundai Mercury Prize ‘Albums of the Year’ highlight some of the best in British and Irish talent – and 2016 is already shaping up to be a brilliant year for music. It’s going to be a tough decision for the judges, so I’m glad I’m not one of them! I’m really looking forward to finding out this year’s shortlist.”
The full 2016 judging panel is:
- Phil Alexander – Editor-in-Chief, Kerrang!, Mojo and Q
- Clara Amfo – Broadcaster
- Jarvis Cocker – Musician and Songwriter
- Jamie Cullum – Musician and Broadcaster
- Harriet Gibsone – Music News Editor at The Guardian/TheGuardian.com
- Will Hodgkinson – Chief Rock & Pop Critic at The Times
- Shahid Khan aka Naughty Boy – Musician, Songwriter and Producer
- Annie Mac – DJ and Broadcaster
- Ellie Rowsell from Wolf Alice – Musician and Songwriter
- Kate Tempest – Musician, Poet and Author
- Jessie Ware – Musician and Songwriter
- Jeff Smith – Head of Music, 6 Music and Radio 2
- The judging facilitator is Simon Frith – Professor of Music, Edinburgh University.
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