Further details are emerging for this year’s Mercury Prize – the first edition outside of London.
The BPI’s decision to move the Mercury Prize to Newcastle, in partnership with Newcastle City Council and The North East Combined Authority, signals a new era for the event celebrating the best British and Irish music of the year.
The award show, taking place on Thursday, October 16 at the Utilita Arena, will feature live performances from many of the 12 shortlisted artists. The evening will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner of the 2025 Mercury Prize in Newcastle.
The Prize’s broadcast partner BBC Music will provide coverage of the event.
English Teacher claimed the Mercury Prize last year. Other recent past winners include Ezra Collective, Little Simz, Dave, Wolf Alice, Young Fathers, and more.
The Mercury Prize 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ will be announced exclusively live on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Sounds from 10.30am on Wednesday, September 10.
Radio 6 Music presenter (and North East native) Lauren Laverne is today confirmed as the award show host once again. Meanwhile, Radio 1’s Maia Beth will be hosting exclusive artist interviews for the Mercury Prize social channels, and will also be hosting Red Carpet coverage in Newcastle.
Alongside the Award Show, development agency Generator is powering the Mercury Prize Newcastle Fringe, a region-wide celebration of the North East’s music scene.
Running from October 9-15, the Mercury Fringe will feature a range of live music and showcase opportunities. Spanning all seven local authority areas of the North East Combined Authority – Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Durham and Northumberland – it will take place at venues including The Glasshouse in Gateshead, Pop Recs in Sunderland, Queens Hall Arts in Northumberland, World Headquarters and Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle.
As well as live gigs curated alongside local promoters, it is set to feature genre-spanning workshops and roundtables, a major industry conference and in-conversation events with artists.
Across the week, audiences can explore themes including music production, broadcasting, songwriting, composition and the art of album-making and promotion. Record store listening events will extend the Fringe’s community reach while supporting local businesses.
Full programme details will be revealed soon here.
Each year, the shortlist is curated by an independent judging panel of music industry professionals. The 2025 Mercury Prize judges are:
Danielle Perry – broadcaster & writer
Jamie Cullum - musician & Radio 2 broadcaster
Jamz Supernova – Radio 6 Music presenter
Jeff Smith - head of music, Radio 2 & Radio 6 Music
Lea Stonhill – music programming consultant
Mistajam – songwriter, DJ & broadcaster
Phil Alexander – creative director, Kerrang!/contributing editor, Mojo
Sian Eleri – Radio 1 broadcaster & DJ
Will Hodgkinson - chief rock & pop critic, The Times Sophie Williams – music writer & broadcaster.
The chair of the judging team is Jeff Smith.
FOLLOW 
