Annie Macmanus (Mac) will have the honour of announcing the winner of the 2022 Mercury Prize.
The former BBC Radio 1 DJ-turned-author – who is part of the judging panel – has been confirmed as a guest presenter at the Mercury Prize with FREE NOW Awards Show on Thursday night (08.09.22).
The overall winner of the prestigious music prize will be revealed at the star-studded ceremony at London’s Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.
The main host for the night is ‘Desert Island Discs’ host Lauren Laverne.
Sam Fender and Wet Leg are among the performers confirmed to take to the stage.
As well as the former’s acclaimed LP ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and indie duo Wet Leg’s self-titled LP, records by Harry Styles, Little Simz, Self Esteem, Joy Crookes, Fergus McCreadie, Gwenno, Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler, Kojey Radical, Nova Twins, and Yard Act also made the shortlist.
Harry – whose LP ‘Harry’s House’ earned him his first-ever Mercury nod – is unable to perform live due to being on tour in the US, however, the ‘As It Was’ hitmaker has pre-recorded a special performance “to celebrate” his record which will be aired on the night.
Other performers include Fergus, Gwenno, Jessie and Bernard, Joy, Kojey, Simz, Nova Twins, Self Esteem, and Yard Act.
The judging panel – which includes musicians Anna Calvi, Jamie Cullum and Loyle Carner, and is chaired by Head of Music, 6 Music and Radio 2 Jeff Smith – commented on the selection for the Albums of the Year: “Getting down to 12 albums this year was not easy, simply because there were so many remarkable ones to choose from. That serves as proof that British and Irish music thrives during unsettled periods in history, with the albums chosen covering everything from imaginative pop to pioneering rap to Cornish language folk-rock. We feel that these 12 amazing albums each have something to say artistically and socially, all in their own unique, enriching ways. Now comes the really hard part… choosing only one overall winner.”
The Prize’s broadcast partner, BBC Music, will be providing coverage of the event across BBC TV, BBC Radio 6 Music, online and social media.
Digital partner Amazon Music will provide playlists and programming from now until the Awards Show.
The 2021 Mercury Prize was awarded to Arlo Parks for her much-lauded debut studio album ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’.
The 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW ‘Albums of the Year’ are:
Fergus McCreadie ‘Forest Floor’
Gwenno ‘Tresor’
Harry Styles ‘Harry’s House’
Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler ‘For All Our Days That Tear the Heart’
Joy Crookes ‘Skin’
Kojey Radical ‘Reason to Smile’
Little Simz ‘Sometimes I Might be Introvert’
Nova Twins ‘Supernova’
Sam Fender ‘Seventeen Going Under’
Self Esteem ‘Prioritise Pleasure’
Wet Leg ‘Wet Leg’
Yard Act ‘The Overload’