Nominations open in Northamptonshire Local Music Awards which returns for third year this winter

The Northamptonshire Local Music Awards will return this winter and nominations open this week.

The event, now in its third year, will again be championing artists, venues, events and initiatives from across the county.

There are 19 categories this year, including a new one to recognise young musicians.

Event director Tommy Gardner said: “It feels great to know we are now in year three of these awards.

“I am very proud of how this has been received by the local music scene and I’m also very excited to see this grow into the future.

“This year we have a new awards team member, I am very excited to be co-producing the awards with the amazing Dawn Wright.

“We have introduced a new category called ‘Young Artist of The Year,’ this is open to individuals or bands with members under the age of 18.

“There are so many great young artists out there that are not only an integral part of our music scene, they are the future.”

The categories this year will include Song Of The Year, Album / EP / Mixtape Of The Year, Music Video Of The Year, Pop Artist Of The Year, Rap / Grime / Drill / Hip Hop Artist Of The Year, Indie / Rock / Alternative / Metal Artist Of The Year, R&B / Afrobeats / Dancehall / Reggae Artist Of The Year, Dance / Electronic / Soundsystem / D&B Artist Of The Year, Blues / Soul / Jazz Artist Of The Year, Acoustic / Country / Folk Artist Of The Year, Cover Artist Of The Year, Community Choir Of The Year, Special Music Show or Podcast Of The Year, Local Music Venue Of The Year, Live Event Or Initiative Of The Year, Songwriter Of The Year, Producer Of The Year, Young Artist Of The Year and Outstanding Contribution To Local Music.

Nominations in 18 of the categories open on Friday, March 29, at 9am and will then close on Friday, August 2.

Following the nomination process, a shortlist of acts will be drawn up and people will be able to vote for the winner of each category.

As with previous years, the Outstanding Contribution category will be decided by event organisers.

The awards night will be held in November and will take place at a new venue this year.

Mr Gardner said: “We will be sharing more information very soon - all I can say is that this year it will be more of a sit down / table kind of night.

“We want people to come out to a spectacular and impressive event, a perfect celebration of local music in Northamptonshire.”

Looking back at the first two years of the NLMA’s Mr Gardner added: “The best memory for me when looking back at last year’s awards was taking a moment during a live performance to take a look around the room and see so many people with smiles on their faces, having a great night and all being there for the same reason, to celebrate our local music scene.

“That’s a great feeling.”

“The last 12 months have been amazing for our local artists, numerous single and album releases and great success locally and further afield.

“I am very excited to see how this reflects in the awards.”

Nominations can be made at www.northamptonshiremusicawards.com