Kettering quartet The Whisky Flowers nominated in UK Blues Awards

The awards celebrate the very best in British blues and are widely regarded as the leading national honours in the genre.

The Emerging Artist category highlights the most exciting new talent on the UK blues scene.

The quartet are one of five acts in the running for the award which also includes Bison Hip, Burning Roep, Kirris Riviere & The Delta Du Bruit and True Strays.

The band said: “Amazing. Completely didn’t expect it – none of us did. It came from nowhere.

“It means a lot to be recognised because we’ve been working so hard on songs, performing, recording and getting gigs.

“To be in amongst such incredible talent is such an honour.”

The Whisky Flowers comprise of guitarist and singer Aiden Prior, lead singer and guitarist Steph Ashcroft, bassist Elliot Clark and drummer Ben Hart.

The finalists are selected from an initial longlist and public nominations, with thousands of votes cast nationwide.

Before reaching the final five as a band, members had already been recognised individually in the earlier Top 20 stages –Steph for Vocalist of the Year, Aiden for Instrumentalist of the Year and Elliot for Young Guitarist of the Year.

The band said even making those longlists had felt like a huge achievement, adding: “If you’d told us last year we’d be included in the awards in any shape or form, we probably would have laughed.

“But I guess hard work really does pay off. We’re truly honoured and quite frankly gobsmacked.”

Public voting is open until Sunday, March 1, with winners set to be announced on Friday, April 8.

As well as building a growing reputation on the national blues circuit, The Whisky Flowers are committed to supporting live music locally.

The band run regular jam nights at The Red Lion in Broughton, creating an open and welcoming space for musicians of all ages and abilities to perform, collaborate and gain confidence on stage.

They hope their awards recognition will encourage more people in Kettering and across the county to get involved in music.

They said: “We’d love this to inspire other local bands and musicians to play, jam and get into music.

“It’s an amazing thing and we’re proud to be representing our area on a national stage.”

The UK Blues Awards are organised by the UK Blues Federation.

For more information and to vote, visit https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/UKBluesAwards2026Voting

For more information about The Whisky Flowers, visit https://linktr.ee/thewhiskyflowers