BandLab NME Awards 2022: Chvrches, Robert Smith and BERWYN to Perform, Daisy May Cooper and Lady Leshurr to Host
2 MARCH 2022 @ O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON
DAISY MAY COOPER & LADY LESHURR ANNOUNCED AS PRESENTERS
THE CURE’S ROBERT SMITH, CHVRCHES & BERWYN LATEST PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED
CHVRCHES & ROBERT SMITH TO PERFORM TOGETHER IN FIRST EVER LIVE COLLABORATION + MORE GUESTS TBA
AUSTRALIA + ASIA CATEGORY WINNERS ANNOUNCED INCLUDING GENESIS OWUSU, AMYL & THE SNIFFERS, TKAY MAIDZA, SUBSONIC EYE, WARREN HUE + MORE
Today, NME has announced further details of the BandLab NME Awards 2022, including the unveiling of the very special hosts for the event, as well as a raft of big name performers taking the stage at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on Wednesday 2 March 2022.
The BandLab NME Awards 2022 will be presented by the UK’s hottest comedian, actress & writer Daisy May Cooper and rapper, presenter and BBC Radio 1Xtra host Lady Leshurr. The latest names announced to perform, alongside the previously announced Griff, Sam Fender and Rina Sawayama, are synth pop royalty CHVRCHES, the legendary – and Godlike – Robert Smith of The Cure, and Mercury Prize-nominated rapper BERWYN.
Celebrating the most brilliant people in music and pop culture right now, the BandLab NME Awards 2022 will feature performances from some of the most thrilling musical acts around, big-name guests, and a raft of epic unpredictable moments. Fans have the chance to be in the thick of the action, with tickets on sale now via nme.com.
Daisy May Cooper is a force to be reckoned with in the UK television and comedy scenes. 2022 saw the razor-sharp comedian release her No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling book Don’t Laugh, It’ll Only Encourage Her, and feature as a team captain on the reboot of the legendarily raucous BBC pop panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks alongside Noel Fielding. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2018 for her role as Kerry Mucklowe in the BBC Three series This Country, which she co-created and co-wrote with her brother, Charlie Cooper, and was a panellist on Channel 4’s Taskmaster and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Since releasing her first mixtape at 14 then rising to fame with her ‘Queen’s Speech’ freestyle series, Birmingham grime superstar Lady Leshurr has now gone on to become a household name, with TV appearances ranging from The Celebrity Circle to Celebrity MasterChef and Dancing On Ice. The rapper currently hosts her own show on BBC Radio 1Xtra every Saturday, where she supports her favourite upcoming talent across hip-hop, reggae, R&B and more, and is now set to bring her expansive musical knowledge and infectious personality to the NME Awards stage.
Lady Leshurr says: “To go from being on the front cover of NME in 2016, to now hosting it 6 years later is INCREDIBLE to say the least!! I am so thrilled to be hosting such an important music awards show in 2022. This is going to be my first time presenting on such a huge platform like this, so I’m nervous but excited, and know I’ll be able to provide great entertainment and giggles for all!”
In a first ever live collaborative performance, CHVRCHES and Robert Smith of The Cure will perform their recent hit single ‘How Not To Drown’, with further surprises in store. The performance follows a landmark year for CHVRCHES, which saw them marking a decade together with the release of their highly-praised new album Screen Violence, from which ‘How Not To Drown’ is lifted. Robert Smith is cited by CHVRCHES as one of their ultimate heroes. He is one of the world’s most influential living rockstars, and his band The Cure were named NME’s Godlike Geniuses at the 2009 Awards, and Best Festival Headliner at the most recent event in 2020.
CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry says: “Getting to work with Robert on Screen Violence was incredible and we’re really excited to finally be able to play ‘How Not To Drown’ live with him. Releasing an album in this time period has been surreal, in good ways and bad, because the pandemic landscape is so different. We’ve never even met Robert in real life, so the NME Awards will be a real red letter day”.
BERWYN is one of the most exciting young talents in the UK. Delivering a style that defies genre, his Mercury Prize-nominated debut mixtape DEMOTAPE/VEGA was released to critical acclaim in 2020 after being written and produced in just two weeks solely by BERWYN himself, swiftly followed by the elite TAPE 2/FOMALHAUT last year. The Trinidad-born multi-instrumentalist relays his experiences of growing up in London through his eye-opening perspectives and chilling performances, which he plans to bring to the Brixton Academy stage for 2022’s Awards.
BERWYN says: “It’s an honour to have been asked to perform at the NME Awards, especially at such an early stage in everything. I can’t wait to perform and hopefully show everyone my worth“
A full list of nominations, including the coveted Godlike Genius award, will be announced in the coming months alongside further exhilarating performances on the night. 2022’s Awards will also see the introduction of award categories that champion Southeast Asian talent, following 2020’s Australian categories and furthering NME’s global approach with dedicated editions in Australia and Asia. NME recently announced the winners of the Australia- and Asia-exclusive categories, who will go on to compete in the equivalent global categories at 2022’s Awards. The winners are as follows:
Best Album By An Australian Artist
Genesis Owusu, ‘Smiling With No Teeth’
Best Song By An Australian Artist
The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber, ‘Stay’
Best Band From Australia
Amyl & The Sniffers
Best Solo Act From Australia
Tkay Maidza
Best New Act From Australia
King Stingray
Best Album By An Asian Artist
Subsonic Eye, ‘Nature Of Things’
Best Song By An Asian Artist
Warren Hue, ‘Omomo Punk’
Best Band From Asia
Ben&Ben
Best Solo Act From Asia
Pyra
Best New Act From Asia
Shye
This year’s official charity partner will be Music Venue Trust, continuing NME’s long-standing relationship and work with the charity. Created in 2014 to protect, secure and improve the UK’s vital grassroots music venues, they represent over 900 venues across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
What you need to know:
Where? O2 Academy Brixton
When? March 2, 2022
Why? You don’t want to miss out on the wildest night of the year.
How do I get in? Tickets available via nme.com
Visit nme.com/awards for more.
About the BandLab NME Awards 2022:
Our award categories are designed to celebrate the best in music, entertainment and pop culture today. To reflect NME’s global reach and to champion artists from all around the world, we have divided the categories into two broad bands: Global and Regional. Artists who are nationals of Southeast Asian countries, Australia and the UK will be nominated in categories under their respective regions (Asia, Australia and the UK), and artists from outside the aforementioned regions will be nominated in the Global categories. Artists who are nominated for the Regional categories may also appear additionally in the Global categories. The editors and the management of NME Networks reserve the right to amend any categories and/or nominees, or remove any nominees and/or categories in light of new developments.
About NME:
Launched in London, UK, in 1952 as the New Musical Express, NME has grown into a global media powerhouse that creates and curates content, products and experiences essential to fans of music and pop culture today. NME brings together the best writers and photographers to provide a multi-platform editorial offering that is at the bleeding edge of what matters most across the globe — be it music, film, TV or gaming. Intent on shining a spotlight on the artists and stories coming out of the world’s most compelling music scenes via NME.com, NME also has dedicated editions for Australia and Asia, using its distinctive voice and point of view to champion and celebrate established and emerging homegrown talent.
About BandLab:
BandLab’s vision is simple: A future where there are no boundaries to making and sharing music. BandLab is the next-generation social music platform with over 40 million users on a mission to break down the technical, geographic, and creative barriers for musicians and fans. Free-to-use, the mobile-first cross-platform DAW and social network, unites the entire creator journey into one place, boasting a suite of features and tools for creators to make their music, earn a living and grow their audience.
About Music Venue Trust:
Music Venue Trust is a UK registered charity which acts to protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues. Created in January 2014, Music Venue Trust aims to secure the long-term future of iconic Grassroots Music Venues such as Hull Adelphi, Exeter Cavern, Southampton Joiners, The 100 Club, Band on the Wall, Tunbridge Wells Forum etc. These venues have played a crucial role in the development of British music over the last 40 years, nurturing local talent, providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and their performance skills. The charity works to gain recognition of the essential role these venues fulfil, not only for artist development but also for the cultural and music industries, the economy and local communities. Music Venue Trust aims to preserve and improve venues, making them more efficient and improving the experience for performers and audiences. Long-term, it plans to acquire the freeholds of as many of these vital venues as possible.
For more information please contact:
NMEawards@insideout.agency