2020 Mercury Prize nominees to be announced this Thursday

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The nominees for the 2020 Mercury Prize will be announced on Thursday morning (July 23).

A date for this year’s ceremony has yet to be confirmed, but the Mercury’s ‘Albums of the Year’ shortlist will be revealed on Lauren Laverne’s BBC Radio 6 Music show from 10.30AM to 11.30AM on Thursday.

The shortlist, which is chosen by an independent judging panel, will consist of 12 albums by British artists with a UK release date between July 20, 2019 and July 17, 2020.

The judging panel for the 2020 Mercury Prize has also been confirmed, with Anna Calvi and Gemma Cairney the two new additions to the panel.

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This year's Hyundai Mercury Prize judging panel has been announced! Joining us this year are: @annacalvi, @anniemac, @missperry, @gaz_coombes, @gemagain, @jamiecullum, Jeff Smith, @jorjasmith_, @walsh8009, @mojophilalexander, @tnmokoena, @will.hodgkinson #HyundaiMercuryPrize

A post shared by Mercury Prize (@mercuryprize) on Jul 21, 2020 at 12:00am PDT

The full panel consists of: Anna Calvi – Musician and Songwriter; Annie Mac – Broadcaster and DJ; Danielle Perry – Broadcaster and Writer; Gaz Coombes – Musician and Songwriter; Gemma Cairney – Broadcaster and DJ; Jamie Cullum – Musician and Broadcaster; Jeff Smith – Head of Music, 6 Music and Radio 2; Jorja Smith – Musician and Songwriter; Mike Walsh – Music Consultant, Kendal Calling/bluedot Festivals, War Child; Phil Alexander – Creative Director, Kerrang!/Contributing Editor, Mojo; Tshepo Mokoena – Editorial Director, VICE.com; Will Hodgkinson – Chief Rock and Pop Critic, The Times. Jeff Smith will be the Chair of the judging panel.

“This has been a difficult & challenging year, so we are grateful to all the artists and labels that have supported the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize by entering their albums,” Mercury Prize Chairman David Wilkinson said. “Thanks also to the hardworking judges who have spent the last few months in lockdown listening to all the albums that were entered.

“Creatively the past year has been an amazing year for British music – so choosing just 12 Albums of the Year will be tough for the judging team. We’re looking forward to this year’s shortlist being announced by Lauren Laverne on her BBC Radio 6 Music show on July 23.”

Recent winners of the Mercury Prize include Dave (2019), Wolf Alice (2018) and Sampha (2017).

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