Liverpool’s local music scene is set to honour its heroes alongside the current crop of talent that is active in the city.
The Liverpool Music Awards set to take place at the Dome Grand Central this Saturday 17th November to provide an “opportunity to celebrate musical achievements which have gone beyond the borders of our city.”
With 15 categories, including ‘Band of the Year’ and ‘Female/Male Artist of the Year”, competition is sure to be fierce with awards not being ‘genre-specific’ across the board.
The awards has also received added Spice in the form of Mel C who announced that she would be presenting an award at the ceremony.
Other famous local acts on the bill include The Wombats, various members of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and former Atomic Kitten member Liz McClarnon.
There will also be performances from X Factor finalist Craig Colton, MOBO Unsung Award winner Esco Williams, the Sense of Sound Choir, and Mark Simpson, the first person ever to win both the BBC’s Young Composer and BBC Young Musician in the same year.
The nominees will be overseen by nine judges, including Liverpool Echo Music Editor Jade Wright, although the eventual winners will have been decided via a public vote which has now closed.
Speaking to JMU Journalism, Wright offered her opinion on Liverpool’s current music scene. She said: “I think it’s hard to categorise it as a single scene. I’d say there are lots of scenes that often work collaboratively, while still keeping their own identity which is what makes it so unique and I think that is reflected in the diversity of the panel.”
The judging panel covers the spectrum of the local music, including BBC Radio Merseyside DJ’s Dave Monks and Billy Butler, alongside his son Lee Butler who works for Radio City and Radio 2 presenter, Janice Long.
Awards organisers insist they are taking the business of judging seriously by “carefully selecting and balancing the panel and doing all that we can to ensure as robust and transparent a process as possible”.
But which local acts have caught Wright’s eye? She said: “I like Ian Skelly’s [former Coral frontman] new album, and I know he’s putting a band together around that. The Hummingbirds seem to be doing well, and I’m really curious to hear the new stuff Bill Ryder Jones is working on.”
Wright is hopeful the Liverpool Music Awards will be a success and can become an annual event on the calendar.
However, when asked about why an event like this has not happened sooner, she told JMU Journalism: “I think it’s mostly about funding – awards events are very expensive to put on and individuals are understandably wary of putting their own money into events that rely mainly on ticket sales.
“This time the sponsorship seems to have helped, and I believe ticket sales are going well. There’s a lot of talent in Merseyside and anything that helps recognise that can only be a good thing.”
For more information on the Liverpool Music Awards, visit https://liverpoolmusicawards.com/