It was revealed that the shortlist of the twelve ‘Albums of the Year’ for 2020 will be announced, on Thursday July 23, 2020. The subsequent Mercury Prize ceremony will then take place, at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, on Thursday September 10, 2020.

Plans for the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize have been announced.

Read in full here: https://t.co/FyCPZcbjtU pic.twitter.com/IU27fcsSiT

— Mercury Prize (@MercuryPrize) April 29, 2020

The return of the event will be subject to government guidelines relating to social distancing and coronavirus. The prize recognises the best new efforts in British & Irish music across a wide variety of music genres.

The 2020 return of the Mercury Prize, which is considered to be among the most coveted prizes in British and Irish music, comes after the 2019 award was won by, British rapper, Dave for his debut album, ‘Psychodrama’.

After winning the winner’s trophy and a cheque for £25,000, the acclaimed South London rapper performed his hit single, ‘Psycho’, from his winning album, at the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dave said: “I don’t know what to say. I want to firstly thank God. I want to invite my mum up onto stage. I want to thank everyone that made this happen, I want to thank all of the exceptional musicians who performed tonight…I respect you all so highly.” In his solo acceptance speech Dave also thanked “my mum, my family, my friends.”

Among the other shortlisted artists, who performed at last year’s event, include Foals, Idles, Fontaines D.C., Little Simz, Slowthai, Nao, Anna Calvi, Black Midi, Cate Le Bon, and SEED Ensemble’s Cassie Kinoshi.

The 2020 edition of the festival would have marked the 50th anniversary of the Somerset event, which was scheduled to take place this June. However, today (April 29) Glastonbury organisers have confirmed that their usual competition, to find the best new talent from the UK and Ireland, will remain.

We’re pleased to announce we’re going ahead with this year’s Emerging Talent Competition. The winners will be given a slot at Glastonbury 2021, plus a £5,000 Talent Development prize from @PRSFoundation. Listen to the longlisted acts at https://t.co/3v0jhasxke now!

— Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) April 29, 2020

Speaking about the decision to allow the competition to go ahead as planned, festival organiser Emily Eavis, said: “At a time when the live music industry is on hold, and upcoming artists are not able to get out there and showcase their talents, I’m so pleased that we’re still able to shine a light on the best new acts in the UK and Ireland through the Emerging Talent Competition. I’m hugely looking forward to hearing the 90 acts on the longlist – and I really hope that lots of others will listen and choose their favourites too.”

The 90 longlisted artists have been revealed and were picked by a judging panel which is made up of 30 UK music writers and bloggers. A panel of judges, including Michael and Emily Eavis, will then narrow down the 90 longlisted artists to a final eight.

Unfortunatly, due to current circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no live final, inn Pilton, this year. However, the panel will be selecting the winner and runners up, who will then go on to perform, at Worthy Farm, next year.

“The Emerging Talent Competition is an incredible opportunity and has been a fantastic springboard for so many successful music creators, including Declan McKenna, Marie White, Flohio and Izzy Bizu. This unique combination of the opportunity to perform at the iconic Glastonbury Festival and receive vital career support has had a real and sustainable impact on those artists’ development. I’m very much looking forward to seeing who the winner and runners-up are this year,” said Joe Frankland, CEO of PRS Foundation.

The winners of the competition will be awarded a slot to perform, at Glastonbury 2021, as well as a recieve a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS Foundation. The two runners-up will also receive a cash prize of £2,500 each, again from the PRS Foundation Talent Development Prize.

Speaking about the competition, Amy Field from PRS for Music, said: “We are so pleased the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition is still going ahead. It’s something positive to focus on during this uncertain time and with the unfortunate cancellation of Glastonbury Festival this year. We know that many music creators are currently facing challenges, and so we are proud to be able to continue this project with PRS Foundation and Glastonbury to keep the momentum going and provide some much needed support to artists taking part.”

Great news! @glastonbury are going ahead with this year’s Emerging Talent Competition.

The winners will be given a slot at Glastonbury 2021, plus a £5,000 Talent Development prize from @PRSFoundation.

Listen to the longlisted acts at https://t.co/uYaCV09yIy now! pic.twitter.com/yQDVBXDFPa

— PRS for Music (@PRSforMusic) April 29, 2020

In recent years the competition has played a big part in the rise of artists such as Declan McKenna, Izzy Bizu, Swimming Girls, Che Lingo, She Drew The Gun and many more. Among other historic winners of the competition are The Subways and Scouting For Girls.

The announcement that the competition will go ahead comes after the BBC announced that in place of its Glastonbury coverage they will instead show a range of programming, across the weekend it was due to run in June 2020, that will celebrate 50 years of the festival.

The Scottish singer/ song-writer, who was originally set to play the biggest show of his career, at Glasgow’s Hampden Park this summer, will now play the date, on July 17, 2021.

The Glasgow born singer had similar sized shows scheduled, in Belfast, at Cork’s Irish Independent Park and Belfast’s Belsonic festival, which will now take place on June 18 and 19, 2021. He also has a third show, at Dublin’s Malahide Castle, which is now set to take place on June 20, 2021.

Rescheduled dates for NI/IRE and Hampden.
Until next time. Stay safe. pic.twitter.com/pkULQVXkYk

— GERRY CINNAMON (@GerryCinnamon) April 28, 2020

Speaking after the announcement, Gerry said: “Anyone that know me knows all I care about is folk having a class night and getting home safe.” Cinnamon described the decision to move the tour dates as “a no brainer” which “pales in comparison to the s*** other folk are going through.”

The star revealed that all tickets purchased for this year’s show will remain valid for the new dates. The announcement of Cinnamon’s rescheduled dates comes after the release of his new album, ‘The Bonny’, which was released on April 24, 2020, and provided a much needed pick me up to the physical music market.

‘The Bonny’ shot to the top of the UK Album Charts, on Friday April 24, with 77% of its 28,945 sales made up of physical sales and digital downloads (via The Official Charts Company). The album is also the fastest-selling vinyl of the year with over 6,400 copies sold.

The Glaswegian artist reached the landmark after keeping to his word to deliver his record for fans at this difficult time – and they responded. Taking to social media, to thank fans, Cinnamon wrote: “Numbers mean nothing to me. Folk blasting the tunes and singing them like they mean it means everything. Had my back since day one. Only reason I stayed in this game. Shout out to all frontline staff.  Suns out. Look after the oldies. Cheers”

No1 album UK&IRE.
Numbers mean nothing to me. Folk blasting the tunes and singing them like they mean it means everything. Had my back since day one. Only reason I stayed in this game.
Shout out to all frontline staff.
s out. Look after the oldies. Cheers pic.twitter.com/hlUJmGMcc7

— GERRY CINNAMON (@GerryCinnamon) April 24, 2020

Speaking about the album, ‘The Bonny’, NME;s Damian Jones, said: “The outstanding ‘Where We’re Going’ reminds us of better times. A perfect partner to ‘Erratic Cinema’s ‘Sometimes’, this fist punching festival anthem in waiting is easily the best song on the album and the track that’ll constantly be on repeat on lockdown playlists

“Elsewhere, the menacing Spaghetti Western infused ‘Mayhem’, shows how far the Glaswegian’s song-writing skills have come. Opening with a lo-fi mariachi strum, the track bursts into a thumping widescreen banger.”

Gerry Cinnamon Rescheduled Scotland and Ireland Dates 2021:

17/07/2021 – Hampden Park – Glasgow
18/07 – Cork’s Irish Independent Park – Belfast
19/07 – Belsonic Festival – Belfast
20/07 – Malahide Castle – Dublin

The Cheltenham even was originally set to take place this July, with a stellar line-up including headliners Jimmy Eat World, AFI, and Thrice. Among other acts on the bill were Boston Manor, Knocked Loose, Creeper, Anti-Flag, Silverstein and The Chats. The announcement comes after the team behind the festival had previously said in a statement that, up until “a few days ago”, they were hopeful their 2020 event would still take place.

In a statement released on the festival social media pages, festival organisers, said: “We’ve tried for as long as possible to stay optimistic and keep the dream alive, but unfortunately we’ve been forced to take the incredibly tough decision to postpone 2000trees until July 8-11, 2021. After 13 years, we really can’t comprehend a summer without 2000trees, and we’re truly gutted.”

We are absolutely gutted to confirm that 2000trees 2020 will not be taking place this summer.

Please read our full statement, which has details on just how this impacts 2000trees and what you can do to help, at https://t.co/ikFTWqUe8b. 1/3. pic.twitter.com/S146MDT5YH

— 2000trees Festival (@2000trees) April 28, 2020

The statement continued, “The decision to postpone wasn’t taken lightly, and is sincerely the last thing we wanted to do. We were still hopeful of going ahead until a few days ago. However, it has become increasingly clear that the current situation isn’t going away any time soon, and the health and safety of our guests, staff and the wider community at large has to come first.

“But never fear, we will come out the other side of this nightmare absolutely gagging for a part at Upcote Farm next year. We promise to deliver you the most amazing edition of 2000trees ever in 2021!”

As of now there is no news on the line-up for next year’s festival and whether any of this year’s acts will return to perform at next year’s festival. Organisers did reveal that all ticket purchases for this year’s event are automatically valid for next year’s event.

2000 Trees is the latest festival to announce its cancellation due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic that currently has a hold on the world. This comes after Latitude became the latest 2020 festival to be cancelled due to coronavirus. Both 2000 Trees and Latitude festival join the long list of high profile events to announce their cancellation including Glastonbury and Isle of Wight.

Hit The North 2020 will now take place on Sun 18 October.

We’ve worked very hard to keep the majority of our line up in tact including our headliner @dmasmusic. Plus @palewaves @Tim_Burgess and many more. Thanks to all the artists, their teams and most importantly you guys! pic.twitter.com/Ns5iyrsp4w

— Hit The North Festival (@hitthenorthfest) April 24, 2020

The one-day festival, which takes over venues across the city, will now take place on Sunday October 18 after being postponed due to coronavirus. In a statement festival organiser, Steve Davis, said: “In these difficult times for all of us, let alone the hospitality and events industry, I’m proud of our staff for managing to reschedule the vast majority of the line-up.

“I’m really excited for this year’s Hit The North Festival and once again, I thank you all for your support. It’s amazing to see all of the agents and artists support the event and hopefully we can all be together to celebrate defeating this terrible virus in October.”

As well as revealing that “almost all of the [festivals originally scheduled] line-up will remain intact”, organisers also revealed that they have added to that original line-up with the additions of Pale Waves and Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess.

The new additions will join an already stellar line-up that includes the likes of DMA’s, The Amazons, The Blinders, and Fickle Friends. The current additions make up for the loss of acts including Dream Wife and The Magic Gang, who are among those artists who no longer feature on the updated bill.

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// A L B U M 1 – L I S T E N I N G P A R T Y – F R I D A Y 7 P M B S T // L O V E #the1975

A post shared by The1975 (@the1975) on Apr 27, 2020 at 1:40pm PDT

The band announced the news on Instagram, but it is currently unclear as to what platform will be used to host the event. The band released their debut album, ‘The 1975′, on September 2, 2013 via Dirty Hit and Polydor Records, The band’s self-titled debut album was produced by Mike Crossey, who worked with the like of the Arctic Monkeys.

The album topped the UK Albums Chart on September 8 and was certified platinum in 2014 by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 300,000 copies. The album features the singles ‘Sex’, ‘Girls’, ‘Settle Down’, ‘Robbers’ and ‘Heart Out’.

Last week, The 1975‘s Matty Healy revealed that he’s self-isolating in the studio where the band made their last two albums, and is working on new music. Speaking to Annie Mac on Radio 1, while premiering The 1975’s new single ‘If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)’, Healy revealed he was working on new music.

Healy said: “Like everybody else, I’m in the same situation and taking it day by day. I feel really, really lucky to keep being able to do what I do, when so many people can’t. I’m just trying to not take that for granted.”

The announcement of the listening party comes after they revealed they new release date of their fourth studio album, ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’. The album was originally scheduled to be released, on February 21, 2o2o, but after a set-back it was then postponed until April 24. The band recently confirmed that the album will be released, on May 22, 2020.

The Killers have confirmed their planned UK and Ireland tour, which was in support of their new album ‘Imploding the Mirage’ and was set to kick off in late May, has been postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus crisis.

Addressing fans via Instagram Live, the American band’s drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. shared the news that the coronavirus pandemic has put the nine-date run of UK and Ireland shows on hold. “This thing keeps growing. Our first stop is the UK. This is what we’ve been preparing for. We’ve been thinking about this for over a year and all of a sudden we’ve had to slam on the brakes,” said Vannucci while addressing fans on a Instagram Live. 

A note about our UK and Ireland dates. pic.twitter.com/MpU3W4DPfo

— The Killers (@thekillers) April 24, 2020

In a formal statement released on social media, the band said: “UK and Ireland friends, We must postpone our UK and Ireland dates due to COVID. The single most important thing is that you all take care of yourselves and be safe and healthy. These are going to be the same great shows, but we have to move them to next year. All tickets will be honoured, so we really hope you will join us. If you can’t, please contact your ticket agent.”

The announcement comes days after the band revealed that they would be delaying the release of their sixth studio album, ‘Imploding the Mirage’. The album was originally set for release, on May 29, 2020, via Island, but “will be receiving a new release date in the coming weeks due to delays in finalizing the album,” according to a statement released by the band.

The band did make up for the disappointing news by giving fans another glimpse of what to expect from their upcoming album in the form of new track, Fire In Bone’. The Killers unveiled their new song, ‘Fire In Bone’, which is the second single from the forthcoming album, ‘Imploding the Mirage’. 

This is the second song the group has shared from their new LP, ‘Imploding the Mirage’, after the release of lead single ‘Caution,’ which features Lindsey Buckingham. The follow-up to 2017’s Wonderful Wonderful, ‘Imploding the Mirage’ features host of talent including Buckingham, Weyes Blood, K.D. Lang, War on Drugs’ Adam Granducil, Blake Mills and Lucius. It was produced by Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado and Shawn Everett.

The announcement came after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s press briefing, on April 23, in which she spoke about an emergence from lockdown. In an announcement made on the festival’s social media, organisers of TRANSMT said: “We are absolutely gutted to announce that due to the comments made by the First Minister of Scotland during the daily briefing on 23rd April, TRNSMT will be unable to go ahead as planned in July 2020.

pic.twitter.com/LqVfW4V0CO

— TRNSMT Festival (@TRNSMTfest) April 24, 2020

“We did not want to take this step but it is unavoidable. The health and safety of our fans, artists, staff and community will always be our top priority. We can confirm that next year’s festival will take place on the weekend of 9-11th July 2021.”

This years festival featured a stellar line-up including headliners Lewis Capaldi, Liam Gallagher and The Courteeners. This year’s bill was also set to feature performances from the likes of Foals, Snow Patrol, Keane, Sam Fender, Blossoms, Little Simz, Atich, Twin Atalntic, Rita Ora and Ian Brown. It is not yet known if the 2020 headliners will feature on next year’s bill.

Speaking about the line-up of next year’s festival, TRANSMT organisers said: “We are now working hard with all the artist teams to try to get the 2021 line-up as close to this year’s as we can and will be able to update on this fully over the next two weeks. We’d like to thank the artist teams for their hard work in helping us to try and achieve this.

“This 2021 line-up announcement will be made soon and you will be able to either hold on to your ticket and carry it over to next year’s festival in order to secure your place well in advance or request a refund. Your ticket provider will be in touch so look out for an email coming from them soon. Please only get in touch with them if you haven’t been contacted after 14 days as they are very busy at this time.”

The statement concluded, “Finally, TRNSMT would not be the amazing festival that it is, without YOU – our amazing audience so we thank you for your support. Stay at home, practice social distancing and stay safe. We will be back next year to celebrate like never before – see you all then!”

TRANSMT festival is the latest in a growing list of British festivals that are cancelling. This week, Ireland’s Longitude Festival and Derbyshire’s Y Not were added to that list of festivals that have had to cancel their 2020 editions due to the continuing coronavirus crisis.

Taking to Twitter to announce the rescheduled dates, Poppy wrote: “I Disagree UK / EU tour is back”. She advised her fans that tickets would go on sale, on Monday (April 20). The European leg of her tour will now begin, in Madrid, on November 19 and will conclude, in Pairs, on December 5.

I Disagree UK / EU tour is back. On sale Monday 10AM UK / 11AM EU @ https://t.co/3z2NC5zxeB pic.twitter.com/cyOQkSSsd0

— Poppy (@poppy) April 17, 2020

The US singer will then begin the UK leg of her tour, in Newcastle, on December 7. She then heads across the UK hitting venues in Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham before concluding the tour with a show, in London, on December 13.

The tour is in support of her album, ‘I Disagree’, which was released back in January. The genre-defying artist received a lot of praise for the album which caught the ears of Deftones and Bring Me The Horizon, both of whom took Poppy on tour.

Speaking about the album, Poppy said: “A lot of people who have written about the new music have said it’s metal and pop, but I think that’s because they like the juxtaposition of that. I’ve never said my music is metal, but I do listen to that music. To clarify: post-genre. Or prog rock or pop. We’re turning a new page.”

Poppy’s ‘I Disagree’ European Tour Dates:
19/11/2020 – Cool – Madrid
20/11 – L’hospitalet De Llobregat – Salamandra
23/11 – Santeria Toscana 31 – Milan
24/11 – Flex – Vienna
25/11 – Dynamo – Zurich,
26/11 Strom – Munich
28/11 – Columbia Theatre – Berlin
29/11 – Grüenspan – Hamburg
01/12 – Melkweg – Amsterdam
02/12 – Zeche Bochum – Bochum
05/12 – Trabendo – Paris

Poppy’s UK Tour Dates:
07/12 – Riverside – Newcastle
09/12 – Garage – Glasgow
10/12 – O2 Ritz – Manchester
11/12 – SWX – Bristol
12/12 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
13/12 – O2 Empire Shepherds Bush – London

Originally set to be held this year from July 23 to July 26, at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, in Cheshire, Bluedot’s organisers have now been forced to act as the coronavirus crisis continues. Bluedot is the latest festival to announce its cancellation following a string of similar announces from the UK’s biggest festivals and music events.

“Our teams have been working with partners and authorities to assess the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the festival. Although bluedot may still seem some time away, the virus and its associated effects are unlikely to ease for some months and it is important to us that any additional or unnecessary strain on medical services is avoided,” the organisers said in a statement, which can be seen in full below.

View this post on Instagram

A message from the bluedot team. discoverthebluedot.com

A post shared by bluedot festival (@bluedotfestival) on Apr 16, 2020 at 4:00am PDT

The statement continued: “This decision has been a necessary but difficult one to make as it affects not only our wonderful bluedot family of festival-goers and staff but also a large number of artists, performers, speakers, suppliers, traders and freelancers, many of whom have been hit hard during this period. Within our limited means, we will continue to do everything we can to support them and the wider sector during these difficult times.”

This year’s three headliners – Metronomy, Björk, and Groove Armada – have all confirmed their appearances at next year’s festival. They are set to be joined by many other artists and speakers from this year’s line-up.

The next Bluedot Festival will take place between July 22-25, 2021. Björk, Groove Armada and Metronomy will top the bill, while Bluedot say they are “working to transfer as many of 2020’s artists and speakers to Bluedot 2021 as possible”.

Among the tther acts, who were set to appear at Bluedot 2020 includ Spiritualized, Roisin Murphy, Squarepusher, Tangerine Dream, Ride, Daniel Avery, EOB (the solo project of Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien), Pussy Riot and Chk Chk Chk. Tickets for this year’s festival will automatically be transferred to 2021, but any ticketholders who can’t attend the 2021 festival will be entitled to a full refund on their ticket and any extras, including boutique camping.

“We are happy to confirm that our three Lovell Stage headliners – Björk, Groove Armada and Metronomy – will join us on these new dates, and we are working to transfer as many of 2020’s artists and speakers to bluedot 2021 as possible, alongside new additions.