The 21-year-old singer won double accolades including the UK Independent Breakthrough award in association with YouTube and Best Independent Album in association with Spotify for Collapsed in Sunbeams, her debut release. The “Black Dog” singer also won at last year’s ceremony; Parks took away the One to Watch award during the 2020 event. The artist is no stranger to accolades and acclaim, during this year’s Brit Awards Park won the Best New Artist award. in 2020 she also won the BBC Introducing Artist of the Year and was shortlisted for the Hottest Record of the Year for “Black Dog”.

Parks had this to say concerning her multiple wins at the 2021 AIM Independent Music Award event. The singer describes her gratitude to her fans and expresses joy for her music’s importance during these recent uncertain times. “I want to say a big big thank you to my fans, to my team, I’m grateful to be growing every day as an independent artist and this period has been so difficult, so chaotic and so confusing, so to be able to bring people light in this time of need has been really special.”

Parks was not the only artist to win two awards at this year’s ceremony, ENNY also won more than one award. The multitalented English artist took home the Best Independent Track award in association with Facebook for her 2020 single “Peng Black Girls” and the One to Watch prize in association with BBC Music Introducing. The 26-year-old singer has also spoken about her double win. “Very very very unexpected, especially how early on everything has started happening, so I’m just really filled with a lot of gratitude. Wanna big up my team and everyone that’s been a part of this journey so far. Thank you!”

Other winners from this year’s event include Jayda G who won International Breakthrough in association with Deezer, Fontaines D.C. who won Best (Difficult) Second Album in association with BBC Radio 6 music for their album A Hero’s Death. The Best Independent Remix in association with Soundcloud was awarded to the Eikka Remix of the Ela Minus track “megapunk“, the Best Independent Video in association with Vevo was prized to Wesley Joseph for 2021 track “Thrilla”, the UK indie label Forever Living Originals won the Best Independent Label award in association with Integral, another UK label Strut Records also won at this year’s event, they won the Best Small Label award in association with Believe. The quintet Working Men’s Club won the Best Creative Packaging award for their release Working Men’s Club, the PPL Award for most played new independent artist was bestowed to singer and producer Lauv, multi-talented artist Ben Böhmer took home the Best Live (Streamed) Act in association with On Air.

The award ceremonies do not just celebrate new talent but also honour influential artists, British producer and rapper Tricky scored the prestigious Pioneer Award in association with Fuga, legendary dub producer Adrian Sherwood was awarded the Innovator Award in association with Amazon Music and the Outstanding Contribution to Music in association with Merlin was taken home by Joan Armatrading CBE, Armatrading is a triple Grammy award nominee and highly acclaimed artist with a career spanning over 50 years. The Indie Champion award in association with MCPS was given to industry favourites Love Record Stores and Bandcamp and lastly, the Diversity Champion prize was given to Paulette Long OBE, an iconic figure within the music industry known for her work within musical education.

Arlo Parks will be returning to an awards stage next month for the Mercury Prize ceremony, Parks is nominated for her debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams. The singer will be performing at this year’s event alongside the ceremony’s other nominees, Parks will perform one of the shortlisted album’s tracks within the ceremony which will be broadcasted on various BBC channels.

The radio station will host their own stage across the festival’s weekend, held at London’s Victoria Park from 27th August until 30th August 2021. In accordance with current COVD-19 laws, ticket-holders will be required to supply proof of their COVID status to enter the event, a pass letter can be obtained from the NHS.  The new stage’s line-up includes Daphni, British DJ Shy FX, Octo Octa and Floor Plan. The stage’s highlights will be available on BBC Sounds for those unable to attend, performances and highlights will also be broadcasted on BBC Radio 6.

The new stage will not just feature a line-up of musical acts but will also feature a collection of the radio station’s DJ’s and hosts, each presenter will host a specially curated day, each boasting its own impressive line-up. The presenters billed to introduce, announce and entertain include BBC broadcaster Gilles Peterson, DJ and journalist Mary Anne Hobbs and Tom Ravenscroft, son of legendary DJ and broadcaster John Peel.

The festival has posted on their Instagram to announce the news to fans and ticket holders. The post also features the stage’s full line-up held across the weekend, detailing which day each presenter will curate.

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A post shared by All Points East (@allpointseastuk)

The new stage’s presenters have all stated their excitement to be included in the station’s new collaboration with All Points East festival. Saturday’s host, Giles Peterson, will broadcast his event from 3-6pm and has expressed his elation for the return of festivals this summer. “it’s so great to have festivals back and to be able to put together such a diverse line-up for the 6 Music stage at APE.” Mary Anne Hobb’s, responsible for the new stage on Monday, has also spoken on her ‘All Queens’ event, which features a line-up of full of female acts. “It’s such a joy to present the ‘All Queens’ line-up at All Points East ’21. Six of the most thrilling female DJs standing shoulder-to-shoulder, and playing right across the rich spectrum of electronic music.”

This August is not Ravenscroft’s first time curating an event, in September 2013 the DJ presented a 7-day series dedicated to new music called ‘In the Court of Tom Ravenscroft’. The British presenter and host of Friday’s event has spoken on his excitement to be involved in the Festival’s return within the following statement. “I’m absolutely stoked to have been asked to curate Friday’s 6 Music stage at this year’s All Points East, It’s such a treat to be able to invite along so many of my favourite artists. I mean, look at that line-up! It’s insane!”

The Assistant Commissioner for 6 Music, Camilla Pia has also provided the following statement concerning the announcement. ”I’m so excited that BBC Radio 6 Music is part of All Points East this summer, with our presenters Mary Anne, Gilles and Tom expertly curating the line-ups for the 6 Music Stage across the weekend. They have picked some of the most exciting DJs out there to complement what is already a stellar bill. It’s going to feel so special to be back at a festival again.”

The festival’s full line-up includes such acts as Oxford rockers Foals, singer Jorja Smith, 2021 Brit Award nominee Arlo Parks and hitmakers London Grammar. This year’s event will also see the return of The Firestone Stage, which has been an All Points East staple since the inception of the event. The stage has previously been accredited for its focus on new and exciting talent and has continued it’s concentration on music’s ones to watch this year, the stage’s line-up is full of up-and-coming acts such as Jelani Blackman, ELLES, Bearface and Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard.

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Spanning a diverse sonic palette of artists scattered across the globe, Breakthrough will focus on a varied array of country, indie, rap and R&B artists. Through forming a close-knit relationship with each performer, Breakthrough will create a long-term global plan customised specifically to the musicians’ tone, style and brand. Breakthrough will also offer artists support in their audio and visual content and global marketing.

For emerging artists like Jay1 and Arlo Parks, a collaboration with corporational giants Amazon is a massive help to their already thriving careers. Other notable artists handpicked for the exciting new programme include folk group Provinz, German singer Malik Harris, American country singer Gabby Barrett and R&B singer Kiana Ledé.

Kirdis Postelle, the Global Head of artist marketing for Amazon Music, released the following statement surrounding the Breakthrough campaign. Postelle maintains that “Amazon Music is uniquely positioned to support developing artists…By using all of Amazon’s marketing resources, Breakthrough campaigns will be true collaborations between the artist and Amazon Music. 

Amazon Music UK’s Head of Content Programming Chris Helsen concurred with “music culture is advanced by new artists innovating and pushing music forward with their unique creative visions. With Breakthrough, we’re making a long-term commitment to help the artist amplify their vision.”  With Breakthrough artists receiving an enhanced presence on Amazon playlists and programmes, Breakthrough will honour their pledge of widening the exposure of emerging artists like Arlo Parks and Jay1. 

Rising star Parks celebrated the good news on her official Instagram page today. Posting to her 48,000 followers a promotional clip explaining her music-making journey, Parks relayed her excitement at being a part of the Breakthrough team with the following caption: “I’ve been picked by @AmazonMusic as one of a handful of Breakthrough artists…Feeling excited and grateful to all you angels putting your faith in me.” Obtaining over 5,000 likes and views, Park’s post was met with excitement from fans. 

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I’ve got some news to share with y’all! I’ve been picked by @amazonmusic as one of a handful of Breakthrough artists. I’m on my 3rd coffee of the day, feeling excited for the future n grateful to all you angels putting ur faith in me. If ur proud of me drink a cup of water, actively invest in black artistry, do something nice for yourself today. Big loveeee.

A post shared by Arlo Parks (@arlo.parks) on Jul 15, 2020 at 9:59am PDT

Jay 1 also confirmed his upcoming collaboration with Amazon Music on social media. Writing on Twitter on the 15th of July, Jay1 stated “Happy to announce my partnership with @AmazonMusicUK and be their breakthrough artist of the year. New music coming soon!”

Hailing from Coventry, rapper and songwriter Jason André Juami burst onto the scene in 2017 with the widely popular song Your Mrs. Jay1’s confident, bold vocals and honest lyrics ensure the rapper as a double threat. Penning singles such as Black Dog and Eugene, London born poet Arlo Parks has a distinct tenderness to both her vocals and lyrics. Parks also recently covered Phoebe Bridgers’ Moon Song beautifully for her web series ‘lo-fi lounge’, that she began whilst quarantined.