2026 Music Photography Awards: Oasis, Charli XCX and More

Music Photography Awards 2026 spotlight Oasis, Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., Geese, and the photographers freezing unforgettable moments in time.

A snapshot of a big year for music photography

There’s something wonderfully magical about a great concert photograph. One frame can hold the roar of a crowd, the sweat of a set, and the split second when an artist seems to float above the stage. The 2026 Music Photography Awards nominees understand that feeling—and this year’s shortlist is packed with images that make live music feel wonderfully close again.

The nominees for the fifth Abbey Road Music Photography Awards have now been announced, with striking images of Oasis, Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., Geese, and many more artists represented across the categories.

The 2026 ceremony will take place on September 24. The awards celebrate music photography while giving greater visibility to the talented people working behind the lens. After all, musicians may command the stage, but photographers are the ones who help preserve the moment long after the amplifiers have gone quiet.

This year’s competition received more than 24,500 image submissions from 42 countries. That’s an enormous pool of work, covering artists and scenes that stretch from stadium-scale performances to intimate backstage encounters.

Among the photographed musicians are Oasis, Charli XCX, Florence + The Machine, FKA Twigs, Fontaines D.C., Ho99o9, Yungblud, Kendrick Lamar, Tame Impala, Billy Idol, Lambrini Girls, Warren Ellis, Sombr, Billie Marten, Amyl and the Sniffers, and Geese.

That range is part of the fun. One minute, you’re looking at a huge pop spectacle; the next, you’re peeking into a shadowy club or catching a candid moment away from the stage. It’s a reminder that music photography isn’t one single visual language—it’s a whole noisy, colorful dialect.

The honors already announced

Before the main winners are revealed, two major honors have already been awarded.

New York-based photographer Roberta Bayley will receive the ICON award for her work documenting the influential punk movement of the 1970s. Her photographs include images of Iggy Pop, the Ramones, Debbie Harry and Blondie, Richard Hell, the Sex Pistols, and other defining figures from that era.

Bayley’s work carries the raw electricity of punk: imperfect, immediate, and impossible to fake. These are not polished distance shots. They feel like they were taken from inside the chaos, right where the action was happening.

Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Sukita worked with David Bowie for more than 44 years, photographing the cover of Bowie’s Heroes album and creating era-defining images of Iggy Pop, Marc Bolan, Joe Strummer, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and David Sylvian.

That kind of career gives the award a deep sense of history. Sukita’s photographs are tied to artists whose visual identities became almost as memorable as their music. Think of an album cover that lives in your memory before you’ve even pressed play—that’s the kind of lasting image these honors recognize.

One category puts the public in the frame

The Music Moment of the Year category is the only section decided by a public vote. Its nominees include Harriet T K Bols, who photographed Oasis backstage during their Live ’25 shows at Wembley; Jenn Devereaux, who captured Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl; and Jack Oliver, whose photograph shows Charli XCX burning the “brat” flag at Glastonbury Festival.

The shortlist also includes Joshua Halling’s Oasis image and Jessie Morgan’s photograph of Lambrini Girls. The public vote is open now through the official awards voting page: cast your vote here.

There’s a particular thrill in voting for a music photograph. You’re not simply choosing the sharpest image or the biggest artist. You’re choosing the frame that made you feel something—perhaps the one that brought back the rush of a festival, the glow of a stadium, or that slightly chaotic moment when everything suddenly clicked.

Other nominees include Lewis Evans, recognized for a behind-the-scenes photograph of Geese; Tom Pallant, nominated for his images of Yungblud; Charlie Barclay Harris, shortlisted for live photographs of Fontaines D.C.; and Jamie Wdziekonski, nominated for photographs of Amyl and the Sniffers.

A judge praises the quality of the shortlist

Head Judge Rankin says the 2026 awards have produced an especially strong field.

“2026 feels like the strongest year yet for the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards. The quality of the work entered was genuinely exceptional—not just technically brilliant, but full of energy, emotion and a real point of view.”

“Judging was incredibly tough. Getting down to just five finalists in each category meant leaving out so many images that deserved to be recognised, which says everything about the standard this year. Music photography is in a really exciting place right now, and these awards are a brilliant snapshot of that.”

— Rankin

The finalists’ images in the Music Moment of the Year category are being displayed at Outernet London from 1:30 p.m. on September 8 through September 14. Visitors can also vote on-screen at the exhibition, giving the public a chance to see the images in person before choosing a favorite.

And seeing these photographs on a large display feels fitting. A phone screen can show you a moment, but a towering exhibition image lets you step into it.

The complete 2026 nominee list

Portrait

• Frances Carter – Billie Marten
• Jamie-Lee Culver – Aynjel
• Wanda Martin – Billy Idol
• Daniel Rojas – The OGM – Ho99o9
• Manuel Vazquez – Warren Ellis

Festivals — supported by DHL

• Viktória Erdős – Palaye Royale
• Danny North – Download Festival, Humans of Download
• Giulia Spadafora – Glastonbury Festival – Audience
• Ian Zandi – The Killing Floors
• Jake Zaoutis – Hey, Nothing

Music Moment of the Year — supported by Outernet London

• Harriet T K Bols – Oasis
• Jenn Devereaux – Kendrick Lamar
• Joshua Halling – Oasis
• Jessie Morgan – Lambrini Girls
• Jack Oliver – Charli XCX

Emerging Photographer of the Year — supported by adidas

• Frances Carter – Gin Wigmore
• Bryce Glenn – Sombr
• Natalia Peralta – Nicholas y los fumadores
• Dara Petrova – Techno rave Laboratorium
• Isaac Wheatley – Mikael

Behind the Scenes — supported by Abbey Road

• Olly Bromidge – Matt Molotov
• Sophie Buckley – Black Honey
• Lewis Evans – Geese
• Caity Krone – Kevin Parker / Tame Impala
• Gabrielle Ravet – My Chemical Romance fans

Underground Scenes

• AF Cortes – Audience at Kartel Show
• Andrea Gonar – Ruido en casa
• Geoffrey Nicholson – Spunk
• Suzanne Phoenix – Private Function at Gold Street
• James Streiker – Rosanna

Live Music — supported by Hydro Flask

• Charlie Barclay Harris – Fontaines D.C.
• Rhys Bennett – Battlesnake
• Lewis Evans – Oasis
• Tom Pallant – Yungblud
• Rico Suhr – Dr.VENUS

Guest category: 50 Years of Punk

• Joe Hughes – Sonic Youth
• Wayne Large – Members of various punk bands
• Keith Marlowe – The Black Halos
• Gerard McNamara – Bauhaus, Peter Murphy
• Jamie Wdziekonski – Amyl and the Sniffers

Judges Choice

• Matt Auger – Substandards
• Carlos Avendano – Lisa Alvarado
• Scarlett Carlos Clarke – Self Esteem
• Autumn de Wilde – Florence + The Machine
• Angus Jenner – Oasis
• Sacha Lecca – FKA Twigs
• Tom Pallant – Yungblud

Previously announced honors

• ICON: Roberta Bayley
• LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Masayoshi Sukita

A growing photographic legacy

The 2026 shortlist follows previous editions that have helped bring music photography to a much wider audience. The 2025 awards included memorable photographs of Nile Rodgers, Djo and Joe Keery, as well as Julia Cumming of Sunflower Bean.

In 2024, more than two million visitors attended the Outernet exhibition of Music Photography Awards images. Several photographers who had been nominated also went on to secure high-profile shoots and new professional opportunities.

That impact is important. A nomination can do more than add a line to a résumé; it can place a photographer’s work in front of people who might otherwise never see it. For emerging artists behind the camera, that kind of exposure can open a very real door.

The first edition of the awards took place in 2022. Among its winners was Eric Johnson, who received the ICON award for his legendary photographs of New York’s hip-hop scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His subjects included Biggie Smalls, Aaliyah, Nas, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, and many other influential artists.

From punk clubs and underground shows to major festival stages and unforgettable pop performances, the awards have steadily built a visual archive of modern music. The 2026 nominees continue that tradition, preserving the moments fans talk about long after the final encore.

The 2026 Music Photography Awards shortlist proves that a photograph can be more than a record of what happened. It can be the memory itself—the flash of Oasis backstage, the theatrical heat of Charli XCX, the intensity of Kendrick Lamar, or the beautifully unruly energy of a packed crowd. Which image would you choose as your Music Moment of the Year?

FAQ

• When will the 2026 Music Photography Awards ceremony take place?
  The ceremony is scheduled for September 24, 2026.
• How many images were submitted for the 2026 awards?
  More than 24,500 images were submitted by photographers from 42 countries.
• Which category is decided by the public?
  Music Moment of the Year is the only category selected through a public vote.
• Where can visitors see the finalist photographs?
  The Music Moment of the Year finalists are on display at Outernet London from September 8 through September 14, with voting available on-screen at the exhibition.
• Who will receive the 2026 ICON and Lifetime Achievement honors?
  Roberta Bayley will receive the ICON award, while Masayoshi Sukita will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

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