Abbey Road Reveals Finalists For Fifth Edition Of Music Photography Awards | News

Abbey Road reveals finalists for fifth edition of Music Photography Awards.

The ceremony was set up to honour the power of the image with music storytelling, and the fifth edition of the Music Photography Awards takes place at the historic Abbey Road Studios in London on September 24th.

In all, over 24,500 images were submitted from across 42 different countries for this year’s awards. Among the global artists that feature within the finalist images this year 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.

Amongst the categories on show, the public are able to vote for one in particular: Music Moment Of The Year.

Supported for the fourth year by Outernet London, the finalists are: Harriet T K Bols with her photo of Oasis sharing a quiet moment at their penultimate Wembley show; Jenn Devereaux’s image of Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl Halftime Show; Jack Oliver’s snapshot of Charli xcx burning down the brat flag at Glastonbury Festival; Jessie Morgan’s shot of a seismic Lambrini Girls gig; and Joshua Halling, capturing an Oasis fan moment in the middle of a colossal crowd.

The winner of the Music Moment Of The Year category will be decided by public vote, which is now open here.

In addition to this, finalists’ photos are on display at Outernet London from 1.30pm today until September 14th, with Music Moment of the Year on-screen voting also available at the exhibition.

Head Judge Rankin says: “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.”

Please find the full list of finalist images for the MPAs 2026 below.

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 (Headline Partner)
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 (BTS) – 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 Cortés – 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

Invited Categories (nominated and chosen by the judging panel):
Judges Choice
Matt Auger – Substandards
Carlos Avendaño – Lisa Alvarado
Scarlett Carlos Clarke – Self Esteem
Autumn de Wilde – Florence + The Machine
Angus Jenner – Oasis
Sacha Lecca – FKA Twigs
Tom Pallant – Yungblud

ICON (previously announced) 
Roberta Bayley

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT (previously announced) 
Masayoshi Sukita