Abbey Road Music Photography Awards announce 2026 finalists

The finalists have been introduced for the 2026 version of the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards this month.

The awards, which have been working since 2022, acquired over 24,500 submissions from 40 totally different nations in 2026, 25 per cent greater than final 12 months.

It has already been revealed that Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita will win the Lifetime Achievement Award, whereas the judging panel for 2026 will embody RAYE and Nile Rodgers.

Included within the checklist of finalists for this month’s awards (held at Abbey Road on September 24) are photographs of Oasis, Charli XCX, Florence + the Machine and extra. See the complete checklist of nominees beneath.

PIC

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 Okay 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 followers

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 class: 50 Years of Punk

Joe Hughes – Sonic Youth
Wayne Large – Members of assorted 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 Avendano – Lisa Alvarado
Scarlett Carlos Clarke – Self Esteem
Autumn de Wilde – Florence + The Machine
Angus Jenner – Oasis
Sacha Lecca – FKA twigs
Tom Pallant – Yungblud

ICON

Roberta Bayley

Head decide Rankin commented: “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.”

Abbey Road Managing Director Sally Davies added: “It’s been wonderful to see how warmly the music photography community has embraced the MPAs, and to watch that community grow year after year. The extraordinary response reminds us just how much brilliant talent there is behind the lens, and how important it is to create opportunities for that work to be seen and celebrated. From the awards themselves, to our first Music Photography Festival in New York, we’re incredibly proud to be bringing people together around this unique art form and to see the MPAs becoming a genuinely global celebration of music photography.”