The highly anticipated finalists for the 2026 Abbey Road Music Photography Awards have been unveiled this month. This annual event, which celebrates the art of music photography, has seen a remarkable surge in participation, receiving over 24,500 entries from 40 countries, marking a 25% increase from the previous year.
Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita is set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s ceremony. The judging panel will feature notable figures in the music industry, including RAYE and Nile Rodgers, who will evaluate the diverse range of submissions.
The awards ceremony will take place at the iconic Abbey Road Studios on September 24, 2026. Among the finalists are striking images capturing artists like Oasis, Charli XCX, and Florence + the Machine. Notably, Rolling Stone‘s own Sacha Lecca is nominated in the Judges Choice category for his captivating shots of FKA twigs during her performance at the Ladyland Festival.
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
Jessie Morgan
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 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
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 judge Rankin remarked, “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 recognized, which speaks volumes 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.”
This story was originally published by “Rolling Stone UK.”
