Liam Gallagher's tambourine grin and Charli XCX says bye to Brat - Music Photography Awards 2026 shortlist — SkimNews
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- Abbey Road Music Photography Awards announced its 2026 shortlist of 40 finalists across 8 categories, selected from more than 24,500 submissions from 42 countries.
- Oasis's 2025 reunion tour features prominently, with one finalist image capturing a single fan amid the swirling River Plate stadium crowd in Buenos Aires and another showing Liam and Noel Gallagher sharing an off-mic moment at their penultimate Wembley show.
- Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show and Charli XCX's Glastonbury set are among the music moment of the year nominees, alongside Fontaines DC at an Irish festival, Tame Impala on a music-video set, and emerging photographer favorite Sombr.
- FKA Twigs was selected out of competition for a judges' award — a shot of her and her dancers letting out a collective primal scream while headlining the queer-celebrating LadyLand Festival in Brooklyn.
- This year's guest category celebrates 50 years of punk, with special recognition going to photographers Roberta Bayley and Masayoshi Sukita on the night.
- Rankin, head judge and British photographer/director, called 2026 "the strongest year yet," citing entries that were "not just technically brilliant, but full of energy, emotion and a real point of view."
- All finalist photographs will display in the LED tunnel at Outernet London from 8–14 September, with fan voting live online and in person, and winners announced at the Abbey Road Studios ceremony on 24 September.
Why it matters: The 24,500 submissions from 42 countries — in the awards' fifth year — represent a scale that head judge Rankin explicitly called "the strongest year yet," signaling music photography's growing reach as a recognized visual discipline. The September 24 ceremony at Abbey Road Studios will award winners across categories spanning Super Bowl halftime shows to underground Melbourne punk gigs, giving emerging photographers a platform alongside established acts.
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