Twelve artists from across the UK and Ireland have been shortlisted for the 2025 Mercury Prize.

With nominees spanning across genres – from rock and pop to country to jazz and hip-hop – the prestigious award continues to have one of the most diverse collections of nominees when it comes to music awards.

Wolf Alice, nominated for their fourth album, The Clearing, became the first act ever to be nominated for their first four albums. Pulp, with More, their first album in 21 years, are nominated—they took home the Mercury Prize in 1996 with their album, Different Class.

Also on the rock path are Sam Fender with his latest album People Watching and Fontaines D.C. with their record Romance.

Other nominees include FKA twigs with Eusexua, CMAT with Euro Country, rapper Pa Salieu for his mixtape Afrikan Alien, jazz pianist Joe Webb for Hamstrings & Hurricanes, and folk artist Martin Carthy for Transform Me Then Into A Fish, who becomes the oldest ever Mercury Prize nominee at 84.

Rounding out the list are the PinkPantheress mixtape Fancy That, Scottish singer Jacob Alon’s album In Limerence, and singer and DJ Emma-Jean Thackray’s Weirdo.

The 2025 Mercury Prize will, for the first time, leave London and take place at Utilita Arena in Newcastle on Thursday, 16 October.

In a statement, Jo Twist, CEO of the British Phonographic Industry—the body behind the Mercury Prize—said of this year’s nominees (per Reuters), “I think it is fantastic to see such an eclectic mix of genres, but also the diversity of artists, including careers that spanned decades to artists who are emerging.”

Of the move to Newcastle, Twist added, “The move to Newcastle is very exciting for us. It’s a city that has an amazing musical heritage and musical culture. What makes British music so brilliant is its diversity. It’s from all over the country, but opportunity isn’t necessarily [distributed] all over the country.”

The winner of the 2024 Mercury Prize was indie rock band English Teacher, who took home the award with their debut album, This Could Be Texas.

As The Guardian notes, acts including CMAT, FKA twigs, Fontaines D.C. and Sam Fender have been nominated for the Mercury Prize with previous outings.

Wolf Alice and Pulp have each won the award once, and with four repeat nominations, Wolf Alice have only been bested by Radiohead and Arctic Monkeys, who have been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize five times apiece.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mercury Prize (@mercuryprize)