Visitors to Outernet London will be able to see the 40 images shortlisted for this year’s Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, selected from a field of 24,500 entries and put on public display ahead of the ceremony on 24 September.
The Story in Pictures
The shortlist covers eight categories and collects work ranging from stadium reunion shows to intimate backstage snapshots. Among the finalists are images tied to high-profile moments — photographs of Oasis’s reunion performances and Charli XCX’s Glastonbury set sit alongside shots of Kendrick Lamar, Fontaines D.C. and Tame Impala.
Organisers will exhibit the shortlisted work in the venue’s LED tunnel at Outernet between 8 and 14 September. The display will also host ballot stations, and voting is open online through the Music Photography Awards and Abbey Road Studios websites, letting the public choose a fan-voted music moment of the year from five nominated images.
Rankin, the awards’ head judge, described the crop of entries as unusually strong, saying 2026 "feels like the strongest year yet" and adding, "The quality of the work entered was genuinely exceptional - not just technically brilliant, but full of energy, emotion and a real point of view."
The judging panel includes figures drawn from music and photography, with guests such as Chic guitarist and producer Nile Rodgers and singer Raye participating this year. In addition to the shortlist, judges have picked out-of-competition pictures to receive special judges’ awards, and photographers Roberta Bayley and Masayoshi Sukita will be honoured with special recognition at the event.
Selected images called out by organisers range from large-scale crowd portraits to quieter backstage encounters: Joshua Halling’s portrait of a lone Oasis fan in the River Plate audience in Buenos Aires, Harriet Bols’s backstage image of Liam and Noel Gallagher at Wembley, and Jack Oliver’s photograph of Charli XCX taking down a Brat flag at Glastonbury. Other finalists include Jenn Devereaux’s picture of Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl halftime show, Frances Carter’s sunset portrait of Billie Marten on horseback in Aotearoa, and Charlie Barclay Harris’s live shot of Fontaines D.C. framed against a ferris wheel in Ireland.
The shortlist also highlights work from emerging and underground scenes, with entries documenting metal rituals, punk club crowd surfing and behind-the-scenes moments on music video sets. The Outernet exhibition will be the first opportunity for the public to view the nominated images together before winners are announced at a ceremony at Abbey Road Studios on 24 September.
