With the entire music industry deciding they’re allowed to go outside again in 2021, it’s no surprise that the year came with its own massive surge of musical moments. From Jack White christening the new London branch of his Third Man Records stores with a performance to the streets of Soho from Damien Hurst’s balcony, to actual progress on the Free Britney campaign, to the absolute carnage that was Kanye West’s album rollout for Donda. But according to the BandLab NME Awards 2022, the music moment of the year came from ex-Oasis/ex-Beady Eye/general Britpop frontman Liam Gallagher and an iconic set at London’s O2 arena; what made the gig special however was its dedication to the UK’s NHS workers during the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing them free access to the exclusive event.
It’s an honour to announce that I will be doing a gig for the NHS and careworkers at London’s TheO2 on October 29th. They do an incredible job, we are very lucky to have them. LG x pic.twitter.com/iRfb2RNNNy
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) April 10, 2020
Featuring a career-spanning set of 20 songs consisting of mainly Oasis covers, Gallagher transformed the struggle of lockdown and COVID into a nationwide reassurance that everything will eventually be okay; with no shortage of thanks to those who have dedicated the most time and effort to the cause, the countries NHS workers. Support slots from Primal Scream and Black Honey ensure the evening will come with all the force an Indie-Britpop fusion could offer. As well as old Oasis classics like ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Supersonic’, ‘Morning Glory’, and ‘Live Forever’ Gallagher also triumphantly bounced through some of his genuinely great solo material. ‘Wall of Glass’ and ‘Once’ outshine any of the material he wrote back in the day by quite a significant margin. All in all, a pretty good gig.
Set for March 2nd, the self-proclaimed “wildest night in music” will be hosted at London’s iconic O2 Brixton Academy, tickets to the event are still available and you can find more information here. With hosting expertise from comedian Daisy May Cooper and grime star Lady Leshurr the evening will feature a range of performances from Bring Me The Horizon, Same Fender, Griff, Rina Sawayama, BERWYN, and the recently announced collaboration of Chvurches and The Cure frontman Robert Smith. Many other surprises are bound to crop up throughout the night, so watch this space for more information soon.
Other artists already confirmed to receive awards this year include: FKA Twigs being crowned is year’s Godlike Genius, Halsey will take home the Innovation Award, and Jack Antonoff has already bagged the Songwriter Award, full information on this year’s nominees can be found here. You can also cast your vote on the Hero of the Year, and Villain of the Year categories here.
