A selection of nominees for the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize will be joining Tim Burgess online for his immensely popular Twitter Listening Parties, ahead of the winners being announced. The selected nominees are Laura Marling, Moses Boyd, Georgia, Anna Meredith, Porridge Radio, Lanterns on the Lake and Sports Team. The winners will be announced on September 24.
#TimsTwitterListeningParty pic.twitter.com/8O0GkRf0Se
— Tim’s Listening Party (@LlSTENlNG_PARTY) August 28, 2020
#TimsTwitterListeningParties have only gained in popularity throughout the duration of lockdown. Tim Burgess initially brought them back at the height of isolation, and they proved to be one of the best ways that social media could be used as a force for good. There have been at least 400 Listening Parties – at least one almost every night since March 23 2020, when they kicked off with the Charlatans’ Some Friendly.
The premise is that everyone puts an album on at the same time and then a commentary is produced by a number of people who were responsible for putting the album together. These range from the informative to the hilarious, and Bonehead always cries when he comes to the end of hosting a Listening Party. At the same time, you can ask questions or share opinions in real time.
It’s also worth noting that there is a degree of excitement that you get when you know that all over the world people are listening to the same album at the same time. In the absence of live music, knowing that everyone is going to put on a great song at the same time feels like a unifying event. Each Listening Party is then available forever at https://timstwitterlisteningparty.com/, where the tweets are archived in the order that they were sent out.
Digging even deeper into archive for this one — original demos, all sorts https://t.co/u9AJYCAbgz
— Sports Team (@SportsTeam_) August 28, 2020
The 2020 Mercury Prize nominees were announced earlier this month. Other than the ones listed above, they are Charli XCX, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka, Dua Lipa and Stormzy. This year, for the first time ever, there are more female solo artist nominees than male.
This is Laura Marling’s fourth Mercury Prize nomination, so she comes in at joint second for the most nominations ever, alongside PJ Harvey and Arctic Monkeys. The group who have been nominated most in the Prize’s 29-year history are Radiohead, who have had five albums up for the Prize. Stormzy’s Heavy Is the Head, on the other hand, is the grime star’s first ever nomination. Everything you need to know about the 2020 Prize is here.
Like everything, the Mercury Prize has had to do a little adapting this year. What you can expect on the day of the awards is a whole lot of great TV and radio coverage from the Mercury Prize partner BBC Music, in place of a live event. This isn’t completely confirmed yet, but in the meantime, you can get involved in the Listening Parties to get excited! Times and dates are below.
Wednesday 2 September 2020
8pm – Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter
9pm – Moses Boyd – Dark Matter
Thursday 3 September
7pm – Georgia – Seeking Thrills
8pm – Anna Meredith – Fibs
9pm – Porridge Radio – Every Bad
Wednesday 9 September
8pm – Lanterns on the Lake – Spook the Herd
Thursday 10 September
9pm – Sports Team – Deep Down Happy
