Porridge Radio have been shortlisted for one of the music industry’s highest accolades alongside the likes of Stormzy, Dua Lipa and Michael Kiwanuka

Brighton band Porridge Radio have been shortlisted for the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize. Their album Every Bad will compete alongside releases by industry heavy-hitters such as Stormzy, Dua Lipa and Michael Kiwanuka. The shortlist was announced on Lauren Laverne’s BBC Radio 6 Music show and the winner will be announced on 24 September.

Every Bad was released on 13 March 2020 to strong reviews – Brighton-based Guardian music critic Alexis Petridis called it “spiky, strange and uncompromisingly brilliant”. The band saw their promotional tour postponed. Instead, vocalist, lead guitarist and songwriter Dana Margolin hosted a number of live streams, including painting sessions and guitar lessons, and the band performed a live streamed concert for United We Stream (Brighton). All headline tour dates have been rescheduled for 2021.

Vocalist, lead guitarist and songwriter Dana Margolin said: “It’s pretty surreal to be nominated for the prize. This album took about three years to make, and it was a really emotionally draining and difficult process that constantly felt like it was going to fall apart. I’m so proud of how it turned out, and I’m happy that these songs have resonated with and mean something to other people. For it now to be nominated for the Mercury Prize is such an exciting, big step up for us.”

In announcing the shortlist, the judges hailed “the remarkable power of music to inspire and exhilarate. The albums on the 2020 shortlist share an irresistible urgency, a belief that their music matters more than ever.”

The band is next scheduled to play locally at the Rockaway Beach festival in Bognor Regis, 8-10 January.

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