Breadcrumb Home News Grassroots Music In The Spotlight: YM... Posted: 17/10/2025 Copy URL https://www.youthmusic.org.uk/news/grassroots-music-spotlight-ymas-2025-recap Grassroots Music In The Spotlight: YMAs 2025 Recap Relive the biggest night in UK grassroots music! Performances, awards, and celebrating the heroes who keep the grassroots scene alive. Image credits: Tim Mitchell, Nic Serpell-Rand, Katie Ho, Jess Robinson, Jack Oliver. Posted: 17/10/2025 Copy URL https://www.youthmusic.org.uk/news/grassroots-music-spotlight-ymas-2025-recap Grassroots Music In The Spotlight: YMAs 2025 Recap Relive the biggest night in UK grassroots music! Performances, awards, and celebrating the heroes who keep the grassroots scene alive. Image credits: Tim Mitchell, Nic Serpell-Rand, Katie Ho, Jess Robinson, Jack Oliver. What a night!The Youth Music Awards, in association with Hal Leonard Europe, delivered the biggest and best show yet! Held at London’s Troxy with over 600 guests, the sixth annual ceremony celebrated the creativity, talent, and spirit of UK grassroots music. The night platforms the incredible youth music projects and NextGen artists that are pushing UK grassroots music forward. Moments that made the night There was an amazing performance from the night's biggest winner JayaHadADream, who picked up two awards. Her performance was incredible, switching effortlessly between quiet intensity and explosive power. The guests were treated to a brilliant video from Jordan Stephens, passing the grassroots hero award onto this year’s winners, English Teacher. Jordan was delighted to pass on the accolade but reminded the young band - who were formed in a Youth Music funded project – that his dedication to the prize went as far as tattooing Rescue the Roots onto his arm. The bar has been set high...All of the NextGen artists who took the stage showed the incredible talent that exists throughout the NextGen artists and funded projects. Rivkala briefly turned the awards into a cabaret night for her performance of “Chess”, her video for which won her the Music Video Award. ALT BLK ERA’s Nyrobi gave an incredible speech, talking about her story of overcoming illness to go on to win a MOBO this year with ALT BLK ERA. As a Youth Music NextGen Funded artist, Nyrobi said: We are Youth Music industry plants, and we are so proud of that. Nyrobi ALT BLK ERA The night was full of reminders of the power of grassroots music funding. Young Leader Award winner Miri Layzell-Calder, recognised for his work supporting queer and trans youth, said his experience at AudioActive as a teenager had saved his life. The night had an emotional but celebratory end as, departing CEO Matt Griffiths was recognised with the only surprise award of the night. Matt was presented with the Exceptional Leader Award for his fantastic stewardship of Youth Music since 2012, and he accepted his award with an all too brief dance. And the winners are... Image Image Inspirational Music Leader Award sponsored by the MU: Charlie Baxter Outstanding Project Award sponsored by Rocksteady Music School: Soundabout Rising Star Award (Industry) supported by People’s Postcode Lottery - RightKeysOnlySocial Action Award sponsored by Hal Leonard Europe - Art Against Knives - The LAB Young Leader Award supported by Arts Council England - Miri Layzell-Calder Lyricist Award sponsored by PRS for Music - JayaHadaDream Music Producer Award in memory of Maxi Jazz - Afromerm Music Video Award supported by NOTION - Rivkala Original Track Award (Group) sponsored by Marshall Amplification - Dia Day & Shogun Shato Original Track Award (Solo) sponsored by DMS Vinyl - Coupdekat Rising Star Award (Artist) supported by Pirate - JayaHadADream Rescue the RootsThese are they very roots that our Rescue the Roots campaign is fighting to protect. The Awards shows what happens when young people get the chance to make and share music. But across the UK, too many are losing that chance. Two in five grassroots youth music projects are at risk of closure, that’s a 17% rise since last year. These are the places where the next generation write their first songs, find their community and discover their voice. We’ve reached 73% of our target of £1m - but there’s still more to do. Help us finish what we started. Help us Rescue the Roots Our New Grassroots Hero!We were delighted to crown English Teacher as the Grassroots Heroes for 2025. This is not English Teacher’s first Youth Music Award, they picked up Rising Star Award (Artist) in 2022 – how right we were. Youth Music were there for me at a time when I was struggling to find a way to keep pushing towards a career in music. Through financing vital regional support networks like Come Play With Me and Music: Leeds, and through personally hiring me to explore my interest in music journalism, to giving us the Rising Star (Artist) Award in 2022, I’m really grateful to them for being such an important part of my personal and the band’s evolution. Lily Fontaine English Teacher Thank you to our sponsorsThis year’s awards were supported by a fantastic lineup of partners championing grassroots music across the UK. Sponsors included: Hal Leonard Europe, Pirate, Levi’s, DMS Vinyl, PRS for Music, The Musicians’ Union, Marshall Amplification, NOTION, Rocksteady Music, Sony Music, RSL Awards, Ticketmaster, Wingstop, Arts Council England, and players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. Meet the judges This year’s awards were judged by an incredible panel, including Tinie Tempah, DJ/producer I. Jordan, singer-songwriter Ellie Dixon, broadcaster and Youth Music Ambassador Jodie Bryant, BBC Introducing’s Jess Iszatt, BBC Radio 1’s Maia Beth, and Abbie McCarthy. The panel was unanimous in their praise, impressed by the talent, creativity, and dedication of our NextGen artists and funded projects. Our NextGen Team Each year, we bring together a NextGen Team of 18–25-year-old creatives to help deliver the Youth Music Awards, working alongside experienced industry professionals. These roles - from hosting, video editing, and content creation and more - provide invaluable hands-on experience across the many pathways in the music industry, helping to diversify the sector and open doors for the next generation. It's important to us that these roles are all paid above the London Living Wage. This year’s NextGen Team brought passion, energy, talent and loads of fresh ideas. We’re so grateful to them for making the event so special. A huge thank you goes to Wingstop for funding these roles and supporting the next generation of industry talent. Our Hosts The Awards were hosted by Max Wood and Melissa Dee, whose energy, humour, and charisma kept the night buzzing from start to finish. Nakeira Westmass and Chloe Nattrass took the roles of our backstage presenters, chatting with VIP guests, nominees and winners, sponsors and guests on the red carpet throughout the night. After Party We were lucky enough to have DJ Pebz on the decks for the after party this year, and she ensured everyone was dancing right to the end. A huge thank you to Wingstop, who kept the crowd fuelled with delicious food throughout the after party.
