RAYE Wins the 2026 Mercury Prize

RAYE has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her album This Music May Contain Hope. — announced on Thursday 22 October at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle and hosted by Lauren Laverne for BBC Radio 6 Music.

I photographed her at Electric Picnic in Stradbally in 2024 as seen above in a strong performance at Ireland’s largest music festival.

Who she was up against

The shortlist was a crowded field: Dave, Galway’s Dove Ellis, Florence + The Machine, JADE, Knats, Kojey Radical, Nia Archives, Olivia Dean, Paul McCartney, Suede, and the War Child compilation HELP(2). RAYE’s record took it.

What she said

Collecting the prize she was clear about why the album mattered:

“Hope is just something that we all need. Music is that, music is medicine.”

She talked about believing in albums after years of single-chasing with a former label, and about wanting seven-minute songs, big-band sections and strings — “really indulgent” music, recognised on the night.

She played Dublin in March 2026 and will headline Werchter Boutique in Belgium on June 26, 2027, and Open’er Festival in Poland on July 3, 2027, with more sure to be announced in the coming months.