The Judges
The 2022 judging panel comprises of broadcasters, promoters and figures who all support live music from local artists around East Anglia.
GARY BROWN
Gary is the longest serving judge on the panel and continues to give up and coming bands the opportunity to perform on the J1 stage at Cambridge Junction but can also be found on stage himself as part of popular Ska band Big 10
NEIL JONES
Neil is a huge rock and metal head and hosts The Rock Show with Neil Jones on Cambridge 105 Radio. His role with Cambridge Live saw him at the heart of the city’s entertainment scene for almost 20 years, responsible for the Cambridge Corn Exchange and Cambridge Folk Festival. After a spell at the Royal Opera House, he’s now joined promoter AEG; handling tickets for events including BST and All Points East.
PHIL PETHYBRIDGE
Phil is a long-time supporter of unsigned music through the Den which appears each year at the Cambridge Folk Festival. He’s also a lecturer of music at Anglia Ruskin University and through his business Neon Street Touring hires luxury tour vans out to artists who wish to take their music across the country and into Europe as well as providing merchandising services.
JOE WEAVER
As well as being a prolific figure in the Bury St Edmunds music scene Joe currently manages 3 piece Alt Rock band Gaffa Tape Sandy who have recently completed a mini-tour of France and a bucket list-ticked set at Latitude.
REBECCA MAY
Rebecca caught the local music bug from interviewing bands as part of her studies in radio broadcasting at college. She joined Cambridge 105 Radio in 2014, regularly contributing to NMG and covering the show for Tim whilst he was away and then a year ago went on to become the latest host of BBC Music Introducing in Cambridgeshire. As someone who lives and breathes music, Rebecca is an ideal new addition to our panel.
CHARLIE DEAKIN-DAVIES
Charlie is someone who’s experienced both sides of the fence as far as The NMG Awards are concerned, winning the inaugural Producer of the Year award in 2017 and then a year later becoming joint recipients of the Breakthrough category with Hertfordshire band DIDI. Since then, she continued to further her production skills with a spell working for Gary Barlow and has recently teamed up on stage with NMG alumni Ellie Dixon.
Judging Process
Nominated artists are asked to submit up to two audio tracks or video that best represents their music. The judges listen to this as well as taking other elements in to account including live performance ability, how active the artist has been in the past year and how they interact with their fans through social media.