The Youth Music Awards 2026 will take place at St George’s Hall in Liverpool on October 28, with five artists nominated for the Rising Star Artist Award, Rolling Stone UK reported. All nominees are Youth Music NextGen funded artists, highlighting how early support and access to music education programs help emerging musicians build careers.
The nominees include HULTON, a 22-year-old bilingual rapper who has built an independent discography with over 3 million streams and performed at Glastonbury and The Great Escape. Liverpool-born pop artist Livvy K released her debut EP with backing from Youth Music’s NextGen fund and has sold out her debut headline show, Rolling Stone UK reported.
London-based Marz Fay has built a 54-track independent catalogue from her bedroom studio, amassing over 1 million streams in the past year. Righteous Reck, also from London, leads youth music workshops across schools and community spaces, using production and songwriting to teach confidence and self-expression, according to Rolling Stone UK.
Salford’s Roukaya B, an audio production student, channels soul, jazz and rap into her work and has appeared at venues including the AO Arena and Aviva Studios. Livvy K, Righteous Reck and Roukaya B will perform live at the ceremony, Rolling Stone UK reported.
For more information, visit rollingstone.co.uk.