The BBC Radio 6 Music Breakfast Show, Nick Grimshaw, sitting in for Lauren Laverne, has announced 6 Music’s Artists of the Year 2024.
Announced each November, the list features ten acts who, over the past year, have been championed by the station and have made a cultural impact.
The 6 Music Artists of the Year 2024 are (in alphabetical order):
Charli xcx
CMAT
English Teacher
Fat Dog
Fontaines D.C.
Jamie xx
Kim Gordon
Kneecap
Little Simz
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
CMAT says: "A 6 Music Artist of the Year? I’m CMAT and I approve this message! Having John Grant join me on stage for ‘Where Are Your Kids Tonight’ at the 6 Music festival in Manchester this year was - and I am not exaggerating - one of the highlights of my life x x"
English Teacher say: “We’re absolutely over the moon to be one of 6 Music’s Artist of the Year 2024. It means so much to us as a band. The station has been incredibly supportive over the last few years, ever since we launched our debut single back in 2021. We love you all and are excited to be one of your picks for 2024."
Fat Dog say: “Woof woof 6 Music. Ya dogs are rolling round on the floor in delirium that you’ve made us one of your Artists of the Year. Special woof for honorary slug Lammo for stalking us throughout 2024 . It’s been reassuring knowing we get to see your beautiful face in pits as we slime our way around the world.”
Fontaines D.C. say: “We’re delighted that 6 Music have picked us as one of their Artists of the Year. Thanks for all the support over the years.”
Jamie xx says: “Thank you 6 Music for picking me as one of their artists of the year. I’m very grateful for the support behind In Waves, it will always feel special to hear something of mine on the radio back home.”
Kim Gordon says: “Wow, so surprised to be included in this list of 10. Thanks for all the support over the years and for this record that’s so special to me. Thank you 6 Music !!”
Kneecap say: “We’re buzzing to be one of the 6 Music artists of the year. It’s especially important to us given our use of Irish language, and for it to be now fired out by the BBC thanks to you lot! We hope this inspires other artists using indigenous languages worldwide to be confident in their own identity.”
Little Simz says: “Thank you to 6 Music for your continuous support and for including me in your Artists of the Year. I appreciate the love always.”
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds say: “Thank you 6 Music for honouring us with this award - and for the incredible support that you have given to Wild God this year, and to us as band over the years. We are very happy to have made it onto your Artists of the Year list.”
Cam Pia, 6 Music’s music editor says: “6 Music is the home of the artist, we’re a place where they can tell their stories, create unique moments and dig deep into their output and creative process…and Artists of the Year is an opportunity to celebrate those acts who have culturally dominated 2024. Once again, the list features artists from across the musical spectrum and shows the exciting range and breadth of music we play. Some are at the beginning of their careers and some have been icons for decades. We’re really proud to be a part of their journeys and I’m looking forward to revisiting some of the moments we’ve created with them for listeners in 2024. Congratulations to all the artists on this year’s list.”
6 Music will celebrate its Artists of the Year 2024 with a range of programming, including:
Two shows, entitled 6 Music’s Artists of the Year - Part 1 and 6 Music’s Artists of the Year - Part 2, which are available on BBC Sounds now and will each explore five of the artists on this year’s list. Thursday’s programme will focus on CMAT, Charli xcx, English Teacher, Fat Dog and Fontaines D.C and Friday’s show will feature Jamie xx, Kim Gordon, Kneecap, Little Simz and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Programmes will also hear from famous fans of the Artists of the Year 2024, including Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers, Bobby Gillespie, Emily Eavis, Felix White, Joan As Police Woman, John Cooper Clarke, John Grant, Michael Fassbender, Rosie Lowe, Yannis Philippakis and many more, who share what they think makes these artists so special.
Artists of the Year themed editions of regular 6 Music features, including: Craig Charles’ Hymns of Simz (Tuesday 5th November, 1-4pm); Huw Stephens’ 6 Musicology on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Tuesday 5th November, 4-7pm); and, within the Breakfast Show (weekdays, 7.30-10.30am), a special edition of 6 Music Salutes celebrating Jamie xx (Tuesday 5th November) and a Desert Island Disco from English Teacher (Friday 8th November).
New interviews with Kneecap on Huw Stephens (Wednesday 6th November, 4-7pm) and Fat Dog on Craig Charles (Friday 8th November, 1-4pm).
In addition, Fat Dog’s entire Maida Vale performance, which was first broadcast on Steve Lamacq’s Teatime Session in September 2024 is now available for the first time in vision on BBC iPlayer as part of a 6 Music Artists of the Year collection. Also available within the BBC iPlayer collection are CMAT’s performance at the 6 Music Festival (March 2024), Little Simz’ Pyramid Stage set from Glastonbury Festival (June 2024), Fontaines D.C.’s Maida Vale performance on Steve Lamacq’s Teatime Session (July 2024), and Kneecap’s debut at Reading Festival (August 2024).
All radio programmes will be available on BBC Sounds after broadcast.
Charli xcx
English singer and songwriter Charli xcx kicked off 2024 with a record breaking Boiler Room set, PARTYGIRL, which saw the largest amount of RSVPs in the history of Boiler Room events. She released her sixth studio album Brat in June, which became a viral sensation and saw her nominated for a Mercury Prize in September. The video for her song 360 won Best UK Pop Video and Video of the Year at the UK Music Video Awards. Charli was also nominated at this year’s BRITs, MTV Video Music Awards and more. She performed at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Luton in May, and having just completed her SWEAT tour of North America with Troye Sivan, she will embark on her Brat 2024 arena tour of the UK in late November.
CMAT
Following the release of her second studio album Crazymad, for Me in October 2023, Irish alternative country artist CMAT has had an incredible 2024. It’s a year which has seen her nominated for a BRIT Award, an Ivor Novello Award and the Mercury Prize, and perform internationally with her California or Bust tour. Her festival appearances this year have included the 6 Music Festival in Greater Manchester – where she was joined on stage by John Grant to perform their song Where Are Your Kids Tonight for the first time together - Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Luton and many more. In May, CMAT joined Cerys Matthews on her show (Sundays, 10am-1pm) to share her favourite records and the stories that accompany them. She also presented a special programme for the station alongside actor and comedian Mawaan Rizwan in June, as part of 6 Music’s Loud & Proud season, which celebrates LGBTQ+ voices.
Tomorrow (Tuesday 5th November), Chris Hawkins (5-7.30am) will revisit his previous MySpace interview with CMAT (first broadcast in October 2023) in which she gives listeners an audio tour of her favourite place.
English Teacher
Alternative indie band from Leeds and Lancashire, English Teacher, comprising Lily Fontaine, Lewis Whiting, Nicholas Eden and Douglas Frost, won the Mercury Prize in September this year for their debut album, This Could Be Texas. Alongside festival appearances including at the 6 Music, Glastonbury and Swn Festivals, 2024 has seen the band play numerous international shows, as well as support IDLES on their US tour. The group performed a live session at Maida Vale Studios for Steve Lamacq’s show (Steve Lamacq’s Teatime Session, Mondays, 4-7pm) in April. Lily Fontaine also took over an episode of Indie Forever (Fridays, 9-11pm) in September.
On Friday 8th November, English Teacher join Nick Grimshaw on the Breakfast Show (7.30am-10.30am) to select tracks for this week’s Desert Island Disco.
Fat Dog
South London band Fat Dog (Joe Love, Chris Hughes, Morgan Wallace, Jacqui Wheeler and Johnny ‘Doghead’ Hutch) released their debut studio album, Woof, in September to critical acclaim. The band toured the UK in April and May of this year and in March made their US debut at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. They also performed their first ever radio session on Steve Lamacq’s Teatime Session at the start of the year and returned to perform again on Steve’s show as they launched Woof in September. The September session is now available to watch in its entirety for the first time on BBC iPlayer.
On Wednesday 5th November, in New Music Fix Daily (7-9pm), Tom Ravenscroft and Deb Grant will be explore the legendary South London venue The Windmill and the bands affiliated with it in their regular feature, Scene Spotlight. Fat Dog will join Craig Charles in conversation on Friday 8th November (1-4pm).
Fontaines D.C.
Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. (Grain Chatten, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan III, Tom Coll and Carlos O’Connell) released their fourth studio album, Romance, in August this year. The album reached Number 2 in the UK album charts and was the first of the band’s albums to chart in US Billboard 200. The group have just toured Romance across North America, with a series of UK and Ireland dates to follow later this month. They also recently won Best International Rock Video for their track Starburster at the UK Video Music Awards. The band performed their first radio session for Romance at Maida Vale Studios within Steve Lamacq’s Teatime Session (Mondays, 4-7pm) in July.
This week (Monday 4th – Thursday 7th November, 11pm-12am), 6 Music will broadcast Artist in Residence – Fontaines D.C., including new episodes hosted by the band, who first presented a series in 2022. They’ll take listeners on a journey into their musical soul, with each episode based around a different theme. A 6 Music Artist Collection (Tuesdays, 12am-5am) dedicated to Fontaines D.C. is also available now on BBC Sounds, featuring a mix of their live performances and interviews from the BBC archives, as well as highlights from their 2022 Artist in Residence series.
Jamie xx
September 2024 saw musician, DJ and producer Jamie xx release his second solo album, In Waves - his first in nine years. The record features collaborations with The xx members Romy and Oliver Sim, as well as Robyn, Honey Dijon, Erykah Badu and more. He is currently touring the album worldwide and his numerous festival appearances this year have included Pitchfork Festival in Chicago, Illinois and Glastonbury Festival in Somerset. In early September, ahead of the release of In Waves, Jamie joined Nick Grimshaw in conversation on the Breakfast Show (weekdays, 7.30am-10.30am) to discuss the making of the album.
Tomorrow (Tuesday 5th November, 7.30-10.30am), Nick Grimshaw, sitting in for Lauren Laverne, will dedicate the Breakfast Show’s regular feature, 6 Music Salutes, to Jamie xx, exploring the songs he has sampled in his work.
Kim Gordon
American musician and multi-disciplinary artist Kim Gordon, formerly of the rock band Sonic Youth, released her second solo studio album, The Collective, in March and has since been touring the album worldwide. Kim also performed on Glastonbury Festival’s Woodsies Stage in June. In March, ahead of the release of The Collective, Kim shared an exclusive audio diary with Mary Anne Hobbs (weekdays 10.30am-1pm) and listeners, in which she discussed the creation of the work. The same month, Kim also discussed the album with Deb Grant on New Music Fix Daily (Monday – Thursday, 7-9pm).
Kneecap
Irish hip hop group Kneecap (Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí) released their second studio album Fine Art in June this year, which reached Number One on the UK Hip Hop & R&B Albums chart and Number Two on the Irish Official Album Chart. The release came just before the band performed at Glastonbury Festival. In July, Kneecap performed a session at Maida Vale Studios on New Music Fix Daily (Monday – Thursday, 7-9pm). The trio’s film, Kneecap, which is a fictional account of their rise to fame and features the group themselves, alongside Michael Fassbender, was released in August and picked up the NEXT Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival.
There’ll be another chance to hear highlights from Kneecap’s New Music Fix Daily session on tonight’s (4th November) edition of the show (7-9pm). Kneecap will join Huw Stephens for an hour-long takeover of his show on Wednesday 6th November (4-7pm).
Little Simz
The multi-award winning rapper Little Simz released her latest EP Drop 7, towards the beginning of 2024. She performed her biggest Glastonbury set to date in June, taking to the Pyramid Stage on the Saturday night of the festival ahead of Coldplay, who she collaborated with on their August 2024 single, We Pray. In March, following the announcement that she would be playing Glastonbury, Little Simz appeared on Lauren Laverne’s Breakfast Show (weekdays 7.30am-10.30am) to discuss her Glastonbury journey and her plans for her 2024 performance. Little Simz was also nominated for three BRIT Awards this year - British Album of the Year, British Artist of the Year and Best Hip-Hop/Grime/Rap Act - adding to her four nominations and win for Best New Artist in 2022.
On Tuesday 5th November (12-5am), 6 Music’s Artist Collection will celebrate Little Simz. The Artist Collection will feature another chance to hear: In Their Own Words: Little Simz (12-1am), with highlights from her sessions and interviews on the BBC; Little Simz’ episode of Wise Women (1-3am) in which she shares some of her favourite tracks; Little Simz Live (3-4am) featuring her performances recorded by the BBC over the years; and The Little Simz Playlist (4-5am), including her music, and its roots and branches. Later that day, Craig Charles (weekdays 1-4pm) will play the Hymns of Simz – three back-to-back Little Simz tracks, including live performances from the BBC Archive.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
August this year saw the Australian musician, writer and actor Nick Cave release Wild God, his eighteenth studio album, which he produced alongside the musician, composer and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds member, Warren Ellis. Nick is currently touring arenas across the UK and Europe and will take his Wild God tour to the US in 2025. The day before the release of Wild God, Nick joined Mary Anne Hobbs for an extended interview on her weekday morning show (10.30am-1pm) to discuss the album, which he began writing on New Year’s Day in 2023.
Tomorrow (Tuesday 5th November, 4-7pm), Huw Stephens brings listeners a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds themed 6 Musicology - Huw’s regular feature which gets under the hood of how the songs listeners love are made.
6 Music’s Artists of the Year launched in 2023. The 2023 Artists of the Year were Antony Szmierek, blur, boygenius, Christine and the Queens, Gabriels, Loraine James, Nia Archives, Say She She, The Last Dinner Party and Young Fathers.
