We're thrilled to confirm the winners from our inaugural Abbey Road Studios Music Photography Awards 2022 in association with Hennessy, following a glittering awards ceremony at the studios on Saturday 14 May.

In the awards’ open categories, the winner of Championing Scenes supported by Hennessy, is Northern Irish photographer Megan Doherty, best known for her debut book Stoned In Melanchol which documents her adolescence in Derry, while the winner in the Live category supported by Philips, is John Lyons with an image of David Mrakpor playing with Ruben Fox. In Studio Photography, supported by Bowers & Wilkins, Jack McKain wins with a shot of Pink Siifu, while Chris Suspect wins with a shot of metal band Darkest Hour in the Zeitgeist category and Joe Puxley’s shot of Arlo Parks wins in Undiscovered, supported by adidas.

Speaking about the winners of this year’s MPAs, Abbey Road’s Managing Director Isabel Garvey says:

‘Everyone at Abbey Road Studios is thrilled with the quality of the entries and winners in our first Music Photography Awards. More broadly, we’re also incredibly encouraged by the way in which the MPAs has been embraced across the arts and creative landscape. It’s been brilliant to create a platform to recognise emerging and established talent in this important field, and we’re already looking forward to doing it all again in 2023!’

Winner! Chris Suspect

Darkest Hour
DC punk/metal legends play DC Brau brewery for their surprise 20th anniversary show.

Nominees

Riccardo Piccirillo

Block and Arena
Giovanni Block and Lello Arena were recording the new album out late in 2021.

Alec Castillo

Snowy Barn
This is the barn that my band, The Nude Party, converted into a home studio over the course of two years since the beginning of the pandemic. Taken on a late snowed in night at the end of a recording session.

DeShaun Craddock

Surf Gang + Crowd
Surf Gang put together a DIY performance in a bus yard that drew hundreds of fans and went on well into the late hours of the night.

Jason Sheldon

Seat Not In Use
This sums up most of 2021 (and most of 2020) for me, with lockdown drastically affecting the live music industry. Even where concerts were allowed, photographers were mostly classed as non-essential and accreditation was closed or severely restricted for many shows and festivals during 2021.