The NI Music Prize celebrated its 15th anniversary last night at Belfast’s Ulster Hall, with Joshua Burnside taking the PPL Album of the Year award for It’s Not Going to Be Okay.
It came just 24 hours after Burnside won at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards.
Chalk had a double win, with Single of the Year for ‘Pain’, decided by public vote, and MCD Live Act of the Year. The band are currently on tour with Fontaines D.C. and accepted their awards by video message.
CMAT joins Philomena Begley on stage
One of the biggest moments of the night came when country singer Philomena Begley received the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising her 64-year career. It was presented by her friend, the BBC broadcaster Hugo Duncan.
CMAT then made a surprise appearance to honour one of her musical heroes. Backed by the Shamrock Showband, Begley performed ‘Blanket on the Ground’ and invited CMAT to join her on stage, and the Ulster Hall was on its feet. The response prompted an encore of the song.
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Composer and musician Neil Martin received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award, presented by his friend, the actor Stephen Rea.
NI Music Prize 2026 winners
- PPL Album of the Year: Joshua Burnside, It’s Not Going to Be Okay
- Single of the Year (public vote): Chalk, ‘Pain’
- MCD Live Act of the Year: Chalk
- PRS for Music NI Creator of the Year: Kaidi Tatham
- BBC Introducing in NI Artist of the Year (public vote): Polar Bolero
- Outstanding Contribution to Music: Neil Martin
- Lifetime Achievement: Philomena Begley
The night opened with a performance from The McKenna Family, followed by live sets from Wynona Bleach, Shamrock Showband, Beauty Sleep, Aoibha with Ciaran Lavery and Róise.
The NI Music Prize is organised by Oh Yeah Music Centre as part of Sound of Belfast, which continues across the city until Sunday November 15th. Here are 15 events to see at Sound of Belfast 2026.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. Niall is the chost of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and host of monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
