Nordoff and Robbins, the UK’s largest music therapy charity, today announced the first round of artists to win this year’s prestigious O2 Silver Clef Awards. The stars will all receive their accolades in person at an exclusive music industry lunch and award ceremony to be held on Friday 5 July at the renowned Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane.

In the first of two winners’ announcements for the O2 Silver Clef Awards 2024, Nordoff and Robbins is excited to honour pop icon Jessie Ware with Best Female, pop-rock global sensation The 1975 with Best Group and iconic Scottish band Texas with the Outstanding Achievement award.

London legend Cat Burns will receive the New Music Award and genre busting Ezra Collective wins the Contemporary Music Award.

Winners of the O2 Silver Clef, Icon, Best Male, Best Live Act, Innovation and Global Impact awards will be announced ahead of the ceremony.

The O2 Silver Clef Awards are held to recognise and celebrate the talent of the winning artists and are one of the highlights of the music industry calendar - bringing together artists, labels, management teams and celebrity supporters. Since 1976 the awards have raised nearly £13 million for Nordoff and Robbins’ transformative music therapy services and honoured some of the greatest names in music including: David Bowie, Ed Sheeran, Roger Waters, Paul McCartney, George Michael, Annie Lennox, Dame Shirley Bassey, Kylie Minogue, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, Coldplay and Stormzy. Last year’s event raised over £530,000 for Nordoff and Robbins, supporting its work with some of the most vulnerable people in society.

In 2023, Nordoff and Robbins held nearly 50,000 vital music therapy sessions across the UK. Shaped by more than 60 years of practice, Nordoff and Robbins’ trained music therapists use the power of music to transform people’s lives by helping them to express themselves and connect with others. The charity works with children and adults affected by life limiting illness such as dementia, learning disabilities including autism, physical disability and mental health issues at over 380 schools, hospitals, hospices and care homes, as well as providing sessions from its centres nationwide.

Hosted with O2 for the last 23 years, the annual lunch is Nordoff and Robbins’ biggest fundraising event of the year thanks to table sales, sponsorship and live auctions on the day, featuring special items from the winning artists alongside money can’t buy experiences donated by the music industry. Edith Bowman will host the star-studded ceremony for the sixth-year running, with Peter Andre returning to cover the blue carpet celebrity arrivals.

Guests can now secure their place at this exclusive event by purchasing table tickets online at: www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk/events/o2-silver-clefs-lunch/

The Live Nation Best Female award goes to multi-disciplined pop singer, songwriter and podcaster Jessie Ware. Jessie has released five top-ten studio albums and thirty-three singles since her debut album Devotion in 2012, which included hits ‘Running’, ‘110%’ and ‘Wildest Moments’. Ware's fifth studio album, ‘That! Feels Good!’, was released in 2023, including hit singles ‘Free Yourself’ and ‘Hello Love’. Her six-country sell out tour continues in 2024.

Global sensation The 1975 have been chosen to receive the ASM Global Best Group award. The band came to prominence following their self-titled debut album in 2013 and followed this number one hit with four more chart topping albums, including their most recent ‘Being Funny in a Foreign Language’. Their top singles include ‘Chocolate’, ‘The Sound’, ‘If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)’ and ‘I’m In Love With You’. The 1975’s reputation as one of the world’s best live acts continues in 2024 with their ‘Still… At The Very Best’ international tour garnering 5* reviews around the world.

Scottish pop-rock band Texas will pick up the Tysers Live Outstanding Achievement Award in recognition of their 30-year plus career. Formed in 1986, Texas are one of the biggest groups to come out of Scotland, selling a total of 40 million albums worldwide including Southside (1989) and White On Blonde (1996) including hits such as 'Black Eyed Boy' and 'Say What You Want'. 2023 saw a career-spanning ‘The Very Best Of 1989 – 2023' album release, as well as a standout Pyramid Stage set at Glastonbury. Texas and legendary American songwriter Spooner Oldham will release their first joint album ‘The Muscle Shoals Sessions’ in March.

The award for Ticketmaster Best New Music will go to award-nominated singer-songwriter Cat Burns, whose viral hit, double platinum-selling ‘go’ reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in 2022. A former pupil at the Brit School, Cat has supported Ed Sheeran on his European and North American tours and Sam Smith during their UK tour, bringing her unique blend of gospel and pop influences to a wider audience. She made her Glastonbury debut last year and her latest single ‘alone’ is out now.

British jazz quintet, Ezra Collective will receive the PPL Contemporary Music Award. The group fuses elements of afrobeat, calypso, reggae, hip-hop, soul and jazz and sold out six gigs in three nights at New York’s The Blue Note as well as performing at London’s Albert Hall in 2023. Named Londoners of the year by Time Out in 2023, the group are passionate about championing young people and bringing jazz to new audiences.

Jessie Ware said: “It’s a total honour to have been selected to receive the Best Female award at this year’s ceremony. Nordoff and Robbins do such important work. Music therapy is a real necessity for those who receive it and there is more demand for it now than ever before. I’ve also seen music as a fantastic form of self-expression, and so can understand the life changing nature of music therapy. I’m so pleased to be a part of an event that supports Nordoff and Robbins’ important work so thank you so, so much.”

The 1975 said: “We’re so grateful to have been chosen to receive the Best Group award and thankful to be able to play our part in celebrating the valuable work Nordoff and Robbins’ music therapists do.”

Sharleen Spiteri, lead singer, Texas said: “The band and I are absolutely thrilled to receive the award for Outstanding Achievement. We’ve been lucky enough to share our music with fans for over 30 years, and we’re looking forward to celebrating the past, present, and future of British and International music at this year’s O2 Silver Clef Awards. I’ve been a supporter of this amazing charity for years now, words can’t begin to say how much their work impacts people of all ages through the power of music.”

Cat Burns said: “I’m honoured to receive the award for Best New Music. In what has been a whirlwind few years for me, these moments are absolute dreams come true. The work of Nordoff and Robbins is truly inspiring; it really enables people who are otherwise isolated from society to experience the joy that music brings.”

Femi Koleoso of the Ezra Collective said: “The Ezra Collective first got together when we met in a youth club, so we really understand the value music has when it’s put into the hands of young people. Music therapy is an important part of this, as the work that Nordoff and Robbins does with children can change lives. It’s a really beautiful thing that we’re going to be supporting this work. Thanks to everyone that’s helped us get to where we are; this Contemporary Music Award means so much to us.”

Gareth Griffiths, Director, Partnerships and Sponsorship, O2, said: “It looks set to be another incredible O2 Silver Clef Awards this summer, recognising brilliant artists and song writers. O2 has been a very proud partner of Nordoff and Robbins for 23 years, and we’ve seen first-hand the extraordinary work the charity does using the power of music therapy. It’s a privilege for us to be involved on this magical day of fund-raising. We can’t wait for the 5th July!”

Sandra Schembri, CEO of Nordoff and Robbins said: “The O2 Silver Clef Awards is incredibly special to us, and we simply couldn’t provide the number of music therapy sessions that we need to without the support of the music industry. Every penny raised from the O2 Silver Clef Awards brings the power of music to the children and adults that Nordoff and Robbins support, helping them to break through the barriers caused by life-limiting illness, mental health challenges, disability and social isolation. Music therapy is about making a connection, whether for a non-verbal child or a person living with dementia – where words fail, music speaks.”

Tables are on sale now, visit www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk/events/o2-silver-clefs-lunch/ to book. Find out more about Nordoff and Robbins and how you can support at www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk