Wolf Alice won Best British Group at the 2026 BRITs and frontwoman Ellie Rowsell used her speech to call for support for grassroots music venues.
- READ MORE: Wolf Alice are a band in constant evolution: Not resting on your laurels is really exciting
The awards ceremony went down tonight (February 28) at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena and the North London band were the winners of the Best British Group prize, which they also won back in 2022.
After accepting the trophy from the Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and Bez, Rowsell thanked everyone who had supported them early in their career, including fans who bought piece of their “atrocious merch” in their early days.
She went on to address one of the most existential threats to the UK music scene – the ongoing plight of small and grassroots music venues, which a report in January revealed had seen 30 venues close in the 12 months up to July 2025, and a further 48 cease operating as gig spaces.
Rowsell said: “We’d like to also thank all of the pubs and clubs and grassroots venues across the country where we quite literally learned to play our instruments and write our songs. Thank you for opening your doors to us and thank you to those who continue the fight to keep them open.”
win baby win! it's @wolfalicemusic
Wolf Alice are your Group of the Year
pic.twitter.com/cDH0zjjJXO
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 28, 2026
“It’s worth mentioning that despite the billions of pounds the live sector contributes to our economy, last year 30 independent venues closed down, 6,000 jobs were lost and over half the small venues reported making no profit at all.”
She continued: “It shouldn’t be a battle to survive for bands and artists, we shouldn’t be reliant on favours or anyone funding schemes in order to do things at a level we feel proud of. It shouldn’t feel like a golden ticket, but a viable career decision for anyone from any background.”
“Because you only have to look around us today and see how proud we are of Britain’s musical contribution and how important it is to nurture and protect the UK’s amazing music scene,” she concluded.
Wolf Alice released their fourth album ‘The Clearing’ last year, and they are set to play a huge outdoor show at London’s Finsbury Park this summer, where they will be joined by The Last Dinner Party, Lykke Li, Rachel Chinouriri, Keo, and Florence Road.
Wolf Alice are also set to play the ‘Trans Mission’ charity show at London’s OVO Arena Wembley in March, and headline this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust series at the Royal Albert Hall that same month. Other upcoming live dates include headline slots at Tramlines Festival, Kendal Calling and Eden Sessions, as well as appearances at TRNSMT, Mad Cool, NOS Alive and more.
‘The Clearing’ was given a glowing five-star review when it was released last year, and it went on to secure the Number 11 spot on NME‘s 50 best albums of 2025 list.
The single ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’, meanwhile, made its way to Number 12 on our 50 best songs of the year rundown
See all of the winners from the 2026 BRIT Awards here.
The post Watch Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell call for support for grassroots music venues in BRITs Best Group acceptance speech appeared first on NME.
