Courteeners, English Teacher and Louis Tomlinson were among the acts to be honoured at the first-ever Northern Music Awards.The inaugural ceremony – hosted by the UK’s largest music therapy charity, Nordoff And Robbins – took place at the Albert Hall in Manchester last night (April 23) to celebrate northern artists, festivals, venues and industry figures.Presented by BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Chris Hawkins, the event featured live performances from Courteeners frontman Liam Fray, as well as English Teacher, Lisa Stansfield, The K’s and more.Guest presenters from the region included former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville, New Order‘s Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Norris, and Grimsby-born actor Thomas Turgoose (This Is England). Neville awarded Courteeners with the Band Of The Year prize. Responding to the nod, Fray said: “It’s really nice to be in a room with this much talent… but this isn’t about us, it’s about Nordoff And Robbins and the work that they do, it’s about music, and the way they’re changing lives with music and sometimes even saving lives with music.”The singer also delivered an acoustic rendition of Courteeners’ classic single ‘Not Nineteen Forever’ and a cover of Oasis‘ ‘The Masterplan’.Rising Leeds band English Teacher picked up the Best Newcomer award, and performed ‘Albatross’ and ‘Albert Road’ from their acclaimed debut album ‘This Could Be Texas’ (watch the video below)..@Englishteac_her commanding the stage with the first song off their album.
