The 2026 BRIT Awards nominees have officially landed, and for once, it’s not just wall to wall chart pop and industry autopilot.
A few heavy hitters from the rock and alternative world have muscled their way into the mix, including Sleep Token, Turnstile, and Wolf Alice.
Sleep Token have been nominated for Group Of The Year, landing in a seriously stacked category alongside The Last Dinner Party, Pulp, Wet Leg, and Wolf Alice.
It’s a pretty wild moment for a band that built their entire mythology on shadows, masks, and emotion, whether the BRITs audience actually gets Sleep Token is another question, but the nomination alone says plenty about how far they’ve pushed into the mainstream conversation.
Over in the International Group Of The Year category, Turnstile are also getting their flowers, nominated alongside Geese, Haim, Huntr/x, Ejae / Audrey Nuna/ Rei Ami, and Tame Impala.
Turnstile being recognised here feels deserved, especially considering how they’ve consistently blurred the lines between hardcore roots and big stage ambition without sanding off the edges completely.
Meanwhile, Wolf Alice are walking in with multiple nominations, including Album Of The Year for ‘The Clearing’, up against Dave’s ‘The Boy Who Played The Harp’, Lily Allen’s ‘West End Girl’, Olivia Dean’s ‘The Art of Loving’, and Sam Fender’s ‘People Watching’.
They’re also up for Best Rock/Alternative Act, competing with Blood Orange, Lola Young, Sam Fender, and Wet Leg. That category alone feels like a snapshot of how messy “alternative” has become as a label, but Wolf Alice being there makes sense, they’ve been one of the few UK bands of the last decade who can go soft, loud and huge without losing the thread. The BRIT Awards 2026 will take place on February 28th at Manchester’s Co-op Live, with voting and tickets available now.
RELATED
MORE IN News
