Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell urges support for grassroots venues after Best British Group win as camera team dodges racy moment

Wolf Alice seized the spotlight at the 2026 Brit Awards when the north London band won Best British Group, and frontwoman Ellie Rowsell used the acceptance speech to call for urgent support for grassroots music venues. The speech and an on-stage wardrobe scramble by broadcast cameras made the win one of the night’s most talked-about moments.

Wolf Alice acceptance speech calls out threat to grassroots venues

During the acceptance for Best British Group, Rowsell made a direct appeal on behalf of pubs, clubs and grassroots venues where the band learned to perform and write. She thanked the venues that welcomed them early on and expressed gratitude for those who continue to fight to keep those doors open. The plea highlighted the precarious position of small performance spaces and framed venue survival as central to sustaining musical careers.

Ceremony details: win, presenters and immediate reactions

The Brit Awards ceremony took place on February 28 at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. Wolf Alice — who had previously won the Best British Group prize in 2022 — were presented with this year’s trophy by Shaun Ryder and Bez of Happy Mondays. The presenters were met with chants of “Manchester” as they took the stage, and Rowsell used the moment to dedicate the award to people who helped the band during their early years.

Numbers cited on venue closures, jobs and profitability

Rowsell highlighted recent figures about the live sector’s difficulties: over the 12 months up to July 2025, 30 venues closed as venues, a further 48 ceased operating as gig spaces, and 30 independent venues closed down in the last year. She referenced the wider impact on employment and profitability, noting that 6, 000 jobs were lost and that more than half of small venues reported making no profit at all. The figures framed her plea as an economic as well as cultural concern.

Dedication to early supporters and the realities of starting a band

Rowsell thanked the many people who helped Wolf Alice in their formative years: those who lent money, drove them around the country, let them sleep on floors, bought tickets to early shows and purchased the band’s early merchandise. She acknowledged the difficulty of starting a band and argued that being an artist should be a viable career choice, not reliant on favors or rare breaks.

Upcoming dates, recent album and festival plans

Wolf Alice released their fourth album, The Clearing, last year. The album received strong critical praise and placed on a notable year-end albums list, while the single “Bloom Baby Bloom” featured on a best-songs rundown. The band is scheduled to play a large outdoor show at London’s Finsbury Park this summer, with support from The Last Dinner Party, Lykke Li, Rachel Chinouriri, Keo and Florence Road. They are also set to appear at a March charity show at a major London arena and to headline the Teenage Cancer Trust series at the Royal Albert Hall that same month. Additional upcoming live slots include headline appearances at Tramlines Festival, Kendal Calling and Eden Sessions, plus festival appearances at TRNSMT, Mad Cool and NOS Alive.

Broadcast moment: camera crew and a racy outfit

Aside from the speech, the evening featured a briefly sensational broadcast moment as camera operators worked to keep a risqué wardrobe reveal out of frame while Wolf Alice were on stage. The on-air scramble over framing and coverage was noted alongside the band’s use of the platform to speak about the challenges facing local venues.

Elsewhere in the ceremony’s broadcast, a joke about Lord Peter Mandelson was removed from coverage; presenter Jack Whitehall made on-stage remarks that were subsequently edited out of some airings. These production choices occurred alongside Wolf Alice’s wider acceptance speech and the band’s public dedication to grassroots supporters.

Rowsell’s intervention on the stage framed the award not just as recognition of Wolf Alice’s achievements but as a moment to spotlight the fragile infrastructure that helps new artists emerge. The band’s combination of high-profile festival dates and continued campaigning for small venues keeps the focus on how industry success and grassroots survival remain tightly linked.