Wolf Alice urges backing for grassroots venues after BRITs win as camera crew scramble over outfit
wolf alice secured the Best British Group prize at the 2026 BRIT Awards on February 28, and frontwoman Ellie Rowsell used the moment to press for action to protect the UK’s small and grassroots music venues. The speech — delivered at Manchester’s Co‑op Live Arena — unfolded amid television edits and a last‑minute camera effort to keep parts of Rowsell’s outfit out of frame.
Wolf Alice’s BRITs victory at Co‑op Live Arena
The North London band were handed the Best British Group trophy at the ceremony in Manchester by Happy Mondays members Shaun Ryder and Bez, who chanted “Manchester” as they took the stage. The win marks a repeat of the group’s earlier success: Wolf Alice also won the category in 2022. Rowsell, 33, dedicated the award to those who helped the band in its early days and thanked people who lent money, drove them around, let them sleep on floors and bought tickets to their early shows.
Ellie Rowsell’s plea for grassroots venues
Rowsell used her acceptance speech to highlight the worsening economics facing small gig spaces. A January report showed 30 venues closed in the 12 months up to July 2025 and a further 48 venues stopped operating as gig spaces. She said that last year 30 independent venues closed, 6, 000 jobs were lost and more than half of small venues reported making no profit, and argued that those figures make it unsustainable for emerging artists.
Because of those closures and losses, Rowsell called for renewed support: she thanked pubs, clubs and grassroots spaces for “opening your doors to us” and urged people to continue the fight to keep them open. What makes this notable is how the group tied immediate industry figures — closures, job losses and unprofitable venues — directly to the argument that being a musician should be a viable career choice rather than a struggle dependent on favours or intermittent funding schemes.
Stage moment and camera crew response
The night did not pass without moments for broadcast teams to manage. Television cameras contended with Rowsell’s racy outfit, with crew members working to keep portions of her body out of frame during live coverage. Coverage was also subject to editorial changes: one joke referencing Lord Peter Mandelson was removed from the broadcaster’s version of the show after on‑air presenter Jack Whitehall had quipped about seeing celebrities and politicians including Calvin Harris, Andy Burnham and Lisa Nandy on the guest list.
Wolf Alice’s upcoming live schedule and recent releases
The band released their fourth album, The Clearing, last year. The album received strong critical attention and was placed at Number 11 on one year‑end top 50 albums list; its single “Bloom Baby Bloom” reached Number 12 on the corresponding songs list. Live plans announced around the BRITs include a huge outdoor headline show at London’s Finsbury Park this summer — billed to include The Last Dinner Party, Lykke Li, Rachel Chinouriri, Keo and Florence Road — plus a Trans Mission charity appearance at London’s OVO Arena Wembley in March and a headline slot in the Teenage Cancer Trust series at the Royal Albert Hall that same month. Additional dates listed include Tramlines Festival, Kendal Calling and Eden Sessions, along with appearances at TRNSMT, Mad Cool and NOS Alive.
Dedication to early supporters and other winners
Rowsell explicitly dedicated the trophy to the people who helped Wolf Alice get started, quipping about their “atrocious merch” and joking that she did not actually think anyone had bought it. The evening’s other competitive results included Sam Fender and Olivia Dean taking Song of the Year for “Rein Me In, ” a track on Fender’s album People Watching; Dean, 26, said she felt honoured to be part of the song. The group’s on‑stage appeal for venues came alongside those award outcomes and the broadcast edits, underscoring how commercial success and the fragile ecology of live music were both on display at the ceremony.
