Knats – ‘Mercury Prize 2026 nominees’

Knats will perform at BOILER SHOP, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE on SATURDAY, APRIL 3RD – their biggest hometown headline show to date.

Knats are a Newcastle-based jazz group whose music draws on jazz, improvisation and DNB programming, with influences ranging from Miles Davis and Charles Mingus to Tortoise. Their Geordie Greep-produced second album, A Great Day In Newcastle, has been shortlisted for the 2026 Mercury Prize Albums of the Year, alongside artists including Olivia Dean, Paul McCartney, RAYE, Dave and Nia Archives.

The band signed to Fontana shortly before the album’s release and have since landed a #2 UK Jazz & Blues chart position, performed “Never Gonna Be A Boxer” on BBC Later… with Jools Holland, and secured a B-list spot on BBC Radio 6 Music. They have also played packed-out headline shows and festivals including Montreux Jazz Festival and the BBC Proms with Nadine Shah, with their forthcoming autumn headline tour already largely sold out.

Written by lifelong friends from Newcastle – Stan Woodward (bass), King David-Ike Elechi (drums) and Ferg Kilsby (trumpet/flügelhorn) – A Great Day In Newcastle is a love letter to working-class Tyneside, community and lived experience, delivered with the wit and warmth of classic Northern optimism. The album has received acclaim from The Guardian, The Times, The Observer, Rolling Stone UK, Pitchfork, CLASH, Jazzwise, MOJO, The Wire and more.

The band has also received recent coverage from BBC, ITV Tyne Tees, Rolling Stone UK, Sky News, The Sun, Reuters/Press Association, Chronicle Live, Jazzwise and Far Out following their Mercury Prize nomination.

Event details

Artist: Knats
Venue: Boiler Shop, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Date: Saturday, April 3rd
Tickets: £15 + booking fees
Ticket outlets: notiontickets.live & shingigs.co.uk