MERSEYSIDE music prize The GIT Award has revealed their shortlist of 12 artists for its 2017 edition of awards.

Last year Wirral based musician and ex-Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones won the highly coveted £1,000 prize.

Named after music website Getintothis the award champions the freshest Merseyside music of the year while recognising achievements across a range of genres.

This year two of the 12 hopefuls are from Wirral - The Coral and She Drew The Gun.

Before winning the Glastonbury 'Emerging Talent' competition and playing on the John Peel stage at the June festival, She Drew The Gun released their debut album, Memories of the Future in April 2016 on James Skelly‘s Skeleton Key label, which was immediately installed as BBC 6 Music‘s 'Album of the Day'.

Announcing their return from hiatus in the autumn 2015, The Coral enjoyed a spectacular renaissance in 2016, marked by the release in March of Distance Inbetween, their seventh studio album. The Wirral-based band premiered new material at the beginning of the year on BBC Merseyside Introducing programme, with James Skelly and Paul Molloy performing track It’s You live in session.

Excepting The Coral, who returned triumphantly to the forefront of Merseyside music in 2016 with their album Distance Inbetween, the 2017 GIT Award largely celebrates under-the-radar talent, revealing the current buoyancy of Liverpool’s thriving new music scene.

GIT Award founder Peter Guy said: “In what was the toughest decision process yet, the GIT Award 2017 shortlist reflects a new cycle in Merseyside music – one which covers artists from all spheres of music; be it grime, techno, psychedelia, orchestral instrumentation through to pop, folk and rock & roll – each at the top of their game.

“While certain names on the shortlist will be familiar to some listeners, there’s a whole raft of new artists to discover, and that’s what The GIT Award has always aimed to do from its very beginnings – bring the very best of Merseyside music to new audiences.

“This year’s 12 challenge, innovate and make quite superb music, I can’t wait for Saturday May 13 at Constellations when it all comes together.”

This year reaffirms both the diversity and breadth of the region’s talent, with the list of nominees containing a mix of newly emerging talent alongside more established names.

Although containing a former award winner in Baltic Fleet, only three artists have previously been nominated for the main award.

The artists will feature at a special all-day event at Constellations in the Baltic Triangle, Liverpool on Saturday, May 13.

The full GIT Award 2017 shortlist is:

  • Aystar
  • Baltic Fleet
  • Louis Berry
  • The Coral
  • God Colony
  • Immix Ensemble
  • Ohmns
  • Or:la
  • She Drew The Gun
  • Suedebrown
  • XamVolo
  • The Vryll Society

For more information visit http://getintothis.bigcartel.com/product/the-git-award-2017-e-ticket