Peterborough band wins best ‘Best Indie Act’ at regional music awards ceremony

The glittering event, held at The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, attracted over 300 attendees in a glorious celebration of the region’s music scene.

The awards, now in their eighth year, celebrate the achievements and potential of artists based in East Anglia and plays a key role in developing and encouraging young talent on their initial steps towards a career in music.

Sages of the Subway, comprised of members Nathan Thompson, Dean Benzaken, James Bamberg and Tom Pitcher, are often heard over the radio waves and recently got into the Grand Final for the Isle of Wight festival’s ‘New Blood’ competition.

The award was sponsored by North Acre Recording Studio at the event organised by Tim Willett. The band were also invited to perform live on the night and invited two artists to join them on stage – Ffion Rebecca and Ellie Dixon – who also won awards on the night for Audience Choice and Best Female Artist respectively.

In his introduction for the band, Tim said: “This four-piece Indie group haven’t been resting during lockdown. Their Quarantine Session tracks kept us amused during last summer – two of which we’ve seen performed on stage already tonight. They followed that up with three singles which combined have been streamed over 120 thousand times!”

While Sara Kathleen, one of the judges and venue manager for The Hunter Club in Bury, who sponsored one of the awards, said: “I genuinely, deeply believe that what you do is magic, it changes people’s lives, and it’s beautiful.”

The band then took to social media to say: “NMG awards 2021 was some night! So great to see the East Anglian music scene is alive and producing so much top music.

“It was a privilege performing with Ellie Dixon and Ffion Rebecca. We had so much fun collaborating with these two amazing artists in lockdown, and bringing the music to life on stage with them was an amazing feeling.

“We’re also so humbled to have won the Best Indie Act, all we can say is thank you to everyone who’s supported and shown us love over the past few years! We’re all sages aren’t we?”

Speaking about the event as a whole, Tim added: “There was a fantastic atmosphere, with everybody in great spirits. The standard of artists involved was very high, the judge’s decisions in all categories were very difficult. It shows how healthy and strong the East Anglian music scene is, despite the challenges of the last 18 months. The live performances were spectacular. Next years’ event has been confirmed for September 9 2022.”