PJ Harvey 'honoured and grateful' for award

Musician and poet Polly Harvey - known as PJ Harvey - has said she feels "honoured and very grateful" to have won an award for her contribution to music in her native Dorset.

The Original Music Awards (OMAs) is an annual event celebrating people working in the original music sector in Dorset.

Dorset-born Harvey won a special award with the panel praising the way she kept the county at the "heart" of her work.

In a recorded video message, she said Dorset "shaped the person I've become" and that she was "delighted" with the award.

Harvey grew up on a farm near Corscombe and played pub back rooms and get togethers in west Dorset, before setting up her own band and moving to London.

Announcing her award at the ceremony held at Lighthouse Poole, the OMA panel said Dorset has "always remained at the heart" her work.

"Whether it be using soundscapes of Dorset in her creations or writing poetry in the Dorset dialect, it's very clear that she has always remained true to her roots."

They said her work brought "inspiration" to grassroots musicians in Dorset.

"In this day and age of streaming music to the masses, as a songwriter and composer you should never be afraid to be experimental, to try new things and continue to discover where your voice and writing can take you," they said.

In her video message, Harvey, 55, praised Dorset's grassroots music - including the support she received from her school, Beaminster Comprehensive.

The singer who has twice won the Mercury Award recalled feeling particularly "supported and encouraged" by the artistic community in Bridport.

"Because of the encouragement I had throughout my education and education through the artists around me, I was able to believe in my own voice."

She said the awards highlighted the importance of the arts.

"Art is hugely important on an emotional level and also on an intellectual level of understanding the world that we live in," she said.

"We have a lot to say as artists and it's important to all find our voice."

Other winners included songwriter Calvin Glen, who won the Inspirational Person award, and musician and entrepreneur Mischa Weston Green who won the Spreading the Love award.

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