Dafydd Owain Wins Welsh Music Prize After Remarkable Year for Ymarfer Byw
A YEAR that was already becoming special for Dafydd Owain has just become even better.
The Welsh singer-songwriter has won the 2026 Welsh Music Prize for his second album, Ymarfer Byw, collecting the £10,000 award at a ceremony at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
The win crowns a remarkable few months for an album that had already been named Welsh Language Album of the Year at the National Eisteddfod earlier this summer.
For Owain, the award also represented something far more personal than simply another trophy.
Ymarfer Byw emerged from what he has described as an emotionally intense period in his life, with the record bringing together thoughts, feelings and experiences he was trying to make sense of at the time. Despite some darker themes, the album also finds room for humour, warmth and beauty.
That combination has now earned it one of the most important prizes in Welsh music.
Owain faced formidable competition.
The 15-strong shortlist included established and emerging names such as Gruff Rhys, Skindred, Cerys Hafana, Gwenifer Raymond and The Royston Club, underlining the depth and variety of the current Welsh music scene.
After receiving the award, Owain said he hoped the recognition would allow him to continue making more music, while describing it as a privilege to win in such strong company.
There was another important Welsh music story on the night too.
Mary Hopkin received the Welsh Music Inspiration Award, recognising a career which took her from Pontardawe to international fame.
Hopkin became one of the first artists signed to The Beatles’ Apple Records and achieved worldwide success with Those Were the Days in 1968. Her daughter, Jessica Lee Morgan, accepted the award on her behalf and performed a medley of her mother’s songs during the ceremony.
The evening also provided a platform for the next generation.
Mwsog, Casual Smart and Betsan were presented with the Triskel Award, which is designed to support emerging artists with their career development.
The Welsh Music Prize ceremony formed part of Cardiff Music City Festival, providing a neat link between one of Wales’ most important music awards and the wider celebration of live music taking place across the capital.
For Dafydd Owain, though, this was the night his name moved firmly to the front of the Welsh music conversation.
And there is little time for him to sit back and enjoy the moment. Tonight, Friday, October 9, at Theatre Grand, Swansea, and tomorrow, Saturday, October 10, at Theatr Mwldan in Cardigan, he will perform Ymarfer Byw in two special live shows.
The shows present the album in an immersive live setting, bringing to the stage the same intensely personal material that has now earned two major prizes.
It means that, just days after collecting one of the biggest honours in Welsh music, Owain will be back where the story matters most — performing the songs themselves in front of audiences.
Winning both Welsh Language Album of the Year and the Welsh Music Prize in the same year undoubtedly gives Ymarfer Byw a particularly strong place in the story of Welsh music in 2026.
And perhaps just as importantly, it demonstrates once again that Welsh-language music is not a niche sitting outside the wider industry.
It is part of the main story.
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Did Ewe Know?
The Welsh Music Prize was created to celebrate the best new music made in Wales or by Welsh people around the world, and the event has grown into one of the key annual showcases for the breadth of the country’s music scene.