Dafydd Owain wins 2026 Welsh music prize with Ymarfer Byw — SkimNews
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- Dafydd Owain won the 2026 Welsh music prize with his second album Ymarfer Byw, taking home £10,000 after beating a shortlist that included Gruff Rhys, The Royston Club, and Art School Girlfriend
- Ymarfer Byw also won Welsh language album of the year in August and was described as 'emotionally charged'
- Huw Stephens, who co-founded the prize in 2011, praised the record's 'musical excellence' and Owain's 'very personal and moving lyrics'
- Owain received the award at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on Wednesday and recalled first performing at the venue at 16 as a choir member, miming the whole thing because he was scared of hitting a bum note
- Mary Hopkin received the Welsh music inspiration award at the same ceremony; the Swansea singer was one of the first artists signed to the Beatles' Apple Records label in 1968
- The prize, now in its 16th year, has previously been won by Gwenno, Kelly Lee Owens, and Deyah, with producer Don Leisure taking the 2025 award for Tyrchu Sain
Why it matters: Doubling up Welsh-language album of the year and the overall prize marks an unusually strong sweep for a Caernarfon singer-songwriter whose profile was built outside the mainstream industry pipeline. The £10,000 purse, combined with his August win, gives Owain concrete runway to fund more recording — the explicit hope he voiced on stage.
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