Culture

New Welsh band wins three international awards

17 Sep 2026 3 minute read

No Apologies Club’s Rebecca and Nia on the cover of their debut, Seasoned

Stephen Price

Welsh band No Apologies Club have picked up three international awards for Seasoned, the first single and music video released by duo Nia Medi and Rebecca Hardy.

The video received three Awards of Merit for Music Video, Editing, Rebecca Hardy and Women Filmmakers in the August 2026 Accolade Global Film Competition, the results of which were recently announced.

“We’re genuinely gobsmacked,” said Rebecca. “This was our first single and the first music video we’d ever made. To get recognition in three categories feels completely bonkers and incredibly lovely.

“We made it with a small team of brilliant people around Barry and South Wales”, said Nia, so it feels like a win for everyone who mucked in and helped us make this slightly mad idea actually happen.”

Established in 2003 and based in California, the Accolade Global Film Competition recognises film, television and media professionals from around the world for achievement in craft and storytelling. Its Award of Merit is given to productions recognised for notable artistic and technical achievement.

Previous Best of Show winners include Brave Blue World, featuring Matt Damon and Jaden Smith and narrated by Liam Neeson, while the competition has also recognised Ben Steele’s Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis, starring Idris Elba.

For Nia and Rebecca, however, Seasoned started much closer to home.

The video was produced and directed by the pair and filmed at New Farm in Barry, one of Wales’ oldest working farms.

Rebecca also edited the video, earning the separate Award of Merit for Editing.

“It makes it even more special that the whole thing was made within our own community,” said Nia. “The crew were all local to Barry and South Wales, and people just brought their skills, energy and enthusiasm to it.”

The team included Daniel Coughtrey on camera, make up designer Ellie Locking and photographer Maxine Howells.

Nia and Rebecca also thanked New Farm owners Sara and Ian Hardy for handing over their land, barn and considerable patience for the shoot.

“I actually met Sara while strength training at Brawd, my local gym,” said Nia. “I knew she was a farmer, so I asked her, ‘Do you have a barn?
’
“She looked at me and said, ‘Of course I’ve got a bloody barn, I’m a farmer. I’ve got three!’

“And that was basically the beginning of the video and, wonderfully, a new friendship too.”

Seasoned, released in July and available on all major digital platforms was produced by Welsh producer and sound engineer Branwen Munn and the country pop track has 90s energy, telling the story of reaching the point where you finally walk away from relationships and situations that no longer work for you.

No Apologies Club grew from Nia and Rebecca’s shared love of music, storytelling and the sounds they grew up with, particularly 90s indie and Britpop.

The pair say the project is also about making space for creativity without worrying too much about perfection or what other people might think.

“We started this because we loved it,” they said. “The fact that something we made with friends, on a farm down the road, has now been recognised internationally is pretty special.

“And it makes us even more excited about what comes next.”

No Apologies Club will release their second single in October 2026, with more new music to follow.

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