Culture

Welsh Music Prize reveals exciting live lineup for 2026 awards ceremony

22 Sep 2026 4 minute read

Amelia Jones

The Welsh Music Prize has announced the live lineup for this year’s Welsh Music prize, which will be held in the Wales Millennium Centre.

The Welsh Music Prize (Gwobr Gerddoriaeth Gymreig) will take place on 7 October. It is an annual award which was established in 2011 by music promoter John Rostron and radio presenter Huw Stephens to celebrate the best overall album released by Welsh artists.

This year, soul singer songwriter Adjua and Cardiff rapper Local will join folk-rock composer Dafydd Owain and acoustic phenomenon Gwenifer Raymond in performing at the ceremony.

The four artists are part of a 15 strong shortlist of albums from the past year made in Wales or by Welsh people around the world- one of whom will take home the coveted Welsh Music Prize, along with a £10,000 prize.

Hosted by BBC Radio 1 presenter Sian Eleri, the ceremony will also see the Triskel Award presented to emerging artists Mwsog, Casual Smart, and Betsan.

Self-proclaimed ‘folk-rock sorcerers’ Mwsog are a seven-strong spiritual collective who have recently arrived on the scene with a cosmic bang.

Casual Smart, Cardiff’s lo-fi bedroom rockers are the latest heartthrobs of the capital’s burgeoning indie playground.

Betsan, a bilingual jazz-pop sensation originally from Cardiff, has spent the year so far carving out her place in the UK’s pop scene.

Jazz-fuelled R&B duo Papaya Noon have been chosen to receive this year’s PPL Momentum Sbardun | Accelerator Fund award. The duo have already amassed an impressive fan-base online, garnering over 80,000 followers across their socials, and receiving praise from such luminaries in the US as Missy Elliot, Snoop Dogg and Queen Latifah.

Vibrant music scene

The fund is run by the PRS Foundation in partnership with PPL and Creative Wales and offers grants for recording, touring and marketing to artists breaking through to the next level of their careers.

PPL’s Chief Membership & People Officer, Kate Reilly said: “We are delighted to once again support the Welsh Music Prize, which continues to go from strength to strength.

“This year’s shortlist showcases the incredible breadth of talent across Wales and recognises the creativity and originality that make its music scene so vibrant.

“We look forward to celebrating all the nominees next month.”

Speaking about the strength of this year’s live bill, Welsh Music Prize co-founder Huw Stephens said: “The Welsh Music Prize stands as a testament to the nation’s artistry, an event to celebrate the rich diversity and exceptional quality of music from Wales.

“This year’s lineup is very exciting, delivering a genre-spanning showcase that highlights the rising stars winning the Triskel awards and the artists up for the album prize. Come on down or tune in to hear it all!

The very best of Welsh music

Speaking on behalf of Cardiff Music City Festival, Cardiff Council Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism, Cllr Jennifer Burke, said: “The Welsh Music Prize showcases the very best of Wales’s music scene – it’s a great opportunity for artists to broaden their audience and for fans to find new music to fall in love with.

“That’s why we support it, and why we’re so pleased it’s part of Cardiff Music City Festival.”

John Hendrickse, Grants & Programmes Manager at PRS Foundation said: “We’re delighted to be part of the Welsh Music Prize again and championing our PPL Momentum Sbardun Accelerator initiative at this year’s awards ceremony.

“Time and again Wales produces incredible music creators and PRS Foundation is proud to have a strong track record investing in many of these artists before they go on to future success.

“This year alone, 9 of the 15 nominated albums for the Welsh Music Prize have come from artists that have had PRS Foundation support at vital moments in their career, including 4 that received our PPL Momentum Sbardun Accelerator.

“We wish all the nominees luck on the night and very much look forward to seeing whose album receives the award.”

You can buy tickets to the Welsh Music Prize here. The ceremony will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio Wales.

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