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An award-winning country musician from Abertridwr has secured a $30,000 (£24,500) American grant to launch an anti-bullying school tour after opening up about her own experience of being bullied.

Caitlin Mae was awarded a fellowship set-up in memory of a gifted musician from Connecticut.

The funding will finance her upcoming “Hopes and Dreams Tour”, where she will take her music into high schools to deliver live performances alongside anti-bullying messages.

Speaking at the ceremony earlier this month, the 24-year-old singer revealed her personal motivation for the project stemmed from being badly bullied during her own school years in south Wales.

The singer said: “Without going into full detail, I experienced both emotional and physical abuse, and later found out that there was even a hate club set up in my name.

“The aftermath of bullying is something you will always have to live with. But more importantly, it is how you choose to live with it.

“This grant money will open so many doors to me and has brought to life my goal of putting on concerts at high schools, talking about anti-bullying and spreading the message that no dream is too big to chase.”

The fellowship was established by ACT, an American contemporary theatre company, in memory of the late Connecticut musician Bryan Gallace.

Caitlin Mae, who relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, previously won EP of the Year at the international Josie Music Awards.

Her 2025 single House Sitting was also put forward for Grammy Award consideration.