Country, Rewritten: Inside the 2026 Grammy Nominations

At the center of it all is Tyler Childers, whose name appears with near-mythic frequency across the country categories, anchoring the ballot with a gravity that feels both old-soul and urgently now. Around him, a constellation forms: breakout names like Zach Top and Shaboozey orbit alongside icons such as Miranda Lambert, Willie Nelson, and Reba McEntire, reminding us that in country music, legacy is not a limitation—it’s a runway.

Notably, changes to the country album categories have opened the door to artists who have long lived just outside the spotlight, rewarding craft, patience, and a refusal to chase trends. Still, the absence of country music from the four all-genre categories casts a familiar shadow—one that underscores the genre’s perpetual tension with the mainstream, even as it continues to shape it.

Below, the nominees—less a list than a mood board for where country music is headed next.

Best Country Solo Performance

• Tyler Childers, “Nose On the Grindstone”

• Shaboozey, “Good News”

• “Bad As I Used To Be” (From F1: The Movie)

• Zach Top, “I Never Lie”

• Lainey Wilson, “Somewhere Over Laredo”

Best Traditional Country Album

• Charley Crockett, Dollar a Day

• Lukas Nelson, American Romance

• Willie Nelson, Oh What a Beautiful World

• Margo Price, Hard Headed Woman

• Zach Top, Ain’t in It for My Health

Best Contemporary Country Album

• Kelsea Ballerini, Patterns

• Tyler Childers, Snipe Hunter

• Eric Church, Evangeline vs. the Machine

• Jelly Roll, Beautifully Broken

• Miranda Lambert, Postcards From Texas

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

• Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton, “A Song to Sing”

• Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert & Lainey Wilson, “Trailblazer”

• Margo Price & Tyler Childers, “Love Me Like You Used to Do”

• Shaboozey & Jelly Roll, “Amen”

• George Strait & Chris Stapleton, “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame”

Best Country Song (Songwriters Award)

• “Bitin’ List” — Tyler Childers

• “Good News” — Michael Ross Pollack, Sam Elliot Roman & Jacob Torrey (performed by Shaboozey)

• “I Never Lie” — Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols & Zach Top

• “Somewhere Over Laredo” — Andy Albert, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson & Lainey Wilson

• “A Song to Sing” — Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure, Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton

Beyond country’s borders, its influence echoes through Americana, roots, bluegrass, and folk—categories that feel less like sidelines and more like secret runways where some of the most daring work is happening.

Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical

• Amy Allen

• Edgar Barrera

• Jessie Jo Dillon

• Tobias Jesso Jr.

• Laura Veltz

Best Americana Album

• Jon Batiste, Big Money

• Larkin Poe, Bloom

• Willie Nelson, Last Leaf on the Tree

• Molly Tuttle, So Long Little Miss Sunshine

• Jesse Welles, Middle

Best American Roots Song

• “Ancient Light” — Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan & Sara Watkins (I’m With Her)

• “Big Money” — Jon Batiste, Mike Elizondo & Steve McEwan

• “Foxes in the Snow” — Jason Isbell

• “Middle” — Jesse Welles

• “Spitfire” — Sierra Hull

Best Americana Performance

• Sierra Hull, “Boom”

• Maggie Rose & Grace Potter, “Poison in My Well”

• Mavis Staples, “Godspeed”

• Molly Tuttle, “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark”

• Jesse Welles, “Horses”

Best Bluegrass Album

• Michael Cleveland & Jason Carter, Carter & Cleveland

• Sierra Hull, A Tip Toe High Wire

• Alison Krauss & Union Station, Arcadia

• The Steeldrivers, Outrun

• Billy Strings, Highway Prayers

Best Folk Album

• Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow

• Patty Griffin, Crown of Roses

• I’m With Her, Wild and Clear and Blue

• Jason Isbell, Foxes in the Snow

• Jesse Welles, Under the Powerlines