Nominees Revealed

The CMA Awards nominations are here – and they’re full of Good Country.

The headline takeaways from this year’s CMA Awards nominations may be the inclusion (and exclusion) of pop superstars, with understandable interest in what that says about today’s country format. But the 2024 field features plenty of roots and bluegrass influence, too. Regular BGS and Good Country readers might even be surprised at the confluence of the modern mainstream and its traditional tributaries.

We want to highlight that dynamic as well. Country has always been a big tent, but is it now becoming more receptive to its roots?

Let’s start with the superstars. These days, many can claim a rootsy kind of rebelliousness, and chief among those is Chris Stapleton. With his long history – in bluegrass, in Southern rock, in classic country songwriting, and with a train load of CMA trophies – Stapleton vies once again for what would be his first Entertainer of the Year award – after a record-setting eight nominations. Yet he still sings with the fiery Appalachian soul he debuted at the front of The SteelDrivers.

Others earning top billing this year include Zach Bryan and Lainey Wilson – and both have a reputation for gritty, creative realism. Some of the hottest new names country has to offer, Bryan has been selling out stadiums with his confessional alt-country and Wilson’s bluesy Louisiana swagger earned her last year’s Entertainer of the Year title. Those are not the only established artists holding true to the cause, though. 

Kacey Musgraves continues to show salt-of-the-earth songcraft is not mutually exclusive to shimmering pop decadence. And while Ashley McBryde has perfected the art of making arenas feel like a massive, county-line roadhouse, Cody Johnson proves the appetite for hardcore Texas twang did not die with King George’s (semi) abdication. All have become perennial fixtures in the format’s upper echelons.

Likewise, this year’s nominees offer excitement for the future, awash with fresh talent. Shaboozey turned heads with the Number One ear worm, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” but dig beyond the single and his catalog marks an elusive missing link between the hard-times inspirations of both hip-hop and country. Artists like Zach Top – who also came up through bluegrass – accept no substitute for twangy telecasters and shuffling, two-step beats. And while The War and Treaty continue their mission to bring soul and gospel back into the heart of country, The Red Clay Strays find a home for their blend of heady roots rock and commanding, fire-and-brimstone vocals.

Even the behind-the-scenes nominees highlight this rootsy resurgence, with the Musician of the Year category dominated by keepers of the instrumental flame. Fiddle phenom Jenee Fleenor goes head to head with steel-guitar legend Paul Franklin and the multi-talented guitarist/Americana artist Charlie Worsham – while the other two, guitarists Tom Bukovac and Rob McNelley, are certainly no slouches when it comes to six-string scholarship. 

In fact, the commonalities between this year’s CMA Awards nominees and the artists covered by BGS and GC are so striking, we wonder what you think. Take a look at the full list of nominees below, and let us know. 

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“The 58th Annual CMA Awards” – Final Nominees (by ballot category order):  

• Luke Combs

• Jelly Roll

• Chris Stapleton

• Morgan Wallen

• Lainey Wilson

Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)

• “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey

  Producers: Sean Cook, Nevin Sastry

  Mix Engineer: Raul Lopez

• “Dirt Cheap” – Cody Johnson

  Producer: Trent Willmon

  Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke

• “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen)

  Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins

  Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore

• “Watermelon Moonshine” – Lainey Wilson

  Producer: Jay Joyce

  Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce

• “White Horse” – Chris Stapleton

  Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton

  Mix Engineer: Vance Powell

Award goes to Artist, Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)

• Deeper Well – Kacey Musgraves

  Producers: Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves, Daniel Tashian

  Mix Engineers: Shawn Everett, Konrad Snyder

• Fathers & Sons – Luke Combs

  Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton

  Mix Engineer: Chip Matthews

• Higher – Chris Stapleton

  Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton

  Mix Engineer: Vance Powell

• Leather – Cody Johnson

  Producer: Trent Willmon

  Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke

• Whitsitt Chapel – Jelly Roll

  Producers: Andrew Baylis, Brock Berryhill, Zach Crowell, Jesse Frasure, David Garcia, Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft, Austin Nivarel, David Ray Stevens

  Mix Engineers: Jeff Braun, Jim Cooley

Award goes to Songwriter(s)

• “Burn It Down”

  Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Parker McCollum, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose

• “Dirt Cheap”

  Songwriter: Josh Phillips

• “I Had Some Help”

  Songwriters: Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins, Austin Post, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen, Chandler Paul Walters

• “The Painter”

  Songwriters: Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins, Ryan Larkins

• “White Horse”

  Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson

• Kelsea Ballerini

• Ashley McBryde

• Megan Moroney

• Kacey Musgraves

• Lainey Wilson

• Luke Combs

• Jelly Roll

• Cody Johnson

• Chris Stapleton

• Morgan Wallen

• Lady A

• Little Big Town

• Old Dominion

• The Red Clay Strays

• Zac Brown Band

• Brooks & Dunn

• Brothers Osborne

• Dan + Shay

• Maddie & Tae

• The War And Treaty

Award goes to Artists and Producer(s)

• “Cowboys Cry Too” – Kelsea Ballerini (with Noah Kahan)

  Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Alysa Vanderheym

• “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen)

  Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins

• “I Remember Everything” – Zach Bryan (ft. Kacey Musgraves)

  Producer: Zach Bryan

• “Man Made A Bar” – Morgan Wallen (feat. Eric Church)

  Producer: Joey Moi

• “you look like you love me” – Ella Langley (feat. Riley Green)

  Producer: Will Bundy

• Tom Bukovac – Guitar

• Jenee Fleenor – Fiddle

• Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar

• Rob McNelley – Guitar

• Charlie Worsham – Guitar

Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)

• “Dirt Cheap” – Cody Johnson

  Director: Dustin Haney

• “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen)

  Director: Chris Villa

• “I’m Not Pretty” – Megan Moroney

  Directors: Jeff Johnson, Megan Moroney

• “The Painter” – Cody Johnson

  Director: Dustin Haney

• “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” – Lainey Wilson

  Director: Patrick Tracy

• Megan Moroney

• Shaboozey

• Nate Smith

• Mitchell Tenpenny

• Zach Top

• Bailey Zimmerman

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Lead Image: Lainey Wilson by Eric Ryan Anderson