The Americana Music Association has announced its nominees for the 2026 Americana Honors and Awards. The list includes past honorees like Brandi Carlile, S.G. Goodman, Charley Crockett, and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, along with new names like Ken Pomeroy, Kashus Culpepper and Boy Golden. This year will mark the 25th year for the Americana Honors & Awards, and they’ll be presented on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, as part of Americana Fest, which runs September 15 to 19.

Among the Artist of the Year nominees, Carlile has been nominated in this category at least five times, winning Artist of the Year in 2021 and 2019. Two artists have been nominated for Artist of the Year three times prior to this year — Margo Price (2023, ’21 and ’18) and Crockett (’25, ’24 and ’23) — and three of this year’s Artist of the Year nominees have previously won awards in other categories: Jesse Welles in 2025 for the Spirit of Americana/Free Speech Award, Crockett in 2021 for Emerging Artist of the Year, and Molly Tuttle in 2018 for Instrumentalist of the Year.

This year’s Album of the Year nominees include Price for Hard Headed Woman, 2018 Emerging Artist of the Year winner Tyler Childers for Snipe Hunter, and 2026 Emerging Artist nominee Ken Pomeroy for Cruel Joke, her second full-length album and first on the Rounder Records label.

The Duo/Group of the Year category includes previous winners Gillian Welch & David Rawlings (who took home the honor just last year) and I’m With Her, who won the award in 2019.

I’m With Her — who won last year’s Song of the Year award for “Ancient Light” — are nominated in this year’s Song of the Year category for “Wild and Clear and Blue,” the title track from the album on which “Ancient Light” also appears. S.G. Goodman, who won 2023’s Emerging Artist award and who is nominated for Album of the Year for Planting by the Signs, is up for Song of the Year for “Snapping Turtle,” while one of this year’s Emerging Artist nominees, Mon Rovîa, also got a Song of the Year nom for “Heavy Foot.” Rounding out the Song of the Year nominees are the prolific Carlile for “Returning to Myself” and Lucinda Williams for her timely song, “The World’s Gone Wrong.”

On seeing the Emerging Artist of the Year category, The Current’s Bill DeVille said he found it “the most interesting of the pack.” The list brims with fresh talent, including the aforementioned artists Mon Rovîa — a Liberia-born, Chattanooga, Tennessee-based folk artist — and Pomeroy, a singer-songwriter from Oklahoma; alongside Winnipeg singer-songwriter Boy Golden; New Orleans sibling duo Crowe Boys; Alabama singer-songwriter Kashus Culpepper; and Oklahoma singer-songwriter Ken Pomeroy.

Here is the full list of the 2026 Americana Honors and Awards nominees:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

Snipe Hunter, Tyler Childers; Produced by Tyler Childers, Rick Rubin & Nick Sanborn

Billionaire, Kathleen Edwards; Produced by Jason Isbell & Gena Johnson

Planting by the Signs, S.G. Goodman; Produced by S.G. Goodman, Matthew Rowan & Drew Vandenberg

Cruel Joke, Ken Pomeroy; Produced by Colton Jean, Dakota McDaniel & Gary Paczosa

Hard Headed Woman, Margo Price; Produced by Matt Ross-Spang

ARTIST OF THE YEAR:

Brandi Carlile

Charley Crockett

Margo Price

Molly Tuttle

Jesse Welles

DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR:

Flatland Cavalry

I’m With Her

Mumford & Sons

Turnpike Troubadours

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

EMERGING ACT OF THE YEAR:

Boy Golden

Crowe Boys

Kashus Culpepper

Ken Pomeroy

Mon Rovîa

SONG OF THE YEAR:

“Returning To Myself,” Brandi Carlile; Written by Brandi Carlile

“Snapping Turtle,” S.G. Goodman; Written by S.G. Goodman

“Wild and Clear and Blue,” I’m With Her; Written by Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan & Sara Watkins

“Heavy Foot,” Mon Rovîa; Written by Grant Averill, Eric Cromartie, Cooper Holzman & Andrew Lowe

“The World’s Gone Wrong,” Lucinda Williams (feat. Brittney Spencer); Written by Tom Overby, Doug Pettibone & Lucinda Williams

External Link

Americana Music Association – official site