Overview
- The Americana Music Association unveiled the full nominee list on Thursday, May 21, 2026, and confirmed the awards ceremony will take place on Sept. 16 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium during AmericanaFest.
- Artist of the Year nominees are Brandi Carlile, Charley Crockett, Margo Price, Molly Tuttle and Jesse Welles, with Carlile a two-time past winner of the category.
- Several acts earned two nominations each, including Brandi Carlile, Margo Price, I’m With Her, S. G. Goodman, Mon Rovîa and Ken Pomeroy, underlining clustered recognition across the five awards.
- Album of the Year contenders include Tyler Childers’ Snipe Hunter, Kathleen Edwards’ Billionaire, S. G. Goodman’s Planting by the Signs, Ken Pomeroy’s Cruel Joke and Margo Price’s Hard Headed Woman, while Song of the Year nominees feature Brandi Carlile’s “Returning to Myself” and Lucinda Williams’ “The World’s Gone Wrong.”
- The awards remain a focused five-category program that typically invites nominees to perform, ticket sales are rolling out in phases for AmericanaFest, and the association will announce separate lifetime ‘honors’ recipients ahead of the Sept. 16 winners reveal.