Who would have predicted ever seeing Tyler Childers going head-to-head with Shaboozey for a Grammy Award, but that’s the kind of party that’s going on under the big tent that is Field 5, the Recording Academy’s mega-category for Country & American Roots Music. Nominations for the 2026 awards were announced on Friday, including the first in a historic split of the Country Album prize into Traditional and Contemporary designations.
Childers, the hard-edged but progressive-minded songwriter from rural Kentucky who does not want to be called Americana, got his wish, earning four country nominations to go with his lifetime collection of seven others. He was named in this year’s newly created Contemporary Country Album category for Snipe Hunter and Best Country Song (for his quirky “The Bitin’ List,”). He was noted as a vocalist as well, for Best Country Duo/Group Performance (for “Love Me Like You Used To Do” with Margo Price) and Best Country Solo Performance, for “Nose On The Grindstone.” That’s where he’ll compete with breakout modern country singer/rapper Shaboozey, along with Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, and Zach Top, a country crooning phenom who had a big nominations day himself.
But it’s another raspy voiced, down-home songwriter who really broke through in the roots world this year, now with four Grammy nominations to show for it. Jesse Welles, a highly prolific, hotly topical, and wickedly humorous troubadour who evokes Woody Guthrie and John Prine, will be up for Best Americana Performance for “Horses,” Best Americana Album for his studio album Middle, Best Americana Roots Song for its title track, and Best Folk Album for Under The Powerlines April 24 – September 24.
That latter album was one of two massive volumes he’s released this year anthologizing scores of quick-turn, socially and politically-minded songs that he recorded outdoors for his popular YouTube and Instagram channels. The Arkansas native has a history of putting out a lot of music, but he’s outdone himself this year with seven studio or field recordings. Last Fall, he was nominated as Americana Music’s Emerging Act of the Year and was awarded the Spirit Of Americana Free Speech Award for his biting commentary.
Many in the roots/Americana world were watching closely to see what would happen with the new Traditional/Contemporary Country Album bifurcation. It’s the biggest change potentially affecting Americana artists since the entire field was reorganized as American Roots 15 years ago. NPR’s Jewly Hight wrote a superb deep dive article on the change, including comments from commentator Kyle Coroneos, who’s posted his own enthusiastic endorsements of the split on his Saving Country Music site.
Besides Tyler Childers, the Contemporary slate was rounded out by Kelsea Ballerini (for Patterns), Eric Church (for Evangeline Vs. The Machine), Jelly Roll (for Beautifully Broken), and Miranda Lambert (for Postcards From Texas). Morgan Wallen, arguably commercial country’s biggest artist, declined to enter his sprawling hit album I’m The Problem for consideration, seemingly with a feeling that he’d been snubbed in the past. This year’s nominees continue a trend from the Best Country Album years, in which nominees were more from the critically acclaimed camp than the chart-topping camp of the country industry.
Best Traditional Country Album for 2026 offered promise for country-focused artists in the Americana format to have a new forum, and indeed this seems to have happened. The slate features Charley Crockett (for Dollar A Day), Lukas Nelson (for American Romance), Lukas’s father Willie Nelson (for Oh What A Beautiful World), Margo Price (for Hard Headed Woman), and Zach Top (for Ain’t In It For My Health). Top, the only name here not commonly or currently on the Americana radio chart, is a fascinating grassroots breakout from the Red Dirt scene who channels the sound of early 1990s radio, when George Strait and Randy Travis ruled. With a huge following and big album stats for streaming and sales, but no big records on either country or Americana radio, Top falls between genre categories in a unique way. But he snagged three nominations total on Friday, including Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance, both for “I Never Lie.”
Meanwhile, back in Americana territory, the Best Album will go to either Jesse Welles, Molly Tuttle (for So Long Little Miss Sunshine), Willie Nelson (here for a different album than in country, Last Leaf On The Tree), Larkin Poe (for the blues/rock album Bloom), or Jon Batiste, (for BIG MONEY). Here, the Batiste nomination stands out, with echoes of 2021, when his song “Cry” won two different Americana categories, while his record We Are won the overall Album of the Year. He’s a great artist who is kind of a category unto himself, but BIG MONEY is a rich gumbo of roots and pop vibes. He is also up for American Roots Performance and Song.
There are a few other three-way nominees this year, including progressive mandolinist and songwriter Sierra Hull. Her 2025 release A Tiptoe High Wire is in the pool for Best Bluegrass Album. From that project, “Boom” is up for Best Americana Performance, and “Spitfire” for Americana Song. Fellow award magnets Jason Isbell and supergroup I’m With Her matched each other category for category, with nods for Folk Album, American Roots Song, and American Roots Performance. Isbell’s claim comes from his first-ever solo acoustic album Foxes In The Snow, while the trio of Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan are in there with their carefully crafted ensemble album Wild And Clear And Blue.
Blues has been subdivided into Contemporary and Traditional for years, and these categories are rich with talent of all ages. Buddy Guy could win his ninth Grammy for his album Ain’t Done With The Blues. Other vets in that Traditional category include Maria Muldauer, Charlie Musselwhite, Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Bobby Rush. Contemporary blues album nods went to rising stars Southern Avenue and Samantha Fish, plus more established artists Robert Randoph, Eric Gales, and Joe Bonnamossa.
Rounding out the Best Bluegrass Album category (alongside Sierra Hull) are Michael Cleveland and Jason Carter, whose one-off duo album Carter & Cleveland won the IBMA Album of the Year in September. A nomination for Alison Krauss and Union Station’s Arcadia - her first full-band album in 14 years - came as no surprise, nor did Billy Strings’s sweeping 2024 masterwork Highway Prayers. A possible second Grammy win could come for The Steeldrivers and their album Outrun.
With four nominations, Tyler Childers has real potential to win his first-ever Grammy Award, when the ceremonies commence on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. So do Maggie Rose and Grace Potter, whose smoky and funky single “Poison In My Well” is up for Best Americana Performance. Margo Price also is seeking her first win.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15 years since the introduction of the Americana categories to the Grammy Awards. They seem like a natural part of the music industry cycle now, and even if there have been a few eyebrow-raising nominees (remember the Linda Chorney controversy?), the trophies have gone to artists who clearly are at the center of the format: Jason Isbell with three, Brandi Carlile with two, and even a brilliant left-field win in 2017 for the great Memphis songwriter and artist William Bell. The country album split may mean fewer twangy artists go for the win in Americana in the future, but that in turn may open up space for more eclectic potential nominees, and that’s fully in the spirit of the music.
A complete look at the Country & American Roots Field:
Category 39
Best Country Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo country recordings.
Nose On The Grindstone
Tyler Childers
Good News
Shaboozey
Bad As I Used To Be [From "F1® The Movie"] Chris Stapleton
I Never Lie
Zach Top
Somewhere Over Laredo
Lainey Wilson
Category 40
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative country recordings.
A Song To Sing
Miranda Lambert And Chris Stapleton
Trailblazer
Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson
Love Me Like You Used To Do
Margo Price & Tyler Childers
Amen
Shaboozey & Jelly Roll
Honky Tonk Hall Of Fame
George Strait, Chris Stapleton
Category 41
Best Country Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Bitin’ List
Tyler Childers, songwriter (Tyler Childers)
Good News
Michael Ross Pollack, Sam Elliot Roman & Jacob Torrey, songwriters (Shaboozey)
I Never Lie
Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols & Zach Top, songwriters (Zach Top)
Somewhere Over Laredo
Andy Albert, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson & Lainey Wilson, songwriters (Lainey Wilson)
A Song To Sing
Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure, Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Miranda Lambert And Chris Stapleton)
Category 42
Best Traditional Country Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new traditional country recordings.
Dollar A Day
Charley Crockett
American Romance
Lukas Nelson
Oh What A Beautiful World
Willie Nelson
Hard Headed Woman
Margo Price
Ain't In It For My Health
Zach Top
Category 43
Best Contemporary Country Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new contemporary country recordings.
Patterns
Kelsea Ballerini
Snipe Hunter
Tyler Childers
Evangeline Vs. The Machine
Eric Church
Beautifully Broken
Jelly Roll
Postcards From Texas
Miranda Lambert
Category 44
Best American Roots Performance
For new vocal or instrumental American Roots recordings. This is for performances in the style of any of the subgenres encompassed in the American Roots Music field including bluegrass, blues, folk or regional roots. Award to the artist(s).
LONELY AVENUE
Jon Batiste Featuring Randy Newman
Ancient Light
I'm With Her
Crimson And Clay
Jason Isbell
Richmond On The James
Alison Krauss & Union Station
Beautiful Strangers
Mavis Staples
Category 45
Best Americana Performance
For new vocal or instrumental Americana performance. Award to the artist(s).
Boom
Sierra Hull
Poison In My Well
Maggie Rose & Grace Potter
Godspeed
Mavis Staples
That's Gonna Leave A Mark
Molly Tuttle
Horses
Jesse Welles
Category 46
Best American Roots Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Americana, bluegrass, traditional blues, contemporary blues, folk or regional roots songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Ancient Light
Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan & Sara Watkins, songwriters (I'm With Her)
BIG MONEY
Jon Batiste, Mike Elizondo & Steve McEwan, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
Foxes In The Snow
Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell)
Middle
Jesse Welles, songwriter (Jesse Welles)
Spitfire
Sierra Hull, songwriter (Sierra Hull)
Category 47
Best Americana Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Americana recordings.
BIG MONEY
Jon Batiste
Bloom
Larkin Poe
Last Leaf On The Tree
Willie Nelson
So Long Little Miss Sunshine
Molly Tuttle
Middle
Jesse Welles
Category 48
Best Bluegrass Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental bluegrass recordings.
Carter & Cleveland
Michael Cleveland & Jason Carter
A Tip Toe High Wire
Sierra Hull
Arcadia
Alison Krauss & Union Station
Outrun
The Steeldrivers
Highway Prayers
Billy Strings
Category 49
Best Traditional Blues Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental traditional blues recordings.
Ain’t Done With The Blues
Buddy Guy
Room On The Porch
Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo'
One Hour Mama: The Blues Of Victoria Spivey
Maria Muldaur
Look Out Highway
Charlie Musselwhite
Young Fashioned Ways
Kenny Wayne Shepherd & Bobby Rush
Category 50
Best Contemporary Blues Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental contemporary blues recordings.
Breakthrough
Joe Bonamassa
Paper Doll
Samantha Fish
A Tribute To LJK
Eric Gales
Preacher Kids
Robert Randolph
Family
Southern Avenue
Category 51
Best Folk Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental folk recordings.
What Did The Blackbird Say To The Crow
Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson
Crown Of Roses
Patty Griffin
Wild And Clear And Blue
I'm With Her
Foxes In The Snow
Jason Isbell
Under The Powerlines April 24 – September 24
Jesse Welles
Category 52
Best Regional Roots Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental regional roots music recordings.
Live At Vaughan’s
Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet
For Fat Man
Preservation Brass & Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Church Of New Orleans
Kyle Roussel
Second Line Sunday
Trombone Shorty And New Breed Brass Band
A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco
(Various Artists)
