The 9th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards is adding to its star power with newly-announced performances from Steve Earle, Ashley McBryde and Chris Stapleton.
The awards ceremony is set for Sept. 22 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and will honor some of the top songs and songwriters of the year. The show will also feature performances from writers and/or artists including Jacob Davis, Ray Fulcher, Ben Johnson, Blake Pendergrass, Hunter Phelps, Lydia Vaughan, Neil Medley and more.
Vince Gill will be honored with the Kris Kristofferson lifetime achievement award, Paul Williams will be honored with the NSAI President’s keystone award, while Pendergrass will be celebrated as songwriter of the year and Riley Green will be feted as songwriter-artist of the year.
Other honors to be presented during the evening include accolades for song of the year, the “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” awards and the legendary song award.
Stapleton and McBryde are both previous honorees in the “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” category, with Stapleton being honored in 2024 (“White Horse”), 2022 (“You Should Probably Leave”), 2021 (“Starting Over”), 2018 (“Broken Halos”) and 2014 (the Luke Bryan-recorded “Drink A Beer”). McBryde was honored in the “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” category in 2022 (“Never Wanted to Be That Girl”) and 2021 (“One Night Standards”).
Earle’s 1986 album Guitar Town is considered a classic, especially in the Americana genre, while his song “Copperhead Road” was named an official state song of Tennessee in 2023. In 2020, Earle was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and he was made a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2025.
Tickets for the event go on sale starting July 17 10 a.m. CT at ryman.com.
