There’s some talk going around in the natural state! The official list of nominees for the 2025 Arkansas Country Music Awards was just announced this past week on Tuesday, February 11th! 

This year, the eighth annual Arkansas Country Music Awards will return for the fifth year in a row to the Reynolds Performance Hall on the University of Central Arkansas Campus in Conway, Arkansas on June 2nd, 2025! 

The list of nominees continues to change each year, as it was said in a post, there is 60 first-time nominees featured on this year’s list! Cliff & Susan lead with five nominations. Along with that, Tyler Kinch, Sylamore Special and Waylon Wyatt have four nominations each, followed by Blane Howard, Marybeth Byrd, Kelsey Lamb and Andy Wallis with three nominations each. 

This year, the Arkansas Country Music Awards will be giving the Momentum Award to the artist, J.D. Clayton. He is the third artist to receive this award. The Lifetime Achievement award will be given to Collin Raye, Shawn Camp and John Hughey. They join previous Lifetime Achievement recipients including Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Barbara Fairchild, Charlie Rich, Floyd Cramer, Lefty Frizzell, and K.T. Oslin just to name a few. 

It was recently announced country music historian/journalist, Charles Haymes and Miss Arkansas 2014, Ashton Gill would return to co-host the eighth annual Arkansas Country Music Awards this year! This has certainly become an exciting music event in the natural state every June! 

Final voting is determined by a special awards committee, who are each sent a final ballot, and a collective tally of fan, online voting. The fan portion of voting starts on March 1st-14th! Congratulations to all the nominees! See the full list of the 2025 Arkansas Country Music Awards Nominees here!

Entertainer of the Year
Cliff & Susan
Marybeth Byrd
Midnight South
The Morris Family
Tyler Kinch

Americana Artist of the Year
Ashtyn Barbaree
Billy Jeter
Jon Bailey & the Heathen Revival
Tori Miller
Waylon Wyatt

Bluegrass Artist of the Year
Arkansauce
Casey Penn
The Charla Freeland Band
Front Porch
Sylamore Special

Country Artist of the Year
Blane Howard
Caleb King
David Adam Byrnes
Marybeth Byrd
Tyler Kinch

Inspirational Artist of the Year
Charles M. Barnes
The Morris Family
Paige Johnsey
Ray Hollis
The Tiptons

Female Vocalist of the Year
Abbey Pierce
Hannah Blaylock
Kelsey Lamb
Marybeth Byrd
Rachel Hale

Male Vocalist of the Year
BIAS
Blane Howard
David Adam Byrnes
Tyler Kinch
Wyatt Putman

Acoustic Act of the Year
Aaron Headley
Anna Brinker
Batterton & Edwards
Common Roots
Waylon Wyatt

Vocal Duo/Group of the Year
Cliff & Susan
Midnight South
The Roads Below
Sylamore Special
Whistlin’ Dixie

Music Collaboration of the Year
“God, Family, Country” by Michael Hosier & Tom Yankton. Produced by Jimmy Ritchey.
“Homesick” by Taylor Edwards & Adam Hambrick. Produced by Chris Ganoudis and Megan Redmond.
“Jailbreak” by Waylon Wyatt & Bayker Blankenship. Produced by Brent Truitt.
“Last Call” by Erin Enderlin featuring Cliff & Susan. Produced by Cliff Prowse.
“Promises and Mistakes” by Ashley Ewing featuring Blane Howard. Produced by Chris Ewing and Ashley Ewing.

Album of the Year
“Fiddle & Keys” by Cliff & Susan. Produced by Cliff Prowse and Larry Beaird.
“Freedom Sings Arkansas Vol. 01: Veterans Songs” by Cliff Prowse, Bobby Tomberlin, Susan Prowse, Billy Montana, Paul Tull and Rodger King. Produced by Cliff Prowse.
“Lord Knows I Ain’t No Saint” by Pamela Hopkins. Produced by Kenny Royster, P.T. Houston, Andy Wallis, Big Shane Thornton and Pamela Hopkins.
“Sylamore Special” by Sylamore Special. Produced by Jon Raney and Sylamore Special.
“Time to Learn” by Mallory Everett. Produced by Kevin Houston and Eric Lewis.

Song of the Year
“Frontlines” Written by Jason Lee Campbell and Terry Smith. Performed by Tyler Kinch.
“Good Morning Country Rain” Written by Eddy Raven. Performed by Sylamore Special.
“Soul Searchin'” Written and performed by Abbey Pierce.
“Working Man’s Prayer” Written and performed by Dylan Gray.
“You Made Me” Written by Kelsey Lamb, Chris Rafetto and Taylor Goyette. Performed by Kelsey Lamb.

Songwriter of the Year
Adam Hambrick
Derrick Mears
Jason Lee Campbell
Lance Carpenter
Mallory Everett

Music Producer of the Year
Andy Wallis
Darren Crisp
Derrick Brandon
Jon Raney
Travis Mobley

Sound Engineer of the Year
Bob Breazeal
Bryce Roberts
Darren Crisp
Jeremy Huddleston
Phillip Jackson

Promoter of the Year
Joanna Benson
Marty Scarbrough
Rickey Crawford
Thomas Colclasure
Trent Goins

Video of the Year
“Back Then” by Tyler Hursey. Directed by Wayne Toney.
“Backroads and Bonfires” by Ryan Daniel. Directed by Tyler Gwynne.
“Just the Same” by Big Shane Thornton, Justin Keith and Andy Wallis. Directed by Sharpe Dunaway.
“Run to the End of the World” by Hank Nightshade and the Midnight Sons. Directed by Nathan Minton.
“Trying” by Kelsey Lamb. Directed by Logan Christopher.

Radio Station of the Year
KDXY, “The Fox 104.9,” Jonesboro
KHBZ, “New Country 102.9,” Harrison
KIXB, “KIX 103,” El Dorado
KQUS, “US 97,” Hot Springs
KSSN, “KSSN 96,” Little Rock

Radio DJ of the Year
Greg Geary, KWCK, Searcy
Jess Jennings, KSSN, Little Rock
Jim & Lisa, KKYR, Texarkana
Sid King, KHPQ, Clinton
Stafford & Frigo, KDXY, Jonesboro

Publication/Blog/Podcast of the Year
Arkansongs
The C.L.I.M.B. Show
The CMBeat
Jonesboro Right Now
The Pam Setser Show

Venue of the Year
The Collins Theatre (Paragould)
The Farm (Eureka Springs)
Hempstead Hall (Hope)
JJ’s Live (Fayetteville)
Stickyz Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicken Shack (Little Rock)

Young Artist of the Year
Addyson Kennedy
Drew Pulliam
Grace Wells
Noah Gattis
Waylon Wyatt

Bass Player of the Year
Brian Batterton
Dennis Crouch
Doug DeForest
Garrett Jones
Michael Rinne

Drummer of the Year
Brett Jumper
Evan Hutchings
Mitch Trotter
Quinn Hill
Steve Wilkes

Fiddle Player of the Year
George Mason
Jenee Fleenor
Michael Schembre
Tony Rupp
Wayne Massengale

Guitar Player of the Year
Jake Stogdill
Jon Conley
Kyle Bruich
Scott Hundley
Shawn Lingo

Specialty/Utility Musician of the Year
Alex Hawf
Josh Matheny
Michael Heavner
Tim Crouch
Wes Dorethy

Be sure to follow the Arkansas Country Music Awards on their social media including on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can learn more about the awards by visiting their website HERE.

What do you think about this year’s nominees for the 2025 Arkansas Country Music Awards? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave me a comment below or on social media!