The official list of nominees for the 2026 Arkansas Country Music Awards was announced last month on Tuesday, February 3rd!
This year, the ninth annual Arkansas Country Music Awards will return for the sixth year in a row to the Reynolds Performance Hall on the University of Central Arkansas Campus in Conway, Arkansas on June 1st, 2026!
As the list of nominees continue to change a little bit every year, there is 50 first-time nominees on this year’s list! Lance Carpenter, Jeremy Huddleston and Waylon Wyatt leads the list with five nominations each. Along with that, Kelsey Lamb and Cliff & Susan received four nominations each. Blane Howard, Tyler Kinch, David Adam Byrnes and Luke Williams received three nominations each.
This year, The Lifetime Achievement award will be given to The Whites, Allen Reynolds and Jimmy & Patsy Doyle. 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.
Earlier in January, the wonderful news was announced in which country music historian/journalist, Charles Haymes and Miss Arkansas 2014, Ashton Gill would return to co-host the ninth annual Arkansas Country Music Awards this year!
The Arkansas Country Music Awards is definitely a noteworthy music event everyone looks forward to every June, in the natural state!
The CMBeat was honored to be named the Publication/Blog/Podcast of the Year at the 2025 Arkansas Country Music Awards!
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 is March 1st-14th! Congratulations to all the nominees! See the full list of the 2026 Arkansas Country Music Awards Nominees here!
Entertainer of the Year
Cliff & Susan
David Adam Byrnes
Sylamore Special
Tyler Kinch
Waylon Wyatt
Americana Artist of the Year
Ashtyn Barbaree
Common Roots
Jesse Welles
Mark Currey
Waylon Wyatt
Bluegrass Artist of the Year
Arkansauce
Front Porch
Harmony Hollow
Mountain Heirs
Sylamore Special
Country Artist of the Year
Blane Howard
David Adam Byrnes
Kelsey Lamb
Kish Moody
Ward Davis
Female Vocalist of the Year
Abbey Pierce
Kelsey Lamb
Mallory Everett
Mary Heather Hickman
Marybeth Byrd
Male Vocalist of the Year
Blane Howard
David Adam Byrnes
Ryan Harmon
Tyler Kinch
Waylon Wyatt
Vocal Duo/Group of the Year
Cliff & Susan
Copper Flats
Midnight South
7 South
TRIPPP
Acoustic Act of the Year
Batterton & Edwards
Cam Shelton
The Creek Rocks
Robert Taylor Smith
Trey Johnson
Music Collaboration of the Year
“Are You a Real Cowboy” by Amanda Kate Ferris featuring Jenee Fleenor. Produced by Jimmy Ritchey.
“Human Together” by Lance Carpenter featuring Jess Antonette. Produced by Lance Carpenter.
“Just Wait (Mom’s Version0” by Kelsey Lamb featuring Sharon Lamb. Produced by Matt McVaney.
“Sunday Supper” by Waylon Wyatt & Bayker Blakenship. Produced by Brett Truitt.
“Why You Been Gone So Long” by Molly Clair featuring Maddie Dalton and Tim Crouch. Produced by Clay Hess and Darrell Turnbull.
Young Artist of the Year
Addyson Kennedy
The Armer Sisters
Grace Wells
Noah Gattis
Presley Shipp
Album of the Year
“Don’t Call Me Darlin'” by Abbey Pierce. Produced by Jeremy Huddleston.
“Echoes from the Open Road” by Kish Moody. Produced by Kish Moody.
“Now I Know” by Blane Howard. Produced by Blane Howard and Derek George.
“Songs & Time” by Kenny Drain. Produced by Jeremy Huddleston.
“Til the Sun Goes Down” by Waylon Wyatt. Produced by Waylon Wyatt and Tommy Trautwein.
Song of the Year
“Dancing with a Cowboy” Written by Darren Barry. Performed by Tyler Kinch.
“Human Together” Written by Lance Carpenter. Performed by Lance Carpenter featuring Jess Antonette.
“Introduce Myself” Written and performed by Luke Williams.
“Me Being Me” Written by Jim Femino, D. Vincent Williams and Vickie McGehee. Performed by Pamela Hopkins.
“West Virginia” Written by Cliff Prowse and Susan Prowse. Performed by Cliff & Susan.
Songwriter of the Year
Barrett Baber
Brittany Moore
Jason Lee Campbell
Lance Carpenter
Trey Stevens
Music Producer of the Year
Andy Wallis
Darren Crisp
Eric Spahn/Josh Noren
Jeremy Huddleston
Jon Raney
Sound Engineer of the Year
Bob Breazeal
Bryce Roberts
Darren Crisp
Jeremy Huddleston
Sam Duncan
Promoter of the Year
Erica Holthus
Jenna Friday
Rickey Crawford
Trent Goins
Tyler Parsley
Video of the Year
“All American” by Lance Carpenter. Directed by Steve Batres.
“Clueless” by Brittany Moore. Directed by Oceanna Colgan.
“Introduce Myself” by Luke Williams. Directed by Sharpe Dunaway.
“Spitfire” by Cliff & Susan. Directed by Trenton Johnson.
“Tease” by Kelsey Lamb. Directed by Ben Oaks.
Inspirational Recording of the Year
“Give It To Jesus” by Anna Brinker. Produced by Don DeMumbrum.
“I’m Going Up” by Boone & Company featuring Jake Stogdill, Sam Cobb, Gary Cook, Roger Adams, Robbie Boone and Andrew Thompson. Produced by Jake Stogdill.
“Revival” by Woodshed Revival featuring Justin Keith, Big Shane Thornton and Andy Wallis. Produced by Andy Wallis.
“Shape of a Cross” by Lance Carpenter. Produced by Nick Schwarz.
“When I Think about Home” by The Villines Trio. Produced by Landon Villines.
Radio Station of the Year
KDXY, “The Fox 104.9,” Jonesboro
KHPQ, “Hot Country 92.1,” Clinton
KKYR, “Kicker 102.5,” Texarkana
KTCS, “KTCS 99.9,” Fort Smith
KWCK, “Continuous Country 99.9,” Searcy
Radio DJ of the Year
Beemer, KHOZ, Harrison
Billy Coble, KTPB, Pine Bluff
Greg Geary, KWCK, Searcy
Jess Jennings, KSSN, Little Rock
Marty Scarbrough, KASU, Jonesboro
Publication/Blog/Podcast of the Year
AY Magazine
Cleveland County Herald
The Pam Setser Show
Stuttgart Daily Leader
The TeleTime Show
Venue of the Year
The Collins Theatre (Paragould)
The Farm (Eureka Springs)
The Hall (Little Rock)
King’s Live Music (Conway)
The Woodlands Auditorium (Hot Springs Village)
Bass Player of the Year
Aaron Mashburn
Dennis Crouch
Doug DeForest
Garrett Jones
Michael Rinne
Drummer of the Year
Adam Parker
David O’Neal
Evan Hutchings
Quinn Hill
Ryan Cotroneo
Fiddle Player of the Year
George Mason
Jenee Fleenor
Mary Parker
Nathan Agdeppa
Tim Crouch
Guitar Player of the Year
Billy Lowe III
Jon Conley
Kyle Bruich
Luke Williams
Randall George
Specialty/Utility Musician of the Year
DeWayne Rice
Jeremy Huddleston
Josh Matheny
Michael Heavner
Walker Robinson
Be sure to follow the Arkansas Country Music Awards across their social media 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 2026 Arkansas Country Music Awards? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave me a comment below or on social media!
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