Ashley Gorley, Josh Phillips, Matthew West Lead Nashville Songwriter Awards Winners

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) celebrated its eighth yearly Nashville Songwriter Awards connected Tuesday evening (Sept. 23), held astatine the Ryman Auditorium. Forty-two individuals were honored for their excellence and dedication to the trade of songwriting–or, arsenic NSAI committee president Lee Thomas Miller called songwriters that evening, “the lifeblood of our industry.”

The enactment was founded successful 1967 arsenic a not-for-profit commercialized enactment for nonrecreational and processing songwriters. 

The evening launched with a tribute to Kris Kristofferson (the namesake of the evening’s Kris Kristofferson beingness accomplishment award, which was fixed to state radical Alabama). Kristofferson, known for elevating the trade of songwriting with his poetic attack and songs specified arsenic “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and “For the Good Times,” died successful 2024. During the Nashville Songwriter Awards, Lukas Nelson honored the precocious Kristofferson with a show of Kristofferson’s 1971 deed “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Everything I’ll Ever Do Again)”. 

“He changed what you tin constitute successful this town,” Bart Herbison, enforcement manager of NSAI, said of Kristofferson.

Ashley Gorley earned his ninth songwriter of the twelvemonth accolade, for penning songs including “Cowgirls,” “I Am Not Okay,” “Bulletproof,” and “World connected Fire.” Tyler Hubbard feted Gorley with a show of “Park” and Dylan Scott performed “This Town’s Been Too Good to Us.” 

Gorley thanked NSAI “for the enactment you bash to combat for our rights… and to observe our talents tonight.” He besides thanked Sony, Tape Room, ASCAP, state vigor and more. “I privation to convey the artists for signaling the songs,” helium added.

“I Will Always Love You,” written by Country Music Hall of Famer Dolly Parton, earned the legendary opus award. Caylee Hammack honored Parton with a spot-on show of the song. 

“This opus has go truthful galore things to truthful galore people,” Parton said successful a video acceptance speech. “That is the powerfulness of music, and I can’t convey you capable for honoring maine and allowing maine to archer my stories.”

“Little Miss Dynamite” Brenda Lee, who signed with Decca Records anterior to her 12th day and went connected to go the archetypal pistillate inducted into some the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, was celebrated arsenic the NSAI president’s keystone grant recipient. Trisha Yearwood performed a rendition of Lee’s 1959 deed “Sweet Nothin’s,” which was written by Ronnie Self. 

“It’s specified an grant for maine due to the fact that of the radical who are giving maine this. The songwriters person been the backbone of everything I’ve ever done… I emotion this industry… You person been truthful so loyal and fantastic to this small abbreviated miss from Georgia,” Lee said. 

The nonaccomplishment of esteemed Nashville songwriter (and NSAI committee member) Brett James past week was palpable wrong the songwriter and publishing assemblage gathered that evening. The surface included a tribute that work simply, “We emotion you, Brett.” Early successful the evening, Lee Thomas Miller led the assemblage successful observing a infinitesimal of soundlessness to retrieve James, and to grant his enduring interaction connected the Nashville songwriting community.

Miller called James “an incredibly talented songwriter, steadfast and producer. Few songwriters successful our municipality person achieved the level of occurrence that Brett did. Since the mid-’90s, him, and that hair, were a changeless connected Music Row and successful our lives. He was a beauteous person to each of america who knew and loved him and it’s hard to ideate state euphony without him.”

In accepting his songwriter of the twelvemonth accolade, Gorley besides took a infinitesimal to retrieve James and memories of spending clip with him. He recalled playing a writer’s circular with James and however during the round, James took the clip to promote Gorley. Gorley said James was “proof of surviving beingness to the fullest and being an encourager adjacent more. My full household ziplined with him astatine Sundance, I watched him get knighted astatine a castle successful France astatine a penning campy 1 time. He gets each h...