{"id":858111,"date":"2026-09-23T19:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/858111\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T19:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:28:16","slug":"riley-green-ella-langley-among-nashville-songwriters-awards-honorees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/858111\/","title":{"rendered":"Riley Green, Ella Langley Among Nashville Songwriters Awards Honorees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe creative community that fuels many of Music City\u2019s top biggest hits came out in force Tuesday night (Sept. 22) at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, as the ninth annual Nashville Songwriter Awards<\/a> feted the songwriters who penned some of fans\u2019 favorite songs of the year.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas,\u201d written by Ella Langley<\/a>, Miranda Lambert<\/a>, Joybeth Taylor and Luke Dick, was named song of the year. During the evening, Langley surprised the crowd by taking the stage to join HARDY, Jordan Schmidt and Smith Ahnquist to perform her song \u201cBe Her,\u201d and later performed \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d alongside Taylor and Dick. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think it really is a testament to believing in your people,\u201d Langley told the crowd. \u201cAs an artist, early on, you find your people that you write well with, not only that you write well with, but that believe you and your story\u2026 I\u2019m just so grateful for songwriters that are able to help tell my story, and thank you so much for being there and writing this song with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"NASHVILLE,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRiley Green and Hannah McFarland perform onstage at the 9th Annual Nashville Songwriter Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 22, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Jason Kempin \/ Courtesy Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJason Kempin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley Green<\/a>, who just released his new album That\u2019s Just Me, was named songwriter-artist of the year.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m really honored to be here tonight with all you great songwriters and publishers and everyone involved in country music,\u201d Green told the crowd. \u201cMy favorite part of country music is definitely the songwriting. I think I\u2019ve always considered myself a songwriter first, and if I can be successful in any part of this business, which I\u2019ve come to realize there\u2019s a lot of parts to it, it would be writing songs. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMy granddaddy Buford was a witty guy,\u201d he continued. \u201cHe wrote poems and always was really quick and had a comeback for everything and I think he would\u2019ve been a great songwriter had he been alive when I started that journey in my life. I\u2019m so honored to be here and accept an honor of any kind of recognition in that world, that means so much to me. I\u2019ve been really fortunate enough over the last few years to have some major tours, some CMA Awards and ACM Awards\u2026 accolades I never thought I would achieve, but I truly appreciate this as much as anything. It means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGreen was also joined by Hannah McFarland to perform \u201cDon\u2019t Mind If I Do,\u201d which was honored as one of NSAI\u2019s \u201c10 Songs I Wish I\u2019d Written.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tBlake Pendergrass was honored as songwriter of the year, for his work on songs including the Morgan Wallen-recorded \u201c20 Cigarettes\u201d and \u201cJust in Case,\u201d which were both honored during the evening as part of the \u201c10 Songs I Wish I\u2019d Written\u201d segment.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"NASHVILLE,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBlake Pendergrass speaks onstage at the 9th Annual Nashville Songwriter Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 22, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Jason Kempin \/ Courtesy Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJason Kempin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tASCAP president\/chairman of the board and songwriter Paul Williams was honored with NSAI\u2019s president\u2019s keystone award. Williams, who co-penned classics like \u201cRainbow Connection\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Going to Go Back There Someday\u201d for the 1979 film The Muppet Movie, followed the muppet Gonzo onstage to receive the accolade.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe get to take what\u2019s in the center of our chests and share it with the world,\u201d Williams said of songwriters, noting they get to \u201cstrengthen and celebrate our human experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tVince Gill was honored with the Kris Kristofferson lifetime achievement award. In accepting the honor, Gill remembered hearing his first band\u2019s first song on the radio while driving on Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City as a teenager.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat that did for me as a 17-year-old kid is it gave me hope. It gave me hope that, if I tried, you never know what could happen,\u201d Gill said. \u201cI went through periods of struggle, you know, but through all of that, I never, ever, even came close to losing that hope. That hope has stayed with me the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis year\u2019s legendary song honor was given to \u201cThe Gambler,\u201d written by the late songwriting legend Don Schlitz. Steve Earle was on hand to perform the song in honor of Schlitz.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"NASHVILLE,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tVince Gill speaks onstage at the 9th Annual Nashville Songwriter Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 22, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Jason Kempin\/ Courtesy Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJason Kempin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tThroughout the evening, several artists and songwriters were on hand to honor the feted songs and writers. Rodney Crowell honored Gill by performing \u201cOne More Last Chance,\u201d with Ashley McBryde performing \u201cHill People,\u201d a song she co-wrote with Gill. Chris Stapleton was joined by Ricky Skaggs, Sonya Isaacs and Andrea Zonn to perform the Gill-written \u201cGo Rest High On That Mountain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPendergrass was honored with performances from Ethan Burdick (performing \u201c865\u201d), Warren Zeiders (\u201cBetrayal\u201d) and Vincent Mason (\u201cWish You Well\u201d). Other performer highlights included ERNEST, a writer on two of the winning songs, Wallen\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m the Problem\u201d and \u201cJust in Case,\u201d as he performed \u201cI\u2019m the Problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSee a full list of this year\u2019s recipients of the \u201c10 Songs I Wish I\u2019d Written\u201d honors:<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c20 Cigarettes\u201d
Written by: Chris LaCorte, Chase McGill, Josh Miller, Blake Pendergrass \/ Recorded by: Morgan Wallen<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBar None\u201d
Written by: Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps, Lydia Vaughan \/ Recorded by: Jordan Davis<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBackseat Driver\u201d
Written by: Jacob Davis, Jordan Walker \/ Recorded by: Kane Brown<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBe Her\u201d
Written by: Smith Ahnquist, Michael Hardy, Ella Langley, Jordan Schmidt \/ Recorded by: Ella Langley<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCountry Song Came On\u201d
Written by: Dan Alley, Ryan Beaver, Neil Medley \/ Recorded by: Luke Bryan<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDon\u2019t Mind If I Do\u201d
Written by: Riley Green \/ Recorded by: Riley Green feat. Ella Langley<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m the Problem\u201d
Written by: Grady Block, Charlie Handsome, Jamie McLaughlin, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen \/ Recorded by: Morgan Wallen<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJust In Case\u201d
Written by: Alex Bak, John Byron, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Blake Pendergrass, Ernest Keith Smith, Josh Thompson, Morgan Wallen \/ Recorded by: Morgan Wallen<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSomewhere Over Laredo\u201d
Written by: Andy Albert, Trannie Anderson, Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson \/ Recorded by: Lainey Wilson<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Fall\u201d
Written by: Ray Fulcher, Bobby Pinson, Jeremy Stover \/ Recorded by: Cody Johnson<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWeren\u2019t for the Wind\u201d
Written by: Johnny Clawson, Ella Langley, Joybeth Taylor \/ Recorded by: Ella Langley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The creative community that fuels many of Music City\u2019s top biggest hits came out in force Tuesday night…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[10546,88,64964,216],"class_list":["post-858111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-awards","tag-entertainment","tag-genre-country","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}