A Huge Victory for Traditional Country Music

The Grammys added Best Traditional Country Album to its list of awards.

Grammy Award trophies in the press room during the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, 2022. Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images

As country music has grown in popularity over the years, a segment of its artists has been hard at work releasing new music honoring the genre’s roots. In an effort to better represent these artists at the biggest music awards show of the year, a new category has been added to the yearly Grammy Awards ceremony.

While discussing the addition of Best Traditional Country Album to the awards show, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. shared that the traditional artists who are carrying the torch for country music’s foundational performers—figures like Hank Williams and Randy Travis—have become cornerstones of the genre.

The Recording Academy presents the Grammy Awards each year, and Mason’s comments reflects country music’s trend: “Country music has evolved in a major way over the past decade, with traditional country experiencing a massive resurgence, growing in popularity and volume.”

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. speaks onstage during the Grammy Hall of Fame gala on May 16, 2025. Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Not only has the Grammy Awards show added Best Traditional Country Album to its list of country music-related categories, it also changed its catch-all Best Country Album category to Best Contemporary Country Album in order to distinguish between the two prevailing styles.

Mason added that “traditional country has a timeless, distinct sound that’s inspired generations of musicians throughout the years. It’s an important part of the country music story and deserves to be celebrated and recognized with intention.”

A Recognition of ‘Excellence’

Proposals for the addition of a Traditional Country Album category have been presented in the past. This year, the changes were approved by a Recording Academy committee after a successful vote by the Board of Trustees.

The announcement regarding the country awards categories for the upcoming 2026 ceremony, slated for Feb. 1 in Los Angeles, comes on the heels of pop singer Beyoncé winning Best Country Album for her segue into the genre, “Cowboy Carter,” in 2025.

Music site Saving Country Music shared that the amendments will positively change the trajectory of the genre. “It’s hard to overstate how big this is, both in the present tense, and for what it could mean for the future.”

The site also shared how this change reflects years of hard work by advocates of traditional country stylings. “This means that for the first time, traditional country music and its artists will finally be recognized by the Grammy Awards independent from popular, modern country music. This is something that’s been clamored and advocated for over many years, if not decades. And it has finally come to fruition.”

When Billboard announced the news, the publication detailed what the Traditional Country Album category means, and the types of artists eligible to win the award.

“This category recognizes excellence in albums of traditional country music, both vocal and instrumental. Traditional country includes country recordings that adhere to the more traditional sound structures of the country genre, including rhythm and singing style, lyrical content, as well as traditional country instrumentation such as acoustic guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, electric guitar, and live drums. It also includes sub-genres such as Western, Western Swing, and Outlaw country.”

Grammy Awards categories are also available for sister genres of country, including bluegrass, folk, and Americana.

A Step in the Right Direction

Country music mural by Wes Hardin, 2017, in Dothan, Alabama. (L-R) Hank Williams, Hank Williams Jr, Audrey Williams, Dixie Hatfield, John Helms, Lamar Morris, Curly Chalker, George Jones, Lew Childre, Stonewall Jackson, Jimmy Watford, Billy Dean, Daryle Singletary, Charlie Monk, Boudleaux Bryant, Ray Kirkland. Library of Congress. Public Domain

Zach Top, Colter Wall, and Charley Crockett are just a few current country music artists dedicated to upholding the genre’s formative roots. And, as traditional artists experience more recognition by listeners in search of authentic country music, the addition of Best Traditional Country Album to the Grammys signifies influential voices within the industry are taking a step in the right direction.

Saving Country Music shared, “For traditional country artists, their fans, and advocates, this is a huge victory.”

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