For Immediate Release
JASON ALDEAN, DREW BALDRIDGE, TYLER HUBBARD, LUKAS NELSON, OLD DOMINION, TRISHA YEARWOOD, AND MANY OTHERS ANNOUNCED TO PERFORM AT THE 8TH ANNUAL NASHVILLE SONGWRITER AWARDS
PRESENTED BY CITY NATIONAL BANK
Tickets on sale 10:00 a.m. CT, Friday, July 18, 2025 at Ryman.com
Nashville, Tennessee (July 16, 2025) – For the 8th year in a row, Ryman Auditorium will open its doors welcoming music industry members, supporters, and fans from far and wide to honor the brilliant minds behind the songs of the past year and beyond! The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) along with presenting partner City National Bank are thrilled to now reveal the first group of songwriters and artists set to take the stage.
The first round of performers announced to participate in the September 23 celebration include: JASON ALDEAN, KELLY ARCHER, DREW BALDRIDGE, MARC BEESON, JOHNNY CLAWSON, TRAVIS DENNING, JESSIE JO DILLON, JOSH DORR, AARON ESHUIS, TYLER HUBBARD, LALO GUZMAN, CAMERON JAYMES, TONY LANE, JOSH MILLER, LUKAS NELSON, TIM NICHOLS, OLD DOMINION, JOSH PHILLIPS, DANIEL ROSS, CHRIS STEVENS, KYLE STURROCK, CHRIS TOMPKINS, TRISHA YEARWOOD and JIMMY YEARY!
Tickets will be available for purchase at Ryman.com beginning at 10:00am Central on Friday, July 18, 2025. Stay tuned for more information and additional ceremony participants!
In a previous announcement, NSAI revealed the evening will also include special segments honoring ALABAMA and BRENDA LEE for their careers and industry contributions. ALABAMA will receive the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award, and Brenda Lee will be honored with the NSAI President's Keystone Award. The night will also recognize Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Songwriter-Artist of the Year, the 10 Songs I Wish I'd Written awards, and the Legendary Song award.
Both Songwriter and Songwriter-Artist of the Year are contingent on chart performance, while the other award categories are peer-voted and determined by NSAI's talented professional membership of songwriters.
The Legendary Song award, a newer category created in 2024, was developed as a way to honor a song that is deemed legendary above all others in the designated timeframe. The eligibility period for this year's award was 1968-1984 and the NSAI Board of Directors carefully selected 10 impactful songs from that time for the pro membership to anonymously vote on to determine the top legendary song.
The remaining award categories for the night, and some of the most coveted honors to receive, are the 10 Songs I Wish I'd Written and Song of the Year awards. These accolades are given to those who have written songs that fellow songwriters in the industry honor as a song crafted so well they wish they had been a part of its creation. The Song of the Year award is given to the song that receives the most votes in the 10 Songs I Wish I'd Written voting process.
The event is produced each year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, the world's largest not-for-profit songwriters trade organization dedicated to protecting the rights of and serving aspiring and professional songwriters in all genres of music. Follow @nsaiofficial / #songwriterawards on Facebook, X, and Instagram to stay up-to-date on all announcements and news.
A special thank you to our event partners: City National Bank, Loeb & Loeb, General Motors, Blueprint Underground Cocktail Club, Recording Industry Association of America, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp, Jack Daniel's, Musicnotes, Recording Academy Songwriters & Composers Wing, SoundExchange, Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, and The Mechanical Licensing Collective.
For more information, visit nashvillesongwriters.com.
About Nashville Songwriters Association International
The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) is the world's largest not-for-profit songwriters trade association. Established in 1967, the membership of more than 5,000 active and professional members spans the United States and foreign countries. NSAI, with nearly 100 chapters, is dedicated to protecting the rights of and serving aspiring and professional songwriters in all genres of music. NSAI has been responsible for many advocacy advances for songwriters including its work on the Music Modernization Act and creation of the MLC, creating the first group copyright infringement insurance for songwriters, passing the landmark Songwriter Capital Gains Tax Equity Act and owns The Bluebird Cafe.
