A new country music category has been added for the 2026 Grammy Awards. The change is meant to make space for where the genre is headed.
The new category actually allows room for artists who remain close to the roots of country music to be recognized. Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. says the move aligns country with other genres, also.
- In 2026, the Best Traditional Country Album award will be given for the first time.
- This makes for five country categories in a field that also includes American Roots, Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk and regional roots.
- Mason says a proposal to add the category has been submitted before, but never passed a vote by Academy board of trustees.
Billboard shared news of the new Best Traditional Country Album category on Thursday (June 12).
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Mason tells the magazine he hopes this new category clears up confusion about which genre an album belongs in. Non-mainstream artists like (2025 Grammy nominees) Charley Crockett and Sierra Ferrell stand to benefit. Both were in Americana or American roots categories previously.
In a related move, the Best Country Album category will now be called Best Contemporary Country Album. It will be interesting to see how these categories operate in practice — an artist like Zach Top is unequivocally traditional, but also new and mainstream, and thus, contemporary.
Will he and other artists like him (Chris Stapleton, Willie Nelson) be allowed in both categories?
Here is the definition of the new category:
“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.”
Unlike other genres, country music has resisted being separated into sub-genres, even as the sound expanded. Rock music is split into alternative rock, classic rock, heavy metal, etc … Specificity (plus many other factors, as outlined in a solid op-ed at Slate) has certainly hurt rock radio, but in an age of digital streaming, that could be a marketing blow worth suffering.
“I’m hopeful that that community understands that the Academy is doing what it always does, which is stay in tune with what’s happening in their genre,” Mason says.
The 2026 Grammy Awards will take place on Feb. 1, 2026. Nominations are expected in November.
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
