The Grammy Awards have long been criticized for their lack of recognition for traditional country music. But in 2025, they made a significant step forward by introducing a new "Best Traditional Country Album" category and renaming the existing "Best Country Album" category to "Best Contemporary Country Album." This move was a huge victory for traditional country artists, who have long been overshadowed by the pop-oriented names of country music.
The new category's first year saw Charley Crockett, Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, and Willie Nelson all receive nominations, and Zach Top winning the award for his album "Ain't In It For My Health." But this was just the beginning. Traditional country music performers now need to submit their albums to the Grammy Awards for consideration, and the process is not as straightforward as one might think.
The eligibility period for the 2027 Grammy Awards is August 31, 2025 – August 28, 2026, meaning that any country album released within that period is eligible for submission. And while the Grammys encourage everyone to submit their entries as early as possible, the process can be a bit more complicated for smaller artists.
Grammy members and "media companies" (labels, management groups, or legitimate businesses that create and promote audio and/or video content for commercial purposes) can submit their work, but the period to become a Grammy member has closed for this cycle. However, media companies can still register up to August 28, 2026.
For smaller artists, the solution is to find someone who is a Grammy member or a media company and ask them to submit on their behalf. And if you're an artist on a label, make sure your label is submitting your album to the Grammys, and insist that it's submitted to the "Best Traditional Country Album" category.
But what if an album doesn't quite fit into the traditional album category? That's okay, submit it anyway. The more entries the Grammys get, the healthier all country's categories are, and the more likely the "Best Traditional Country Album" category will stick around indefinitely. Who knows, maybe we can even get a "Best Traditional Country Song" category in the future.
And artists don't just have to submit albums. If they believe they have a Grammy-winning song, they can submit it to the existing "Best Country Song," "Best Country Performance," or "Best Country Duo or Group Performance" categories for consideration as traditional country.
In my opinion, the new Grammy Best Traditional Country Album category is a significant step forward for artists and performers who believe in preserving the roots of country music. But it's only the beginning. We need to continue to support and promote traditional country music to ensure that it has a home in the Grammy Awards and beyond.
Personally, I think the Grammy Awards have a long way to go to fully recognize and celebrate the diversity of country music, but this new category is a step in the right direction. And if you have any questions or need help with the submission process, reach out to Saving Country Music. They're here to help.
