NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess) — On Tuesday, songwriters, music publishers, fans, and other industry luminaries gathered at the historic Ryman Auditorium for the 7th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards presented by City National Bank.
Ashley Gorley was honored as ‘Songwriter of the Year’ for a record eighth time, and was honored with performances of his hits “World on Fire” by Nate Smith and “Young Love and Saturday Nights” by Chris Young.
Alan Jackson was honored with the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award with several of his co-written hits performed for the audience, including “Livin’ On Love” by Hailey Whitters, “Here In The Real World” performed by Lee Ann Womack, and “Midnight In Montgomery” performed by Josh Turner.
NSAI President’s Keystone Award was presented to the incomparable producer and songwriter Buddy Cannon, recognizing Cannon’s contributions to the industry and songwriters. He was honored with a performance of his co-written hit “Give It Away” by Jamey Johnson.
Other performers for the night included Amanda Shires, who opened the show with a rendition of NSAI’s 2024 ‘Legendary Song’ – “Always On My Mind” written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James.
NSAI’s annual awards will return for the 8th annual ceremony on September 23rd, 2025 to Ryman Auditorium.
COMPLETE LIST OF AWARD-WINNERS AND CATEGORIES
SONG OF THE YEAR
“The Painter” Written by Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins, Ryan Larkins
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Ashley Gorley
SONGWRITER-ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jelly Roll
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Alan Jackson
Given in recognition to a songwriter whose works have made a significant
contribution to the American songbook and who has inspired the careers of others.
NSAI PRESIDENT’S KEYSTONE AWARD
Buddy Cannon
Given in recognition of significant contributions to the betterment of all songwriters, chosen by the current NSAI President.
’10 SONGS I WISH I’D WRITTEN’ AWARDS
Each year, the highly-coveted ‘10 Songs I Wish I’d Written’ Awards are voted on by Professional Songwriter Members of NSAI honoring the work of their songwriter peers. Songs eligible for the award have at least one Nashville-based writer and charted in the Top 20 of Billboard Airplay chart in the Christian, Country, Mainstream Top 40, and/or Rock genres between May 1, 2023, and April 30, 2024. The NSAI Song Of The Year is the highest vote-getter.
“Handle On You”
Written by: Monty Criswell, Parker McCollum
(recorded by: Parker McCollum)
“I’m Not Pretty”
Written by: Mackenzie Carpenter, Micah Carpenter, Megan Moroney, Ben Williams
(recorded by: Megan Moroney)
“Last Night”
Written by: John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Kasher Hindlin
(recorded by: Morgan Wallen)
“Man Made A Bar”
Written by: Rocky Block, Jordan Dozzi, Larry Fleet, Brett Tyler
(recorded by: Eric Church and Morgan Wallen)
“Need A Favor”
Written by: Jelly Roll, Austin Nivarel, Joe Ragosta, Rob Ragosta
(recorded by: Jelly Roll)
“Next Thing You Know”
Written by: Jordan Davis, Greylan James, Chase McGill, Josh Osborne
(recorded by: Jordan Davis)
“Pretty Little Poison”
Written by: Ryan Beaver, Jared Keim, Warren Zeiders
(recorded by: Warren Zeiders)
“Standing Room Only”
Written by: Tommy Cecil, Patrick Murphy, Craig Wiseman
(recorded by: Tim McGraw)
“Try That In A Small Town”
Written by: Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher
(recorded by: Jason Aldean)
“Where The Wild Things Are”
Written by: Randy Montana, Dave Turnbull
(recorded by: Luke Combs)
“White Horse”
Written by: Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson
(recorded by: Chris Stapleton)
