2018 Grammy Awards: Everything a Country Music Fan Needs to Know About Sunday Night

JS

2018 Grammy Awards: Everything a Country Music Fan Needs to Know About Sunday Night

From nominations and notes to performers and presenters, here’s everything a country music fan needs to know about the 2018 Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 28.

The Notes

Date: Jan. 28
Location: Madison Square Garden
Time: 7:30 p.m ET
Channel: CBS
Live Stream: CBS All Access
Host:
James Corden
Red Carpet:
CBS/6:30 p.m.
Non-Televised Awards: Grammy.com at 3 p.m. ET

Country Performers

Chris Stapleton
Little Big Town
Emmylou Harris
Maren Morris
Brothers Osborne
Eric Church

Presenters

Tony Bennett, Dave Chappelle, Kelly Clarkson, Victor Cruz, Eve, Jim Gaffigan, Katie Holmes, Nick Jonas, Anna Kendrick, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Shemar Moore, Trevor Noah, Sarah Silverman, Hailee Steinfeld and Donnie Wahlberg.

Country Nominations

Best Country Solo Performance 

  • “Body Like A Back Road”—Sam Hunt
  • “Losing You”—Alison Krauss
  • “Tin Man”—Miranda Lambert
  • “I Could Use A Love Song”—Maren Morris
  • “Either Way”—Chris Stapleton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance 

  • “It Ain’t My Fault”—Brothers Osborne
  • “My Old Man”—Zac Brown Band
  • “You Look Good”—Lady Antebellum
  • “Better Man”—Little Big Town
  • “Drinkin’ Problem”—Midland

Best Country Song (awarded to songwriters)

  • “Better Man”—Taylor Swift (Little Big Town)
  • “Body Like A Back Road”—Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne (Sam Hunt)
  • “Broken Halos”—Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton (Chris Stapleton)
  • “Drinkin’ Problem”—Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne & Mark Wystrach (Midland)
  • “Tin Man”—Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall (Miranda Lambert)

Best Country Album

  • Cosmic Hallelujah—Kenny Chesney
  • Heart Break—Lady Antebellum
  • The Breaker—Little Big Town
  • Life Changes—Thomas Rhett
  • From A Room: Volume 1—Chris Stapleton

Best Roots Gospel Album

  • The Best Of The Collingsworth Family – Volume 1—The Collingsworth Family
  • Give Me Jesus—Larry Cordle
  • Resurrection—Joseph Habedank
  • Sing It Now: Songs Of Faith & Hope—Reba McEntire
  • Hope For All Nations—Karen Peck & New River

Best American Roots Performance

  • “Killer Diller Blues”—Alabama Shakes
  • “Let My Mother Live”—Blind Boys Of Alabama
  • “Arkansas Farmboy”—Glen Campbell
  • “Steer Your Way”—Leonard Cohen
  • “I Never Cared For You”—Alison Krauss

Best American Roots Song (awarded to songwriters)

  • “Cumberland Gap”—David Rawlings & Gillian Welch (David Rawlings)
  • “I Wish You Well”—Raul Malo & Alan Miller (The Mavericks)
  • “If We Were Vampires”—Jason Isbell (Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit)
  • “It Ain’t Over Yet”—Rodney Crowell (Rodney Crowell Featuring Rosanne Cash & John Paul White)
  • “My Only True Friend”—Gregg Allman & Scott Sharrard (Gregg Allman)

Best Americana Album

  • Southern Blood—Gregg Allman
  • Shine On Rainy Day—Brent Cobb
  • Beast Epic—Iron & Wine
  • The Nashville Sound—Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
  • Brand New Day—The Mavericks

Best Bluegrass Album

  • Fiddler’s Dream—Michael Cleveland
  • Laws Of Gravity—The Infamous Stringdusters
  • Original—Bobby Osborne
  • Universal Favorite—Noam Pikelny
  • All The Rage: In Concert Volume One [Live]—Rhonda Vincent And The Rage

While country artists were absent in the four all-genre categories (Record, Album, Song and Best New Artist of the Year), a handful of country artists secured multiple nominations.

Chris Stapleton picked up three nominations for Best Country Solo Performance (“Either Way”), Best Country Song (“Broken Halos”) and Best Country Album (From A Room: Vol. 1).

Miranda Lambert earned two nods for Best Country Solo Performance (“Tin Man”) and Best Country Song (“Tin Man”), while Sam Hunt scored two nominations for Best Country Solo Performance (“Body Like A Back Road”) and Best Country Song (“Body Like A Back Road”).

Midland’s “Drinkin’ Problem” picked up two nominations for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song. Little Big Town copped two nominations for Best Country Duo/Group Performance (“Better Man”) and Best Country Album (The Breaker), while Lady Antebellum netted two nominations for Best Country Duo/Group Performance (“You Look Good”) and Best Country Album (Heart Break).

Reba McEntire’s Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope earned a nomination for Best Roots Gospel Album. Glen Campbell’s “Arkansas Farmboy” was nominated for Best American Roots Performance.

Jason Isbell was nominated for Best American Roots Song (“If We Were Vampires”) and Best American Roots Album (The Nashville Sound), while Alison Krauss was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance (“Losing You”) and Best American Roots Performance (“I Never Cared For You”).

photos by Jason Simanek

Blogs

Cole Swindell Announces 2025 Headlining “Happy Hour Sad Tour”

On Monday (April 7), Cole Swindell unveiled the dates and details of his highly anticipated 2025 Happy Hour Sad Tour. Opening acts on select dates will be rising country stars Priscilla Block, Logan Crosby, and Greylan James. The tour will showcase songs from Swindell’s upcoming album, Spanish Moss, which is set for release on June…

Cole Swindell Announces 2025 Headlining “Happy Hour Sad Tour”

On Monday (April 7), Cole Swindell unveiled the dates and details of his highly anticipated 2025 Happy Hour Sad Tour. Opening acts on select dates will be rising country stars Priscilla Block, Logan Crosby, and Greylan James. The tour will showcase songs from Swindell’s upcoming album, Spanish Moss, which is set for release on June…

Ella Langley Tends To Riley Green’s “Injury” On Tour Bus After Their Show

Following their recent show in Toronto, Ontario, Ella Langley performed extremely minor surgery on Riley Green while the two artists were on their tour bus. In a TikTok video of the incident, Green can be heard exclaiming, “What are you gonna do?!” as Langley grabs a pair of scissors while holding his wounded hand. “I’m…

Ella Langley Tends To Riley Green’s “Injury” On Tour Bus After Their Show

Following their recent show in Toronto, Ontario, Ella Langley performed extremely minor surgery on Riley Green while the two artists were on their tour bus. In a TikTok video of the incident, Green can be heard exclaiming, “What are you gonna do?!” as Langley grabs a pair of scissors while holding his wounded hand. “I’m…

Kenny Chesney Pays Tribute To Megan Moroney Following Her Headlining Shows In Georgia

Kenny Chesney and Megan Moroney are continuing their heartwarming friendship on social media. Following Moroney’s celebratory Instagram comment of “Deserved!!!!” about Chesney's induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the music superstar sent Moroney a warm message after her two headlining shows at Akins Ford Arena in Athens, Georgia. Moroney captured photos of the…

Kenny Chesney Pays Tribute To Megan Moroney Following Her Headlining Shows In Georgia

Kenny Chesney and Megan Moroney are continuing their heartwarming friendship on social media. Following Moroney’s celebratory Instagram comment of “Deserved!!!!” about Chesney’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the music superstar sent Moroney a warm message after her two headlining shows at Akins Ford Arena in Athens, Georgia. Moroney captured photos of the…

Luke Bryan Announces Fall 2025 Farm Tour Dates

On Monday (April 7), Luke Bryan announced the dates and details of his fall 2025 Farm Tour, marking a return to the Midwest roots where the Farm Tour first began. The shows are scheduled from September 18-20, and will take place at family farms in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan, bringing Bryan's big time concert experience…

Luke Bryan Announces Fall 2025 Farm Tour Dates

On Monday (April 7), Luke Bryan announced the dates and details of his fall 2025 Farm Tour, marking a return to the Midwest roots where the Farm Tour first began. The shows are scheduled from September 18-20, and will take place at family farms in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan, bringing Bryan’s big time concert experience…

Stagecoach Festival Will Once Again Be Livestreamed By Amazon Music

Amazon Music has renewed its partnership with Stagecoach, announcing that for the third straight year they are the exclusive livestream provider for the sold-out 2025 edition of the country music festival. Livestream coverage will commence at 4 p.m. PT each day from April 25-27 via Prime Video, the Amazon Music app, or Twitch, airing content…

Stagecoach Festival Will Once Again Be Livestreamed By Amazon Music

Amazon Music has renewed its partnership with Stagecoach, announcing that for the third straight year they are the exclusive livestream provider for the sold-out 2025 edition of the country music festival. Livestream coverage will commence at 4 p.m. PT each day from April 25-27 via Prime Video, the Amazon Music app, or Twitch, airing content…