Jelly Roll and Shaboozey performing at CMA Fest, 6/6/2025
Sunday night's 68th Grammy Awards marked a changing of the guard for "Music's Biggest Night" as it was the final ceremony to be aired on CBS before moving to ABC in 2027, and it was comedian Trevor Noah's final outing as host after six consecutive emcee gigs. But one thing remained consistent — as country music's takeover of the pop charts continues, Music City once again made its presence felt at the 2026 Grammys.
Antioch native Jelly Roll was one of the night's biggest winners, taking home the awards for Best Contemporary Country Album (previously known as Best Country Album) for Beautifully Broken; Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Amen" with fellow Nashvillian Shaboozey; and Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for "Hard Fought Hallelujah," his collaboration with Brandon Lake.
Jelly Roll's three wins were tied with Album of the Year winner Bad Bunny for the second-most of the night, behind rapper Kendrick Lamar and his five trophies. The recently pardoned Nashville rapper-turned-country-star also made headlines for sidestepping reporters' questions about ICE, a pervasive topic throughout the show.
Chris Stapleton won Best Country Solo Performance for "Bad as I Used to Be," Tyler Childers took home Best Country Song for "Bitin' List" and Zach Top earned the first-ever Best Traditional Country Album award for Ain't in It for My Health.
Americana trio I'm With Her notched the awards for Best American Roots Song for "Ancient Light" and Best Folk Album for Wild and Clear and Blue, while Billy Strings won Best Bluegrass Album for Highway Prayers.
Brentwood resident CeCe Winans won Best Gospel Performance/Song for "Come Jesus Come," her collaboration with fellow gospel legend Shirley Caesar.
Ex-Nashville rapper FYÜTCH and his daughter Aura V won Best Children’s Music Album for the father-daughter record Harmony. And Old Hickory native Nate Bargatze won Best Comedy Album for Your Friend, Nate Bargatze.
Longtime local Reba McEntire took the Grammys stage for the first time, performing her song "Trailblazer" — a joint release with Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson — during the in memoriam segment. She was joined by Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson. Among those honored in the segment were beloved Nashville music figures Todd Snider, Raul Malo and Steve Cropper.
Although no other locals performed at the ceremony, the aforementioned Lainey Wilson did present Best Contemporary Country Album alongside iconic actor and Grammy-nominated jazz musician Jeff Goldblum in what was decidedly the most Mad Libs portion of the night.
