The Texas Country Music Association announced today the Top 5 Finalists in 22 of the 24 categories for the 2023 Texas Country Music Awards as a result of nominations that were placed between May 1 and June 15, 2023. The 2023 TCMA Songwriter Contest top 10 Finalists in each the Country and Christian Country categories will be announced in late August.

Final Round Voting will begin July 1 and end August 15 on the TCMA website at www.texascountrymusic.org. The winners will be announced at the 2023 Texas Country Music Awards which will take place on Sunday, November 12 in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards at the World’s Largest Honky Tonk, Billy Bob’s Texas. Many top industry professionals and artists will be on hand to announce the winners and present the Awards to the recipients.

The 2023 Texas Country Music Awards is brought to you by title sponsors Stockyards Heritage Development Co., Hotel Drover, Cowtown Coliseum, Stockyards Hotel, Hyatt Place, Mule Alley and Stockyards Station and is presented by Texas Country Music Association. Local Fort Worth area media sponsor for 2023 is 95.9 KFWR The Ranch.

The Awards ceremony will be hosted once again by TCMA Spokesperson and Texas Country Artist, Brandon Rhyder, who will also perform at the event. Co-hosting the Awards ceremony is Malone Ranger, on-air personality with 95.9 FM The Ranch.

There will be performances by not only Brandon Rhyder but also Coffey Anderson, Ken Holloway, Chad Cooke Band and several other performers to be announced later. Texas Country artist Jason Boland and the Stragglers will headline the Awards ceremony and perform the finale.

In addition to performing, Jason Boland will be receiving the prestigious 2023 TCMA Trailblazer Award and also celebrating 25 years in the industry.

“Texas is so blessed to have such spectacular talent,” says Linda Wilson, President, and Founder of the Texas Country Music Association. “There were literally thousands of nominees – each one gifted and unique — and we at TCMA are very honored to be able to work on ALL their behalf on an ongoing basis.”

The finalists are:

Entertainer Of The Year:

• Bri Bagwell
• Kaitlin Butts
• Flatland Cavalry
• Kin Faux
• Randy Rogers

Female Artist of the Year:

• Bri Bagwell
• Kaitlin Butts
• Summer Dean
• Sarah Hobbs
• Sunny Sweeney

Male Artist of the Year:

• William Beckmann
• Cody Canada
• Will Carter
• Jesse Raub Jr
• Jake Worthington

Country Band of the Year:

• Chad Cooke Band
• Darrin Morris Band
• Flatland Cavalry
• The Great Divide
• Kin Faux

Roots/Alternative Artist or Band of the Year

• Creed Fisher
• The Great Divide
• Squeezebox Bandits
• Dale Watson
• The Wilder Blue

Emerging Artist:

• Case Hardin
• Payton Howie
• Ryder Grimes
• Jaret Ray Reddick
• Jacob Stelly

Western Swing Artist or Band of the Year:

• The Broken Spokes
• Legacy Rose Band
• Billy Mata & Texas Tradition
• Jody Nix & The Texas Cowboys
• Riley Gilbreath & The Lone Star Blue

Country Album Of The Year:

• Corazón y Cabeza – Bri Bagwell
• Cheaper Than the Truth – Kin Faux
• Jake Worthington – Jake Worthington
• Somewhere Between the Secret and the Truth – Wade Bowen
• What Else Can She Do – Kaitlin Butts

Country Single of the Year:

• Can’t Stand Leavin’ – Adam Hood
• Good Side – The Great Divide
• Honky Tonk Roll – Wade Bowen
• Jackson – Kaitlin Butts
• Sunny & 72 – Kin Faux

Christian Country Artist of the Year:

• Jason Allen
• Jacob Bryant
• Tiona Campbell
• Curtis Grimes
• Crystal Yates

Young Artist (18 & Under):

• Jenna Katherine
• Sadie Lee
• Logan Papp
• Grace Partridge
• Payton Riley

Terrestrial Radio Station of the Year:

• 95.9 FM KFWR The Ranch, Ft. Worth
• 99.1 FM KNES Texas 99, Fairfield
• 99.7 FM KVST K-Star Country, Montgomery
• 100.9 FM KVMK The Maverick, College Station
• 107.3 FM KQSC Mountain Country, Colorado Springs

Broadcast Personality Of The Year:

• Corliss – 100.9 FM KVMK The Maverick – College Station
• Ashli Dansby – 103.9 FM KMHT – Marshall
• Shayne Hollinger – 95.9 FM KFWR The Ranch – Fort Worth
• Johnny Joy – 107.3 FM KQSC Colorado Springs
• Eric Raines – 99.3/98.5 KOKE FM – Austin

Internet Radio Station of the Year:

• Made In Texas Radio (Pat Fant and Cruze, Owners – Keegan Lucas, Operations Mgr)
• Texas 46 (Bruce Schwartz, Owner)
• Real Texas Radio (Michael White, Owner)
• Texas Red Hot Radio (Judith Merck, Owner)
• Pure Country 100 (Kenny Schneebeli, Owner/Program Director)

Live Music Venue of the Year:

• 11^th Street Cowboy Bar, Bandera
• The Blue Light Live, Lubbock
• Dosey Doe, The Woodlands
• Floore’s Country Store, Helotes
• The Kenney Store, Kenney

Bassist of the Year:

• Damian Diaz (Coffey Anderson)
• Jackson Mauldin (Jacob Stelly)
• Michael Moad (William Beckmann)
• Kevin Pool (Chad Cooke Band)
• Cody Wood (Chris Breaux & Six String Rodeo)

Drummer of the Year:

• Les Lawless (Randy Rogers Band)
• John Stacy (Kevin Fowler)
• Gus Alvarado (The Broken Spokes)
• Nate Coon (Aaron Watson)
• Dan Currier (Kin Faux)

Fiddler of the Year:

• Scotty Alexander (Scotty Alexander)
• Rico Gonzales (Kin Faux)
• Wesley Hall (Flatland Cavalry)
• Ben McPherson (Multi)
• Rachel Stacy (Rachel Stacy)

Guitarist of the Year:

• Jakey Black (Kin Faux)
• Dallas McGilberry (Chad Cooke Band)
• Mike McClure (The Great Divide)
• Jake Mears (Cody Johnson)
• Dustin Schaefer (Shane Smith & The Saints)

Keyboard/Pianist of the Year:

• Drew Harakal (Cody Jinks)
• Josh Artall (The Broken Spokes)
• Sammy Powell (William Beckmann)
• Andrew Bair (Jason Boland)
• Bryce Conway (The Great Divide)

Steel Guitarist of the Year:

• Adam Goodale (Jake Worthington)
• AJ Slaughter (Jason Boland)
• Johnny Cox (Billy Mata & Texas Tradition)
• Milo Deering (Multi)
• Zachary Moulton (Mike & The Moonpies)

2023 TCMA Trailblazer Award

• Jason Boland

The 2022 Texas Country Music Awards were held on Sunday, November 13th at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, TX.  The event included a host of top Texas artists including TCMA Spokesperson Brandon Rhyder hosting the event for the sixth year in a row.  Live performances during the show included McBride & The Ride, who kicked off the main ceremony, as well as Brandon Rhyder, Bailey Rae, Coffey Anderson, Jesse Raub, Jr., Donice Morace, Kate Watson and Matt Daniel.  The event closed with a short set by by Texas Country icon Roger Creager!

The event was live streamed on the PickleJarLive. Footage will be edited for television by Levi Mayfield of Day 3 and scheduled to air on the Texas Country Network’s online, ROKU and FireTV channels at a date to be announced.

Entertainer of The Year:

Creed Fisher

Male Artist of the Year:

Zach Neil

Female Artist of the Year:

Sarah Hobbs

Country Band of the Year:

Chad Cooke Band

Western Swing Artist or Band of the Year

The Broken Spokes

Roots/Alternative Artist of the Year:

The Wilder Blue

Young Artist (18 & Under):

Maddie Rose

Emerging Artist:

Donice Morace

Country Album of The Year:

“Unwanted Man,” Aaron Watson

Country Single of the Year:

“Wild Horses”, Kin Faux ft Terry McBride

Terrestrial Radio Station of the Year:

100.3 HD3 KIKK

Broadcast Personality of The Year:

Malone Ranger – 95.9 FM KFWR The Ranch – Fort Worth

Internet Radio Station of the Year:

PureCountry100.com – Kenny Schneebeli, Owner

Live Music Venue of the Year:

Schoepf’s BBQ – Belton

Christian Country Artist of the Year:

Crystal Yates

Bassist of the Year:

Chuck Jones

Fiddler of the Year:

Damien Green

Guitarist of the Year:

Paul Eason

Keyboard/Pianist of the Year:

Johnny Foster

Steel Guitarist of the Year:

Harrison Yount

Drummer of the Year:

Alan Green, Jr.

TCMA Artist Scholarship

Jacob Wheeler

Trailblazer Award:

Mr. Terry McBride

Country Songwriter of the Year:

Garth LaGrone for “Fort Worth Soon”

Christian Country Songwriter of the Year: 

Jesse Watson for “It All Began With You”

The Texas Country Music Association announced today the Top 5 Finalists in 21 of the 23 categories for the 2022 Texas Country Music Awards as a result of nominations that were made between May 1 and June 15, 2022. The 2022 TCMA Songwriter Contest top 10 Finalists in each the Country and Christian Country categories will be announced in August.

Final Round Voting will begin July 1 and end August 15 on the TCMA website at www.texascountrymusic.org. The winners will be announced at the 2022 Texas Country Music Awards which will take place on Sunday, November 13 in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards at the World’s Largest Honky Tonk, Billy Bob’s Texas. Many industry professionals and artists will be on hand to announce the winners and present the Awards to the recipients.

The 2022 Texas Country Music Awards is brought to you by title sponsor The Hotel Drover in the Fort Worth Stockyards, a fabulous destination resort on Mule Alley, along with Stockyards Heritage, and is presented by Texas Country Music Association. Local Fort Worth area media sponsor for 2022 is 95.9 KFWR The Ranch.

The Awards ceremony will be hosted by TCMA Spokesperson and Texas Country Artist, Brandon Rhyder, who will also perform at the event. Co-hosting the Awards ceremony is Malone Ranger, on-air personality with 95.9 FM The Ranch.

There will be performances by not only Brandon Rhyder but also Terry McBride & The Ride, Bailey Rae, Kin Faux and several other performers to be announced later. Texas Country artist Roger Creager will headline the Awards ceremony and perform the finale.

In addition to the 23 Awards presented at the 2022 Texas Country Music Awards, the Texas Country Music Association’s prestigious “Trailblazer Award” will be presented to Lampassas, TX native Terry McBride.

“Texas is so blessed to have such spectacular talent,” says Linda Wilson, President, and Founder of the Texas Country Music Association. “There were literally thousands of nominees – each one gifted and unique — and we at TCMA are very honored to be able to work on ALL their behalf on an ongoing basis.”

The Texas Country Music Awards has been recognized as the only one of its kind by the State of Texas, and the Texas Country Music Association is by far the largest and most influential and energizing organization for Texas Country Music. “We work daily and diligently on behalf of everyone in the industry through the many established ongoing and future programs we’ve developed and have more on the horizon. The Texas Country Music Awards is a blast – like a huge family reunion, and you do not want to miss it! After a long and grueling few years, we’re all going to be ready for one big party come November 13th!” says Wilson.

Tickets to the 2022 Texas Country Music Awards went on sale on July 17 and are available at www.billybobstexas.com or through a link on www.texascountrymusic.org.  TCMA Executive Vice President, Richard Wilson states, “The Texas Country Music Awards gets bigger and better every year. Last year’s Awards at Billy Bob’s was off the chain, and every year we wonder how we’ll top it but somehow, we do thanks to all the industry support and our TCMA Members and Sponsors. Everyone I’ve talked to is profoundly grateful to be working again and so excited to get together on November 13.”

In addition to the 2022 Texas Country Music Awards on November 13th, Stockyards Heritage hosts TCMA’s “Texas Country Music Weekend” in the Stockyards beginning Friday November 11 with Texas Country Music Showcase acoustic performances from 3:00pm to 8:00pm. Saturday November 12 will be the Texas Country Music Showdown from 11:00am until 6:00pm. The Showdown is an 8-band event with performers competing for cash prizes offered by Stockyards Heritage, who also chooses the judges. After the Showdown will be a Free Country Concert with top Texas artist Will Carter. On Sunday November 13th there will be a free Christian Country Concert with Justin Todd Herod at high noon. All Texas Country Music Weekend Events will take place on the big stage at the Stockyards Exchange building and are free to the public with the exception of the Texas Country Music Awards show on Sunday November 13, which begins at 2:30pm when Billy Bob’s opening their doors to the public at 2:30pm.

Red Carpet interviews begin at 3:00pm. Hosting the Red Carpet this year are Jim Nash, Kris Young and Texas Toast Podcast host Helen Elshick. At 5:00pm there will be an Awards Pre-Show with 2021 Country Band of the Year, Kin Faux kicking off the entire evening. Pre-Show Host Erick Fayard will be on hand once again to present the and Musician Awards and introduce the Country and Christian Country Songwriter winners for a performance. The official Awards Ceremony will begin at 6:00pm with Terry McBride & The Ride’s special performance.

The official TCMA Awards “after-party,” sponsored by Hotel Drover and Lucchese Bootmaker, will be held at the luxurious Hotel Drover in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Mule Alley, and several artists will be scheduled for acoustic performances to end the night. There are still several prime sponsorship opportunities available at www.texascountrymusicassociation.org/2022sponsor, and Souvenir Program Advertising information can be found at www.texascountrymusicassociation.org/2022souvenirprogram.

The 2022 Texas Country Music Awards will be covered by media from all over Texas and filmed for future broadcast on TCMA affiliated broadcast and social outlets. PickleJar Live will live stream the event, and several radio stations will also live broadcast the ceremony and highlight the festivities.

The finalists and their award categories are (in no particular order):

Entertainer Of The Year:

• Aaron Watson
• Creed Fisher
• Jon Stork
• Kin Faux
• Randall King

Female Artist of the Year:

• Kaitlin Butts
• Bri Bagwell
• Kylie Frey
• Sarah Hobbs
• Morgan Ashley

Male Artist of the Year:

• Zach Neil
• Creed Fisher
• Darrin Morris
• Hayden Haddock
• Ward Davis

Country Band of the Year:

• Micky & The Motorcars
• The Wilder Blue
• Will Carter Band
• Chad Cooke Band
• Kin Faux

Roots/Alternative Artist or Band of the Year

• Ryan Wilcox & The Sunday Shakes
• Giovannie & The Hired Guns
• Teague Brothers Band
• The Wilder Blue
• Zach Bryan

Emerging Artist:

• Matt Daniel
• Donice Morace
• Jesse Raub Jr.
• Joshua Ray Walker
• Kate Watson

Western Swing Artist or Band:

• Jody Nix & The Texas Cowboys
• Brennen Leigh
• Bobby Flores & The Yellow Rose Band
• The Broken Spokes
• Billy Mata & Texas Tradition

Country Album Of The Year:

• Mercy – Cody Jinks
• The Wilder Blue (Self-Titled) – The Wilder Blue
• Unwanted Man – Aaron Watson
• Baker Hotel – William Clark Green
• Built Different – Casey Donahew

Country Single of the Year:

• Don’t Want To Go Home – Teague Brothers Band
• Unwanted Man – Aaron Watson
• When Love Comes Around – Wade Bowen
• Black Bayou – Sarah Hobbs
• Wild Horses – Kin Faux

Christian Country Artist of the Year:

• Justin Todd Herod
• Crystal Yates
• Curtis Grimes
• Jason Allen
• Kenny Cable

Young Artist (18 & Under):

• Elle Townley
• Hayden Hilliard
• Sadie Lee
• Allora Leonard
• Maddie Rose

Terrestrial Radio Station of the Year:

• 100.3 HD3 KIKK Sounds Like Texas– Houston
• 103.7 FM KAXA The Buck – Kerrville
• 95.9 FM KFWR The Ranch – Fort Worth
• 99.1 FM Texas KNES – Fairfield
• 99.3/98.5 FM KOKE – Austin

Broadcast Personality Of The Year:

• Corliss – 100.9 FM KVMK The Maverick – College Station
• Justin McClure – 103.7 The Buck KAXA FM – Kerrville
• Eric Raines – 99.3/98.5 KOKE FM – Austin
• Lisa Christi – 99.7 FM KVST KSTAR Country – Montgomery
• Malone Ranger – 95.9 The Ranch – Fort Worth

Internet Radio Station of the Year:

• UvaldeRadio.net (Robert Miguel, Program Director/Owner)
• Texas 46 (Bruce Schwartz, Owner)
• Real Texas Radio (Michael White, Owner)
• PureCountry100.com (Kenny Schneebeli, Owner)
• Made In Texas Radio (Pat Fant and Cruze, Owners)

Live Music Venue of the Year:

• Gruene Hall
• Billy Bob’s Texas
• Hank’s Texas Grill
• Schroeder Hall
• Schoepf’s BBQ

Bassist of the Year:

• Blake Watson (Darrin Morris Band)
• Bobby Tapia (Will Carter Band)
• Chuck Jones (Creed Fisher Band)
• Kevin Pool (Chad Cooke Band)
• Sean Rodriguez (The Wilder Blue)

Drummer of the Year:

• Alan Greene (Jon Wolfe)
• Dan Currier (Kin Faux)
• Jon Stacy (Kevin Fowler)
• Mike Neyra (Chad Cooke Band)
• Nate Coon (Aaron Watson)

Fiddler of the Year:

• Ben McPherson (Kyle Park)
• Damien Green (Aaron Watson)
• Milo Deering (Independent)
• Rico Gonzales (Kin Faux)
• Scotty Alexander (Scotty Alexander)

Guitarist of the Year:

• Jakey Black (Kin Faux)
• Jason Lerma (Roger Creager)
• Josh Serrato (William Clark Green)
• Paul Eason (The Wilder Blue)
• Buddy Neighbors (Kevin Jackson Band)

Keyboard/Pianist of the Year:

• John Laufenberg (William Clark Green)
• Allen Huff (Roger Creager)
• Johnny Foster (Lone Star Cowboy Church Worship Band)
• Sam Jones (Mike Ryan)
• Vernon Emshoff (Tracy Byrd)

Steel Guitarist of the Year:

• Jody Cameron (Jeff Woolsey/Jody Booth)
• Kevin Skrla (The Broken Spokes)
• Milo Deering (Independent)
• Sam Fields (Josh Ward/Clay Walker)
• Harrison Yount (Cody Johnson)

2022 TCMA Trailblazer Award

• Terry McBride