Who Will Win The Grammy For Best Traditional Country Album?
The 68th Grammy Awards will see the inauguration of two additional categories (bringing the total up to 95): Best Album Cover and Best Traditional Country Album. The latter was created to demarcate two subgenres of country music: traditional country music (which is now perhaps more accurately known as neotraditional, featuring a style that hearkens back to the country music of the 1940s and ’60s) and contemporary country music (which may feature traditional elements, but blends them with more modern musical sensibilities). The five nominees range from a young newcomer to one of the most venerable figures in the country genre.
Charley Crockett – Dollar a Day
While Dollar a Day, released on August 8th of last year, is the fifteenth studio album of country singer-songwriter Charley Crockett (whose album releases go back a decade), it represents only his second Grammy nomination following last year’s nod for Best Americana Album (on account of his $10 Cowboy, a traditional album that also inspired a documentary of the same name last year). The songs of Dollar a Day take heavy inspiration from the country and funk music of the 1970s.
Lukas Nelson – American Romance
Next up is the solo debut of a country musician who is the son of a genre legend (whom we’ll get to in just a minute). This is not to say that Lukas Nelson hasn’t been working before now – he collaborated with Lady Gaga to produce the Grammy-winning soundtrack of the 2018 musical drama film “A Star Is Born.” American Romance was released on June 20, 2025.
Willie Nelson – Oh What A Beautiful World
Lukas Nelson’s father is, of course, Willie Nelson, a 92-year-old icon of the outlaw country subgenre who released his first solo studio album in 1962. By now, he’s released over a hundred of them and received a total of 59 Grammy nominations, of which he’s won 12. Most recently, he won Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Album in 2023. In addition to the nod for Oh What a Beautiful World, which he released on April 25th of last year, his 2024 album Last Leaf on the Tree is up for Best Americana Album this year.
Margo Price – Hard Headed Woman
Margo Price‘s first studio album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, was released in March 2016. In 2019, she received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Hard Headed Woman, released on August 29, 2025, is one of two Price nominees this year, the other being “Love Me Like You Used To Do,” which she performed with Tyler Childers and which is nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
Zach Top – Ain’t in It for My Health
Closing out this list is its only first-time Grammy nominee. Zach Top, a 28-year-old country/bluegrass artist who began his career in 2019, has released three studio albums to date, including this one on August 29th of last year. Best Traditional Country Album is only one of his three nominations this year: “I Never Lie,” a song from his 2024 album Cold Beer & Country Music, is in the running for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance.
The Date, Time, and Broadcast Info on This Year’s Grammys
To view the 68th Grammys live, tune in on CBS between 5:00 and 8:30 PM (PST) on Feb. 1. The location is the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, and the host is comedian Trevor Noah.
