Kelsea Ballerini and Rodney Crowell were among the songwriters honoured Monday at the ASCAP Country Music Awards in Nashville.
Ballerini, who received the Vanguard Award, performed her song “In Between.” She said songwriting “is my favourite part of what I do.”
Keith Urban and Vince Gill were on hand to pay tribute to Crowell, who announced earlier this year that he was cancelling his tour due to a health issue. The 67-year-old was presented with the Founder’s Award.
“It’s a gift that we get to do the work that we do to call ourselves artists,” Crowell said.
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Ashley Gorley, songwriter behind hits like Jon Pardi’s “Dirt on My Boots,” earned his fourth straight songwriter of the year award.
Old Dominion frontman Matthew Ramsey was named songwriter-artist of the year and Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere On a Beach” was named song of the year.
The show included a moment of silence for victims of the mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas last month as well as a tribute to the late Glen Campbell that featured a performance of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” by Jimmy Webb.
Next up are the CMA Awards, which will air live on Nov. 8 on CTV Two.