2023 Nashville Songwriter Award Winners – Complete List

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David Israelite, and Tim McGraw

Songwriters and publishers were celebrated Tuesday night (Sept. 26) at NSAI’s 6th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards, presented in partnership with City National Bank.

At the Ryman Auditorium, dozens of performers honored a great group of award-winning songwriters.

Ashley Gorley was honored as Songwriter of the Year for a record seventh time. Gorley was honored with performances of “God Gave Me A Girl” by Russell Dickerson and “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” by Cole Swindell.

Song of the Year was awarded to Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson and Lainey Wilson for their hit “Heart Like A Truck,” recorded by Wilson. Nine additional songs and their writers were celebrated as winners in the peer-voted “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” award category.

Previously announced honorees, David Israelite (Chairman & CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association) and Tim McGraw, were both celebrated with special performances for their achievements. Brett Young honored Israelite with a performance of his favorite song, “Hallelujah.” Lori McKenna took the stage to honor McGraw with a performance of her own “Humble And Kind.”

Garth Brooks presented Bobby Braddock with the 2023 Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award. He was honored with multiple performances from Jimmy Yeary and Sonya Isaacs, Tracy Lawrence and Blake Shelton.

Click here to read MusicRow‘s full recap of the 6th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards.

Complete List Of Award Winners Below:

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Heart Like A Truck” Written by Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Ashley Gorley

SONGWRITER-ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Morgan Wallen

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
(Given in recognition to a songwriter whose works have made a significant contribution to the American songbook and who has inspired the careers of others.)
Bobby Braddock

NSAI PRESIDENT’S KEYSTONE AWARD
(Given in recognition of significant contributions to the betterment of all songwriters, chosen by the current NSAI President.)
Tim McGraw

NSAI ADVOCACY AWARD
(Bestowed by the NSAI Board of Directors to an individual who has significantly served the American songwriting community.)
David Israelite – Chairman & CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA)

“10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” Award Winners:
Each year, the highly-coveted “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written Awards” are voted on by Professional Songwriter Members of NSAI honoring the work of their songwriter peers. Songs eligible for the award have at least one Nashville-based writer and charted in the Top 20 of Billboard Airplay chart in the Christian, country, mainstream top 40, and/or rock genres between May 1, 2022, and April 30, 2023. The NSAI Song Of The Year is the highest vote-getter.)

“Anti-Hero”
Written by: Jack Antonoff, Taylor Swift (recorded by: Taylor Swift)

“Flower Shops”
Written by: Ben Burgess, Mark Holman, Ernest Keith Smith (recorded by: ERNEST feat. Morgan Wallen)

“Give Heaven Some Hell”
Written by: Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps (recorded by: HARDY)

“Human”
Written by: Tony Lane, Travis Meadows (recorded by: Cody Johnson)

“Tennessee Orange”
Written by: David Fanning, Megan Moroney, Paul Jenkins, Ben Williams (recorded by: Megan Moroney)

“Thought You Should Know”
Written by: Nicolle Galyon, Miranda Lambert, Morgan Wallen (recorded by: Morgan Wallen)

“wait in the truck”
Written by: Renee Blair, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt (recorded by: HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson)

“What He Didn’t Do”
Written by: Ashley Gorley, Carly Pearce, Emily Shackelton (recorded by: Carly Pearce)

“You Proof”
Written by: Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen (recorded by: Morgan Wallen)

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