BMI Celebrates 2024 Country Award Winners, Honors Randy Owen With Icon Award

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Pictured (L–R): BMI’s Clay Bradley, Riley Green, BMI Icon Award winner Randy Owen, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and BMI’s Mike O’Neill. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for BMI

Hundreds of industry members gathered at BMI’s Nashville headquarters last night (Nov. 19) for the 72nd annual BMI Country Awards.

Transforming the building’s parking garage into an extravagant ballroom, the evening was full of special celebrations and music for what BMI Nashville’s VP of Creative, Clay Bradley, called the “greatest parking lot party in country music.”

Songwriters, publishers and other industry executives swarmed the elegant room and caught up over crafted cocktails. Once guests found their seats, they were greeted with a beautiful table display of flowers, candle light and a yummy chocolate cake topped with the BMI logo.

A dinner of steak, a cheesy potato soufflé cake and sautéed vegetables was served. Wine bottles on the table were passed around, and the night was off.

Pictured (L–R): Aaron Raitiere, Ella Langley and Lukas Nelson perform onstage during the 2024 BMI Country Awards. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for BMI

BMI’s President & CEO Mike O’Neill started the program by welcoming everyone and highlighting all the work that the country music community has done for others in need over the past year. He introduced Ella Langley, Lukas Nelson and Aaron Raitiere for the night’s first bit of music, who gave an electrifying performance of “With a Little Help from My Friends” as headlines of the community’s charitable efforts flashed on the screens.

O’Neill then welcomed Bradley, and the two started handing out the awards for the 50 most-performed country songs of the previous year. Songwriters and publishers came from all directions to the stage in the middle of the room to collect their prizes and grab a group picture as the rest of the room cheered them on.

After presenting half of their most-performed song awards, O’Neill and Bradley changed gears to begin honoring the iconic Alabama frontman Randy Owen with the BMI Icon Award, an honor bestowed on songwriters who have had an indelible influence on music makers over generations.

O’Neill detailed Owen’s lasting mark on country music with the Alabama band, as well as his philanthropic impact, most notably with St. Jude. A video featuring Troy Tomlinson, Tony Conway, Kenny Chesney and Dolly Parton was played with remarks about Owen.

Warner Chappell Music accepts the Publisher of the Year award onstage during the 2024 BMI Country Awards. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for BMI

Fellow Alabama native Riley Green soon appeared on stage to honor the BMI Icon with a performance of “My Home’s in Alabama.” Owen wiped tears from his eyes as Green sang.

Luke Bryan performed his own rendition of “Feels So Right” and then Blake Shelton led the whole room in a sing-along of the Alabama classic, “Mountain Music,” a jam so fun that Bryan had to join him onstage.

Before BMI presented the award to Owen, they invited up his wife Kelly up to speak. She shared about the first song he played her, “Feels So Right,” and about his love of the music.

“Thank you for honoring Randy while he is living,” Kelly said. “So that his children and grandchildren can see his legacy.”

When Owen took the microphone, he first invited up bandmate Teddy Gentry and the two embraced.

“BMI, thank y’all for the call. When you said, ‘the Icon Award,’ I cried. It’s so special,” Owen shared. “Thank y’all for this night. It’s a highlight.”

Pictured (L–R): BMI’s Mike O’Neill, BMI Country Songwriter of the Year Chase McGill and BMI’s Clay Bradley. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for BMI

More BMI executives took the stage to continue giving out awards for the most-performed songs of the year until it was time to present the big honors.

The Publisher of the Year accolade went to Warner Chappell Music, which published 34 of the 50 most-performed songs of the year, including megahits like Parker McCollum’s “Burn It Down,” Tyler Hubbard’s “Dancin’ in the Country,” Riley Green’s “Different ‘Round Here,” Warren Zeiders’ “Pretty Little Poison” and Bailey Zimmerman’s “Religiously.”

BMI Songwriter of the Year was a tie between Chase McGill and Zach Bryan, who was not present. Bryan serves as a writer of “Burn, Burn, Burn,” “Dawns,” “Hey Driver,” “I Remember Everything,” “Oklahoma Smokeshow” and “Sun to Me.” McGill co-wrote Morgan Wallen’s “Ain’t That Some,” Luke Bryan’s “But I Got a Beer in My Hand,” Conner Smith’s “Creek Will Rise,” Russell Dickerson’s “God Gave Me A Girl,” Jordan Davis’ “Next Thing You Know” and Thomas Rhett and Morgan Wallen’s “Mamaw’s House.”

McGill spoke about the people who have supported him in his songwriting career, calling special attention to UMPG’s Terry Wakefield, who is battling health struggles but was in the room to celebrate.

Pictured (L–R): Warner Chappell’s Spencer Nohe, BMI’s Mike Steinberg, Sony ATV Music Publishing’s Katie Welle, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, songwriter John Byron, Big Loud’s Seth England and Stacey Blythe, BMI’s Mike O’Neill and Clay Bradley onstage with the 2024 BMI Country Award for Song of the Year. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for BMI

“Terry came to my house the day we started working together, about four years ago. We hung out a bit, and he asked me what my goals were as a songwriter,” McGill said. “I said, ‘I have one goal. I want to be the BMI Songwriter of the Year.’ He helped me lay out a plan and here we are.”

Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” was named 2024 BMI Country Song of the Year, published by Big Loud Mountain, John Byron Music, Sony/ATV Songs LLC and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. The tune was written by John Byron and Charlie Handsome, and was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 16 nonconsecutive weeks—the most ever for a solo song.

The evening wore on with snacks, drinks and coffee in the BMI lobby. With all three PRO awards done for the year, the publishing community has a new legion of winners, and will go into the 58th CMA Awards tonight (Nov. 20) proud of the songs they’ve been a part of.

LB Cantrell
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