Riley Green Named NSAI’s 2026 Songwriter-Artist of the Year

Riley Green. Photo: David Higgs

Riley Green has been named the 2026 NSAI Songwriter-Artist of the Year ahead of the 9th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards.

The award recognizes a Nashville-affiliated recording artist with the most success on the Billboard Airplay charts in the Christian, Country, Mainstream Top 40, and/or Rock genres during the eligibility period of May 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026 with songs they penned and recorded.

Green recently notched his fifth ACM win for Music Event of the Year for “Don’t Mind If I Do,” featuring Ella Langley. He also earned his seventh No. 1 with “Change My Mind” earlier this month.

The 9th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards will be held on Sept. 22 at the Ryman Auditorium. Previously announced honorees include Blake Pendergrass (Songwriter of the Year Award), Vince Gill (Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award) and Paul Williams (NSAI President’s Keystone Award). Additional award recipients that will be honored night-of for the ‘Song of the Year’ winner(s) and the songwriters for each of the ’10 Songs I Wish I’d Written’ awards.

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Madison Hahnen

Madison Hahnen is Project Manager at MusicRow Magazine, where she helps carry out operational objectives and large-scale projects for the company. She also manages the company's subscriptions. Hahnen graduated from Bryant University in May of 2020 with a B.S. in Team & Project Management and a minor in communication studies. Prior to MusicRow, she held internship roles with Make Wake Artists and Song Suffragettes.

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