Award-winning artist and songwriter Kierra Sheard will receive the BMI Impact Award at the 2026 Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards at BMI’s Nashville office on July 21.

Sheard will receive the award in recognition of her impressive career and impact on the future of gospel music. An acclaimed artist, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur whose voice and innovative sound have made her one of the most influential figures in contemporary Gospel music, Sheard was born into Gospel royalty as the daughter of Grammy-winning singer and pastor Karen Clark Sheard and Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Sr., pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ. Known for blending traditional gospel with contemporary R&B influences, she has expanded the reach of gospel to a new generation of listeners.

Kenny Chesney. Photo: Allister Ann

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will explore the life and career of Kenny Chesney in a new exhibition, “Kenny Chesney: Living in Fast Forward,” presented by Blue Chair Bay Rum. The exhibit, which will be open from July 23, 2026, until June 2027, is included with museum admission.

Photo: Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The exhibit will chronicle Chesney’s path to stardom, from his early years playing in his university’s bluegrass band to becoming one of the top touring acts of this century.

The exhibit will include instruments, memorabilia, manuscripts, awards, photographs and more, including Chesney’s high school football varsity jacket and jersey, the Fender Concord acoustic guitar Chesney played throughout college at East Tennessee State University and after he moved to Nashville in the early 1990s, the cassette tape on which Chesney recorded a demo of “When She Calls Me Baby” and more.

“Kenny Chesney’s creative vision and intense drive to continue raising the bar has helped him reach staggering commercial and artistic highs,” says Kyle Young, Chief Executive Officer of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “He has broken almost as many records as he has made, and his work is far from done. Through his distinctive sound and dynamic live show, he continues to expand country music’s audience, its perception and its sound.”

Photo: Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

“When you’re so busy living life – literally in fast forward – you rarely pause to think about all the miles traveled, the faces you’ve met along the way,” adds Chesney. “Trying to decide what things to send to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum that represent a whole lot of dreams, living, songs, the work and things you don’t dare imagine was as hard as anything I’ve ever done. But in the end, I feel like every piece of who I am is represented – and I hope that for someone who’s thinking about chasing their own crazy dreams, this may be the spark to get them on their way.”

In support of the exhibition, on July 25, the museum will host an interview with Buddy Cannon, who worked with Chesney on 17 albums.

Chesney is currently in the middle of his Las Vegas sphere residency, with dates through July.

Blake Pendergrass. Photo: Hayley Gjertsen

Blake Pendergrass has been named the 2026 NSAI Songwriter of the Year ahead of the 9th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards.

The award recognizes a Nashville-affiliated songwriter 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.

His career has grown rapidly, beginning with his first No. 1 hit, “Just In Case” by Morgan Wallen, in July 2025. He followed that achievement with three more No. 1 songs within the year, reached No. 1 on the MusicRow Magazine Top Songwriter Chart on March 2, 2026, and earned his first CMA Triple Play Award on April 13, 2026.

The 9th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards will be held on Sept. 22 at the Ryman Auditorium. Previously announced honorees include Riley Green (Songwriter-Artist 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.

Josh Turner is celebrating 20 years since the release of his sophomore album Your Man, and its enduring legacy with a suite of 20th Anniversary Editions arriving Aug. 14 via MCA/UMe.

Available on 180-gram black vinyl, limited edition 180-gram Turquoise color vinyl, CD and digitally, the expanded release will feature the fan-favorite bonus song “Hard Headed,” a rare track Turner released in 2006 as an iTunes exclusive that will be making its streaming debut on all platforms. The anniversary vinyl edition was newly mastered from the original analog tapes by Kevin Reeves at East Iris Studios, who also cut the lacquers.

The digital deluxe edition, originally released in 2021 to commemorate the album’s 15th anniversary, will be expanded with the additions of “Hard Headed” and live versions of “Your Man” and “Me and God,” captured at Nashville’s historic Hermitage Hotel in 2021. Both performances, currently available to watch on Turner’s YouTube channel, will make their streaming debuts.

“As my sophomore album, Your Man, celebrates its 20^th anniversary, I’m moved at how it has continued to gain new fans,” says Turner. “I still play all three singles from that record because you fans won’t let me out of any venue until I do!! Thank y’all for your support and enthusiasm over the past two decades! Let’s keep it going!”

Your Man debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, becoming the highest-charting album of Turner’s career at the time. At the heart of the album was its title track, “Your Man,” written by Chris Stapleton, Chris DuBois and Jace Everett. Released in July 2005 as the project’s lead single, the song became Turner’s first No. 1 hit in early 2006 and remains one of the defining songs of his career. The song also marked the first No. 1 country hit written or co-written by Stapleton, years before he emerged as one of the genre’s most celebrated artists. “Your Man” earned ASCAP and BMI honors and has since been certified 4x Platinum. The video for the song, which featured Turner’s wife Jennifer, has amassed more than 277 million views.

The album’s success continued with the chart-topping 3x Platinum “Would You Go with Me” and the beloved “Me and God,” helping Turner earn Grammy nominations for Best Country Album and Best Male Country Vocal Performance for “Would You Go with Me” at the 49th Annual Grammys. The collection also featured Turner’s rendition of the Don Williams classic “Lord Have Mercy on a Country Boy.”

Two decades later, “Your Man” continues to resonate across generations of country fans and artists. In May, Scotty McCreery released a new version of the song featuring Turner, with the two revisiting the track McCreery notably performed during his 2011 American Idol audition. The collaboration appears on McCreery’s upcoming greatest hits collection, 15, due out July 17.