Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert & More Nominated for 2026 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

One month after being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Taylor Swift is nominated for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Swift is vying for induction in the contemporary songwriter/artists category with Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Phil Vassar. One inductee will be chosen in this category.

The Nashville SHOF also announced eight nominees in the contemporary songwriters category. Two inductees will be chosen in that category. The honorees will be elected by Hall of Fame members and other professional songwriters and artists.

The entire slate of inductees elected in these and three other categories will be announced in the coming weeks and officially inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame later this year.                                              

“Well-deserved congratulations to all the nominees in our contemporary categories,” NaSHOF executive director Mark Ford said in a statement. “We look forward to announcing those who will be inducted this fall as members of our Class of 2026.”

Since 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame has enshrined 254 “of the greatest writers from all genres of music ever to put words to music in Music City,” as the organization puts it. Operated by the non-profit Nashville Songwriters Foundation, the Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring Nashville’s rich legacy of songwriting excellence. 

As with the Songwriters Hall of Fame, all nominees experienced their first significant songs at least 20 years ago.

Here’s a capsule description for each of the nominees in the two contemporary categories. The information is supplied by Nashville SHOF, supplemented by research into their Grammy histories, if any.

Nominees: Contemporary songwriter/artists category

Miranda Lambert: The Texas native is a three-time Grammy winner, though she has yet to win in a songwriting category. (That latter fact will very likely change at the 2027 awards.)  Her songwriting credits include her own “Automatic” and “Over You,” as well as “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley. Fun fact: “Choosin’ Texas” has logged 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, longer than any Swift hit to date.

Chris Stapleton: The Kentucky native is a 12-time Grammy winner, including three wins for best country song, for “Broken Halos,” “Cold” and “White Horse.” His other songwriting credits include his own “Starting Over,” as well as “Never Wanted Nothing More” by Kenny Chesney.

Taylor Swift: The Pennsylvania-born, Nashville-raised songwriter is a 14-time Grammy winner, including three wins in songwriting categories: best country song for “White Horse” and “Mean,” and best song written for visual media for “Safe & Sound” from The Hunger Games. Swift’s other credits include her own “I Knew It, I Knew You” and “Love Story,” as well as “Better Man” by Little Big Town. Swift made history at the SHOF ceremony, becoming the youngest woman ever to be inducted and the first past recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award to be inducted.

Phil Vassar: The Virginia native’s songwriting credits include his own “In a Real Love” and “Just Another Day in Paradise,” as well as “Bye, Bye” by Jo Dee Messina.

Nominees: Contemporary songwriters category

Jim Beavers: The Texas native’s songwriting credits include “Drink a Beer” by Luke Bryan, “Sideways” by Dierks Bentley and “Watching Airplanes” by Gary Allan.

Shawn Camp: The Arkansas native is a two-time Grammy winner for his work on Guy Clark’s My Favorite Picture of You (best contemporary folk album) and The Earls of Leicester’s eponymous album (best bluegrass album). Camp’s songwriting credits include “A Beautiful Time” by Willie Nelson, “How Long Gone” by Brooks & Dunn and “Two Piña Coladas” by Garth Brooks.

Rodney Clawson: The Texas native is a two-time Grammy nominee for best country song for cowriting “I Saw God Today” by George Strait and “American Kids” by Kenny Chesney. Clawson’s songwriting credits also include “Amarillo Sky” by Jason Aldean and “Drunk on You” by Luke Bryan.

Dallas Davidson: The Georgia native’s songwriting credits include “Boys ’Round Here” by Blake Shelton with Pistol Annies & Friends, “Just a Kiss” by Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum) and “One of Them Girls” by Lee Brice.

Marv Green: The Southern California native received a Grammy nod for best country song for cowriting “Amazed” by Lonestar. His other songwriting credits include “I Called Mama” by Tim McGraw and “Wasted” by Carrie Underwood.

Lee Thomas Miller: The Kentucky native has received three Grammy nods for best country song for cowriting “The Impossible” by Joe Nichols, “In Color” by Jamey Johnson and “You’re Gonna Miss This” by Trace Adkins.

Neil Thrasher: The Alabama native’s songwriting credits include “How Country Feels” by Randy Houser, “There Goes My Life” by Kenny Chesney and “Try That in a Small Town” by Jason Aldean. 

Chris Tompkins: The Alabama native is a two-time Grammy winner for best country song for cowriting (with Josh Kear) “Before He Cheats” and “Blown Away,” both recorded by Carrie Underwood. “Before He Cheats” was also nominated for the overall song of the year award. Tompkins’ other songwriting credits include “Drunk on You” by Luke Bryan and “Lies Lies Lies” by Morgan Wallen.