Earlier this November, the Recording Academy announced the full list of nominees for the 2026 Grammy Awards. For Best Traditional Country Album, Lukas Nelson, Willie Nelson, Zach Top, Margo Price, and Charley Crockett all received nominations. According to Crockett, his fellow Americana country musicians, Turnpike Troubadours, got snubbed, as their 2025 album Price of Admission was well worthy of a Grammy nomination.
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Released in April of 2025, the Turnpike Troubadours’ sixth studio album made a major splash in the country music world, specifically among traditional country and Americana fans. Despite the album’s positive reception, the Turnpike Troubadours did not receive a Grammy nomination. Consequently, Charley Crockett recently took to Instagram to say that he was willing to give away his nomination to Turnpike.
Charley Crockett Pays Credit Where Credit Is Due
In the Instagram post, Charley Crockett wrote, “Volunteering to give up my nomination with the @recordingacademy to the @turnpiketroubadours who not only earned the right with Price Of Admission, but for which without @felkersongs I might not have ever even shown up on the map to be nominated in the first place.” “And besides, Evan Felker’s the best damn songwriter of all of us. See, Texas and Oklahoma can get along.”
Additionally, Crockett added a picture of himself and Felker, with a caption recalling how the musician helped kick-start his career. The caption stated, “I was standing out at Gruene Hall handing out CDs on a street corner ’cause I couldn’t get into the show. Handed a guy a CD, his name was Evan Felker. I didn’t know who he was at the time, but he was the frontman for the Turnpike Troubadours.”
The caption continued, “He took it home and listened to it with his then girlfriend, now wife. Lo and behold, his agent John Folk called me up and started booking me.” While Crockett is certainly echoing the opinion of many, this unfortunately probably won’t enact a change amongst the Recording Academy. Regardless, the sentiment is certainly there, and many people likely agree with Charley Crockett.
Photo by Bobby Cochran
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