FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nominations Now Open for the

2025 Texas Country Music Awards

Set for November 9 at Billy Bob’s Texas

With Kevin Fowler Headlining

 

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (April 30, 2025)—Nominations for the 2025 Texas Country Music Awards will open on Thursday, May 1, through a link on www.texascountrymusic.org. Nominations will close at midnight on June 15.  Nominations are open to the public, and you do not have to be a TCMA Member to place nominations;  however, TCMA Member nominations will double. The nomination round will determine the top 5 finalists that will go to a vote beginning July 1 and ending on August 15.

The annual Texas Country Music Awards is presented by the Texas Country Music Association, the trade organization for the Texas Country Music industry.  There are 28 Award categories, and each will be presented at the Awards, held once again in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards at the world’s largest Honky Tonk, Billy Bob’s Texas on Sunday, November 9, following Texas Country Music Weekend in the Stockyards on November 7, 8, and 9.

Headlining the 2025 Texas Country Music Awards is Texas Country superstar Kevin Fowler, who will also receive the coveted TCMA Trailblazer Award.  Robert Earl Keen will receive the 2025 TCMA Moe Bandy Icon Award and will also perform.  Other performers include TCMA Spokesperson and Awards host Brandon Rhyder, along with full band performances by the spectacular Billie Jo Jones, as well as rising star Pug Johnson.  Other performers will be announced as schedules are confirmed.  Each of the 2025 Emerging Artist Finalists will also be invited to perform once the voting is completed.  This year, each Emerging Artist Finalist will perform on Billy Bob’s main stage.

TCMA and the Stockyards will again bring you “Texas Country Music Weekend” on November 7, 8 and 9, with several free live music events, activities, and special appearances by Texas Country Music artists. On Friday November 7 the Stockyards will present TCMA’s Texas Country Showcase with live acoustic performances by TCMA Member Artists from 1pm-5pm, followed by a free concert on the Stockyards stage by the Monty Dawson Band.

Saturday, November 8 the Stockyards will host TCMA’s Texas Country Music Showdown emceed by TCMA Vice President Monty Dawson and TCMA Ambassador Brad Bowman. The Showdown consists of 8 bands who perform throughout the day and compete for the Grand Champion honor as well as 2^nd and 3^rd place, which will be announced at the Texas Country Music Awards on Sunday, November 9^th. The Stockyards provide the judges and cash prizes for the winners. There will also be a free live music concert following the Texas Country Music Showdown with fast-rising Texas Country star Grant Gilbert.

In 2024, there were at least 150,000 visitors to the Stockyards for Texas Country Music Weekend, thanks to Title Sponsors the Fort Worth Stockyards, Stockyards Heritage Development Co., Hotel Drover, Mule Alley, Cowtown Coliseum, Stockyards Station, Stockyards Hotel, and Hyatt Place.

“We’re very excited to announce that the 2025 Texas Country Music Awards will be at home in the Stockyards at Billy Bob’s Texas,” says Texas Country Music Association President Linda Wilson. She goes on, “This is the 9^th year TCMA has presented the Texas Country Music Awards, and we are extremely excited that none other than Texas Country’s own Kevin Fowler will be with us as the headliner and finale performer. We know it’s going to be one awesome event once again and look forward to honoring the artists, musicians, songwriters, venues, media, and others involved in the industry who are from and perform throughout the State of Texas and beyond.”

The Awards main ceremony will again be hosted by TCMA Spokesperson and Texas Country Artist, Brandon Rhyder, and co-hosted by on-air personality with 92.1 Hank-FM, Erin Wilde.  Brandon has been TCMA’s Spokesperson since 2017.  Hosting the Texas Country Music Awards Pre-Show honoring musicians and songwriters, is TCMA’s own Brad Bowman.

TCMA Executive Vice President Richard Wilson adds, “Each year after the Awards show we are in awe and say, ‘How are we going to top this next year?’  I mean it’s hard to top the past years with all the awards presented and the performances of artists like Doug Supernaw, Doug Stone, Steve Helms, Cory Morrow, Neal McCoy, Aaron Watson, Roger Creager, Cody Canada and the Departed and Jason Boland and the Stragglers.  But this year will be very special with Kevin Fowler and his band headlining, and Kevin also receiving the TCMA Trailblazer Award. We are sure it will once again be epic. We can’t wait to be able to shine a light on the great music and those in the Texas Country Music industry once again. It’s most definitely going to be a blast and we’re so grateful for the TCMA Members, the Stockyards, Hotel Drover and Billy Bob’s, Pendleton Whisky, and all of the sponsors.  They never fail at helping us present the biggest event and weekend in Texas Country.”

On Sunday, November 9^th at high noon, there will again be a free Christian Country Sunday Gathering in the Stockyards with live music, from multi-year Christian Country Artist of the Year Curtis Grimes, along with Alf Evans, Nick Zamora and Shaefer Kay.  

On Awards show day (Sunday the 9^th) the VIP Entrance will open at 2:00 pm and the doors at Billy Bob’s will open to the public at 2:30 pm. Red Carpet Interviews begin at 2:00 pm and will again be hosted by Helen Elshick of Texas Toast Podcast, Jim Nash of Heart of Texas Music Group, and Kris Young, Vice President of TCMA.  There will also be two performers to be announced later in the VIP Lounge from 2pm-5pm.

At 5:00 pm the event will kick off with the Pre-Show Awards Ceremony hosted by TCMA Ambassador Brad Bowman. During the Pre-Show TCMA will be naming the winners in each of the 6 categories of Musician of the Year awards and naming the 2025 TCMA Songwriter of the Year Finalists, as well as the overall winner in the Country and Christian Country songwriter categories, who will each perform their winning songs. As an added bonus, rising star Pug Johnson and his band will kick off the excitement as they perform just minutes before the main Awards ceremony begins at 6:00 pm. 

The Texas Country Music Association is the only trade organization and primary advocate for the Texas Country Music industry, and has had tremendous growth since its official inception in 2011.

Tickets will go on sale for the 2024 Texas Country Music Awards in early July and will be available through www.billybobstexas.com and a link on www.texascountrymusic.org.

For more information about the Texas Country Music Association, its mission, goals, and how to join, or become a Sponsor of the 2025 Texas Country Music Awards, or advertise in the event’s Souvenir Program, visit www.texascountrymusic.orgor email us at tcma@texascountrymusicassociation.org.

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CONTACT (Not for Publication)

Linda K. Wilson, President

Texas Country Music Association

tcma@texascountrymusicassociation.org

903-472-8008 (call or text)

www.texascountrymusic.org