Charlie Worsham Reflects on His CMA Musician of the Year Nomination: ‘It’s Very Emotional For Me’ [Exclusive]
Worsham doesn’t take this nomination lightly and considers it a true honor to be nominated alongside his friends and heroes.
Charlie Worsham; Photo by Jess Williams
Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Worsham has been nominated for his second CMA Musician of the Year award. He joins fellow nominees Tom Bukovac, Jenee Fleenor, Paul Franklin, and Rob McNelley in this prestigious category.
The soon-to-be father of two reflected on his nomination and what it means to him while chatting with Country Now at the Luke Combs Bootleggers Bonfire in Miramar Beach, Florida over the weekend.
Following his beachside performance, Worsham sat down with us, visibly emotional as he shared how much his nomination means to him.
“It’s very emotional for me, he admitted. “I’m probably the only guy who grew up in Mississippi and left home, went out into the world… I couldn’t have told you what was going on if a football game was on TV. For me, it was always music shows. It was the CMA awards in particular, and Vince Gill being my all-time hero, it was during the era when he hosted the shows and the music was just so good.”
Worsham, who happened to be sporting a vintage Vince Gill t-shirt that day, went on to reflect on his musical journey and shared how he began his career as a musician first.
“I always knew that they recognized musicians. Before I sang, before I wrote songs, I was a guitar player. And before that, I was a banjo player. I was a student of liner notes as much as I was a fan of the big stars from day one. And that’s one of the reasons Vince and Marty Stewart are my heroes because they also have a foot in both worlds,” he explained.
The Mississippi native transformed his passion for music into a successful career, contributing as both a vocalist and instrumentalist to projects by prominent artists such as Eric Church, Brandy Clark, Vince Gill, Kacey Musgraves, Hailey Whitters, Marty Stuart, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and more. Most recently, he’s been touring as part of Dierks Bentley’s band.
His nomination is well-deserved and yet still “humbling” as being nominated alongside his friends and heroes is something that he doesn’t take lightly.
“It’s an honor to get put in the same category as people like Paul Franklin. He’s my friend, he’s my buddy. I call him to play gigs back home and stuff, and I’ll light up when I see him on a session. But he’s also my hero,” Worsham said. “And Tom Bukovac is a fellow nominee this year, and he was the first guy to bring me in on session work when I first started doing that. And Jenee Fleener, Rob McNelly, who I’ve played on records with and who were buddies of mine.”
Whether he leaves the CMA Awards with a trophy or not, Worsham says he’s “extremely humbled to be considered.”
“I know it’s such a cliche how people say, ‘Well, it’s an honor just to be nominated.’ And maybe it is just a cliche in these other categories, but at least in my experience and in the category of Musician of the Year, it truly is an honor just to be considered in the same company as them.”
By the time the CMA Awards roll around, Worsham and his wife, Kristen, will have welcomed another little one into the world. And sometime next year, he hopes to release a new album, which will serve as the follow-up to 2023’s Compadres project, which featured guest vocals from Dierks Bentley, Luke Combs, Elle King, Kip Moore and Lainey Wilson.
“I’m probably about two-thirds of the way through working on this next record. We got some of the songs mixed. Some of ’em are half recorded, and we’ll record a couple more in November,” he revealed. “I’m really excited about it. It’s sort of a picture of me right now. It’s where I am in life. Some days I’m flying down the road in a bus or up in the air getting to the gig, and other days I’m coming up the driveway to be dad and all the life in between those two extremes of the spectrum. And I’m excited for people to hear these songs.”
Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.
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