Charley Crockett Offers GRAMMY Nomination to Turnpike Troubadours After Band’s Exclusion

Charley Crockett has ignited conversation across the country music world after publicly offering to relinquish his 2026 GRAMMY nomination for Best Traditional Country Album to the Turnpike Troubadours. The group was notably absent from the inaugural category, a decision that prompted strong fan reaction and that Crockett characterized as an oversight. His gesture arrives as voting opens for the 2025–2026 awards cycle, with the GRAMMY ceremony set for Feb. 1.

In a social post, Crockett emphasized the role Evan Felker and the Turnpike Troubadours played in his career. “Volunteering to give up my nomination with the Recording Academy to the Turnpike Troubadours, who not only earned the right with Price Of Admission, but for which, without Evan Felker, I might not have ever even shown up on the map to be nominated in the first place,” Crockett said. “And besides, Evan Felker's the best damn songwriter of all of us. See, Texas and Oklahoma can get along.”

Crockett also shared the story of their first meeting. “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. He took it home and listened to it with his then-girlfriend, now wife. Lo and behold, his agent Jon Folk called me up and started booking me.”

Felker later responded with gratitude while stressing Crockett's own achievements. Evan Felker has since responded to Crockett, “Any good thing in your world feels like a win for us, my friend. Thanks for the kind words, but y'all earned every bit of this. It didn't happen overnight, and nobody did it for you … the only thing I ask I'll ask is that you enjoy it. Love and Luck. EF.”

Crockett's nomination stands alongside Margo Price's Hard Headed Woman, Zach Top's Ain't in It For My Health, and Willie Nelson and Lukas Nelson's Oh What A Beautiful World and American Romance. His gesture echoes Dolly Parton's Rock Hall moment, highlighting that nominations continue regardless, while reinforcing his longstanding support for Turnpike and the cross-state camaraderie between Texas and Oklahoma.