Saving Country Music’s 2024 Song of the Year Nominees

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A Song of the Year is not just a “song.” It’s a form of artistic expression that can change a life, that can change someone’s perspective, or that change the world. It’s something that must be able to give you goosebumps, or wet the eye. This is all quite a tall order, but that is where a good song can take you.

We’ve run down the Album of the Year Nominees for 2024, and soon the Single of the Year nominees will be presented as well. What’s the difference between a Single of the Year and a Song of the Year? A single of the year is a ditty that gets stuck in your head and won’t come out. It unlocks the joy in music.

But a Song of the Year candidate is so much more. The writing is paramount. It’s even more important than the genre or how “country” it is. It still needs to reside in the roots music canon, and be organic and authentic. But the song is what’s most important.

PLEASE NOTE: Just because a song isn’t listed here doesn’t mean it’s being snubbed or forgotten. Picking the best songs is always even more subjective than the best albums. We’re not looking to pit songs and songwriters against each other, we’re looking to combine our collective perspectives and opinions into a pool of musical knowledge for the benefit of everyone.

By all means, if you have a song or a list of songs you think are the best of 2024 and want to share, please do so in the comments section below. Feedback will factor into the final tabulations for the winner, but this is not an up and down vote. Try to convince us who you think should win, and why.

Zach Top – “Use Me”

The songs of Zach Top’s album Cold Beer & Country Music aren’t just reminiscent of ’90s country in sound. The writing is also emblematic of the era. The songs are about love and love lost, as well as underscoring country values and wisdom.

When you arrive at the 9th track on the album, the heartbreaking waltz “Use Me,” this is when the striking voice of Zach Top, the top-shelf picking and production, as well as stellar writing align to make something that gives you the same chills all those country gold selections from the ’90s did.

“Use Me” is co-written by Zach with Tim Nichols and Carson Chamberlin.

JP Harris – “To The Doves”

This comparison isn’t offered lightly or without careful reflection. But “To The Doves” truly sounds like something Kris Kristofferson would have written in his heyday, and some big country star would’ve made a major hit in 1976. All more fitting that the song came out the same week the otherwise incomparable Kris Kristofferson passed away in late September.

From Harris’s new album JP Harris is a Trash Fire, “To The Doves” is one of multiple songs that stuns with the level of songcraft, presenting a sentiment and perspective it wouldn’t be apt to characterize as “sweet” or “romantic,” but is nonetheless gentle and caring in its way of presenting a realistic perspective of the prospects of a one night stand. The production by JD McPherson is just about perfect as well.

John Moreland – “The Future Is Coming Fast”

“We don’t grieve, and we don’t rest. We just choose the lie that feels the best,” Moreland sings in “The Future Is Coming Fast,” accompanied by his gently fingerpicked guitar. This is the introduction to his new album Visitor that offers more questions than answers, and leaves much unresolved and weighing heavy on the mind. Yet it still leaves you feeling more comforted than unsettled than before, if only because it assures you that you’re not the only one afraid of silent, empty moments because of the way fears and anxieties seems to fill them.

The music world is now enamored with earnest songwriters like Zach Bryan, who took the teachings of his fellow Northeast Oklahoman Moreland, and delivered them to the arena and stadium level. It might be Zach Bryan who made them stick, but it was John Moreland who helped plant the seed that has now blossomed into this song-first approach that has dramatically reshaped the direction of country and roots music.

Noeline Hoffman – “Purple Gas”

A merciless, discriminating search for authenticity in country and Western music will lead you strait to south Alberta’s Noeline Hoffman who traded in working on ranches to become a Western singer and songwriter. After Zach Bryan got a hold of “Purple Gas,” she’s shot up the depth charts, and all of a sudden is on deck to be the next great cowboy country star.

As Zach Bryan deftly realized, “Purple Gas” is a master class in compelling songwriting, taking elements of Western life and weaving them into affirmations of personal character that are so critical in making it in unforgiving landscapes and circumstances.

The future of Western music is bright. The future of Western music is Noeline Hoffman.

Cody Jinks – “What You Love”

When the history books are written about the period of country music we’re living in right now, Cody Jinks will be much more than a bit player. When mapping out how independent artists rose out of the ranks of the unknowns to rival mainstream country’s biggest stars, how artists began to win back control over their music, and how quality songs that actually sound country came roaring back into popularity, Cody Jinks will be one of the primary characters in that compelling narrative.

Bolstered by piano and a lush string arrangement, “What You Love” co-written with Tennessee Jet is a full-hearted, full-throated effort by Jinks to convey what he’s learned through persevering through adversity and rising to the top. Anyone with young adults in their life will feel the power and magic in this song. It’s the perfect way to conclude Cody’s 2024 album Change The Game.

Laurie Lewis – “Trees”

Not enough is being made about the legendary career Laurie Lewis has amassed over the decades. Her fellow musicians know her as a master of folk, bluegrass, traditional country, and the space where all three of these disciplines meet. Songwriting is also one of her strong suits, and she proves this exquisitely on this a capella track that doesn’t deserve to be overlooked.

“The Trees” awakens memories of Ralph Stanley and “O Death,” but it’s the writing that captures the world from the perspective of natural history that makes the song so compelling. “The Trees” also features Hasee Ciacco, George Guthrie, and Tom Rozum on vocals.

Joe Stamm and the Allegheny High – “The Storm”

“The Storm” is riveting story that sucks you straight into fate of the characters, making you feel the racing palpitations of a heart yearning to return home to be by a lover’s side while being dogged by nature’s fury. But it’s brought to a whole other level when Joe Stamm tests the highest reaches of his vocal range and power, and pulls off moments most singers don’t have the guts, let alone the gifts, to fully achieve.

The song is from Joe Stamm’s four-song EP Allegheny, recorded with members of Charles Wesley Godwin’s backing band, The Allegheny High.

Conrad Fisher – “Cecilia”

Divorce songs play such a significant role in the history of country music. Whereas other genres often avoid the sore subject, country music addresses it straight on in some of the most cutting compositions in the genre’s history. Even if you’ve never been a party to divorce, these songs can make you feel like you have.

Tackling this classic trope in country music, but doing so with creative originality is the difficult task modern songwriters face. Conrad Fisher revels in this challenge, and contributes a song that could go into the country music canon right beside all the other classic divorce songs.

Sierra Ferrell – “Wish You Well”

To call Sierra Ferrell a singer/songwriter almost seems like a reduction of her powers. Her music and presentation is much more imaginative and indefinable than that. But her latest album Trail of Flowers explores Sierra’s ability to craft a compelling song from her own personal experiences as opposed to the more ethereal inspirations she normally pulls from.

Where Sierra really shows off her ability to write a song is “Wish You Well.” Perhaps the hidden gem of Trail of Flowers, it conveys the truth that the easiest path to overcoming heartbreak is not revenge, avoidance, distraction, or even time, but forgiveness. It’s the poetic and compelling ways Ferrell conveys this fact that makes you actually listen and heed this adage as opposed to just hear it.

Kimmi Bitter – “I Can’t Unlove You”

Expect the chill bumps to shoot down your arms and up your spine when you hear what sounds like a ghost from the black and white era of country billowing out of your speakers to sing the heartbreaking “I Can’t Unlove You.”

You get the sense that it kind of doesn’t matter what Kimmi Bitter sings, she sings it to the rafters. Even though her music comes across as lots of style and imagery to evoke a specific era in a kind of kitschy way, this isn’t a gimmick. At this music’s heart is an incredibly gifted and emotive singer choosing to ply her craft in the classic country style, and we should count ourselves as infinitely lucky that she has.

American Aquarium – “Cherokee Purples”

Out of the wreckage of the American experience comes the pointed, propulsive, sometimes polarizing, and at other times gentle and ruminative musings of B.J. Barham and his long-running band of alt-county misfit toys, American Aquarium. They take the stage like musical warriors, and leave behind puddles of sweat and tears in one of the most engrossing shows out there. In the studio, they both try to capture this live energy, and compose songs that challenge for dominance over the deepest musings of Americana’s greatest singer/songwriters.

One may ask what makes an album like American Aquarium’s The Fear of Standing Still even adjacent to the country realm. Along with the presence of steel guitar, there is deep and compelling nostalgia in many of their songs, most notably “Cherokee Purples,” which is arguably the album’s best. 

Honorable Mention:

Blackberry Smoke – “Azalea” – An essential song for empty nesters, Charlie Starr and co-writer Travis Meadows capture the feeling of wanting to let your young one go and take on the burden of life, but also offer a safe landing whenever it’s needed.

Willi Carlisle – “The Money Grows On Trees” – This is a 7-minute spoken word masterpiece. Willi might be a staunch folklorist with an old-timey vibe, but he knows how to broach topics fiercely relevant to today, especially drug issues and all the complexities they entail.

Luke Combs – “My Old Man Was Right” – Luke Combs really has done a remarkable thing with his latest album Fathers & Sons released on Father’s Day. Really, any and all of the songs from the album could be given Song of the Year consideration from the way they all are capable of creating a deeply emotional response, or insight can be drawn from them. It only seems appropriate that the track that Combs co-wrote with Lori McKenna would be the one to conclude on. 

Caitlin Cannon – “Waiting” – This tearjerker is rendered even more emotionally impactful when you find out it was inspired by Caitlin Cannon’s brother who is in prison.

Stephanie Lambring – “Two-Faced” – Lambring is quickly distinguishing herself as one of the bravest and most honest songwriters of our time, saying the things we all believe, but don’t have the guts to say to the world, let alone ourselves. This song calls us all out on our bullshit in the best of ways.

Presley Haile – “Mosquito” – This is a song about a boy and his horse. It’s also not really about a boy and his horse at all. It’s about how no matter how trusty of a steed you might have, you can’t walk or run away from the emotional turmoil that’s impressed upon you in youth. Master class songwriting from Presley Haile on this one.

Colby Acuff – “Plastic Horses” – Colby combines an upbeat tempo and a fun-sounding song with what’s ultimately a very sad story. This in itself is a smart use of songcraft, but Colby makes it even better by the things he doesn’t say as opposed to the things he does.

Alice Wallace – “Letting It Go” – Those who know about Alice Wallace know she’s perhaps one of the best singers around. Her songwriting isn’t too shabby either, and she combines both her superpowers for this powerful song.

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Editor’s Note: After reader votes, American Aquarium’s “Cherokee Purples” was graduated from an Honorable Mention to an official nominee.

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