Legends liven Arkansas Country Music Awards
Since the first event in 2018, the Arkansas Country Music Awards have celebrated harmony, heritage and heart — the songwriters, storytellers, singers and strummers carrying Arkansas’ sound far beyond the state line.
This year, though, carries a different kind of charge. Bigger. Brighter. A banner year for a show that has grown into one of the state’s most anticipated cultural homecomings, beginning with two headliners who are among the genre’s most recognizable names.
“To have Crystal Gayle and Ricky Skaggs in the same year is a pretty big deal,” says Arkansas Country Music Awards Vice President Charles Haymes.
It’s also a bit of a family reunion. Gayle says in a recent phone interview with a laugh, “Ricky and I are actually distant cousins.”
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Gayle says she’s just as eager to return to Arkansas. “It’s been a while since I’ve been there, so I’m looking forward to it,” she says.
The red-carpet evening begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 1, at Reynolds Performance Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. The ninth annual ceremony will be cohosted by Haymes and Miss Arkansas 2014 Ashton Gill. Information and tickets are available at arkansasmusic.org.
The night is also powered by a partnership that has been there from the beginning. The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas are “the only ones who have sponsored every single year,” Haymes says.
JD Lowery, director of community and economic development for the cooperatives, says, “We’ve supported the Arkansas Country Music Awards from the beginning, and we’re proud to continue that commitment. This event shines a light on Arkansas talent, and we’re honored to help keep that light bright.”
Roots and resonance
Both Gayle and Skaggs may hail from Kentucky, but the work that made them legends carries a strong Arkansas imprint. Their most enduring chapters were shaped alongside Arkansans whose influence runs deep in the genre’s history.
For Gayle, that connection begins with North Little Rock native Allen Reynolds — the “hidden gem to a lot of people here,” as Haymes describes him. Reynolds produced all of Gayle’s biggest hits and wrote three of her top 10 singles. His fingerprints are on some of Gayle’s most recognizable songs, from “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” to “Ready for the Times to Get Better.”
Gayle calls Reynolds “a big important part of my career … not only a great producer, but just a great person.” She adds that working with him “was just a magical time,” and that he encouraged her to take ownership of her music from the start: “He would say, ‘You’ve got to listen to these songs and you have to like them … you’re going to be singing these songs. I’m not.’”
When Gayle steps onto the stage, she’ll be honoring the Arkansan who helped shape her shimmering sound and her storied career. “Being there honoring Allen is very important to me,” she says.
Skaggs’ Arkansas ties run just as deep. One of bluegrass’ defining modern voices, Skaggs has long been connected to The Whites — the harmony-rich family trio of Buck White and daughters Sharon and Cheryl, who started singing together in Mansfield before carrying their sound to Nashville. Sharon White is Skaggs’ wife and longtime musical partner.
Skaggs’ role in inducting The Whites into the Arkansas Country Music Hall of Fame is a personal moment that Haymes predicts “should just be incredible.”
Joining Reynolds and The Whites in this 2026 Hall of Fame class are Jimmy Doyle & Patsy Gayle. The pair spent nearly five decades entertaining audiences across Arkansas and beyond, as members of the Arkansas River Bottom Band and longtime owners of Jimmy Doyle’s Country Club (a two-time award recipient for Venue of the Year; the couple retired in 2021).
Crystal Gayle shares another bond: “I actually played at his club when I first started,” she says. “We’re all connected.”
Over the years, the Arkansas Country Music Awards have honored some of the most iconic names in the genre — a lineage that places this year’s class in distinguished company. Past Hall of Fame inductees include Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Conway Twitty, Levon Helm, Charlie Rich, K. T. Oslin and Collin Raye. The show has also drawn major special guests and performers such as Tanya Tucker, Lee Ann Womack and Louise Mandrell, underscoring its growing national pull.
Milestones and momentum
The awards themselves have grown just as dramatically. In the early years, Haymes says, “You’d have like 10 to 20 in a category for the selection committee to pick the final five from.” In recent years, many categories have drawn 25 to 40 nominees, reflecting the depth of talent across the state. This year includes 51 first-time nominees, continuing a trend of strong newcomer participation.
The show itself moves with the rhythm of a live concert. “You’ll have an opening performance, then three or four categories, then another performance,” Haymes says. Hall of Fame inductions are woven throughout the night, creating a mix of celebration, storytelling and surprise.
And the awards, 27 categories in total, don’t just honor performers. Five nonperforming honors recognize those who help keep Arkansas’ music ecosystem thriving — venues, promoters, publications, radio stations and DJs. “It’s an industry awards show,” Haymes says. “It’s not just the people that stand center stage and hold an instrument.”
Arkansas’ influence on country music runs deeper than many realize.
“Everybody knows who Johnny Cash and Glen Campbell were,” Haymes says, “but there are so many Arkansans that have played a key role in the overall success and popularity of country music.”
With what Haymes calls “probably the biggest year for our special guests,” the 2026 Arkansas Country Music Awards feel like a milestone — a moment when the state’s past, present and future meet under one spotlight.
When the curtain rises and first notes ring out on June 1, it will echo decades of Arkansas stories — sung, written, produced, lived. The awards honor that past while opening the door to whatever comes next. And if this year is any indication, what comes next is big.
Hall of Fame Inductees
Photos courtesy of Arkansas Country Music Awards