The Arkansas Country Music Awards will return for its third year in 2020.

The now annual event will be held Monday, June 1 at the performing arts center on the Maumelle High School campus and nominations are being requested from the public.

Nominate your choice at www.arkansasmusic.org starting on Jan. 1, 2020 with the nominating period continuing for three weeks and ending on Jan. 21.

There’s 27 categories to choose from and among those are awards like Entertainer of the Year to a Print or Online outlet. AY Magazine was the 2019 winner in this category and unlikely to win again as rules stipulate that back-to-back year winners aren’t allowed.

There’s also rules to be eligible and they include:

>> Being born in Arkansas

>> Resided in Arkansas for an ample period of time

>> A solid, regular basis in Arkansas through live performances with those artists currently touring.

Among those honored in the previous two years include: Arkansas natives Collin Raye, Barbara Fairchild and Shawn Camp.

Lifetime achievement awards went to Conway Twitty, Patsy Montana, The Wilburn Brothers, Jimmy Driftwood and Kye Fleming in 2019. While 2018 honorees were Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, The Browns, Ed Bruce and Wayne Raney.

The event in 2019 was a star-studded affair as Ozark’s Lance Carpenter, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, was among those honored. Carpenter, a singer and songwriter, is signed to Toby Keith’s Show Dog Nashville label.

Carpenter’s first No. 1 song came in 2015 when he was co-writer for Kelsea Ballerini’s “Love Me Like You Mean It.”

Carpenter’s latest song is, “Last Night in Memphis” and which he described as being about a cancer patient at St. Jude’s spending their last night there as, “they have won their battle with cancer.”

Carpenter was 2019’s Arkansas Country Artist of the Year and he said then, “I am honored and promise to do my very best to represent country music in my home state.”

For more on the event, go online to www.ArkansasMusic.org, while they also maintain a social media presence at:

Instagram.com/arkansascma

Facebook.com/arkansascma

Twitter.com/arkansascma

Linkedin.com/company/arkansascma

 

Previous honorees

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

2019: Conway Twitty, Jimmy Driftwood, Kye Fleming, Patsy Montana, The Wilburn Brothers

2018: Ed Bruce, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, The Browns, Wayne Raney

 

ENTERTAINER

2019: Phil McGarrah & Runnin’ on Empty

2018: The Zac Dunlap Band

 

AMERICANA / ROOTS

2019: Bonnie Montgomery

2018: Bonnie Montgomery

 

BLUEGRASS

2019: Runaway Planet

2018: The Keisler Brothers Band

 

COUNTRY ARTIST

2019: Lance Carpenter

2018: Cory Jackson

 

INSPIRATIONAL ARTIST

2019: Joanne Cash

2018: Heaven’s Echoes

 

FEMALE VOCALIST

2019: Erin Enderlin

2018: Bonnie Montgomery

 

MALE VOCALIST

2019: Blane Howard

2018: Blane Howard

 

ACOUSTIC ACT

2019: Heath Sanders

2018: Caleb Ryan Martin

 

VOCAL GROUP

2019: The Reeves Brothers

2018: The Zac Dunlap Band

 

ALBUM

2019: “Unbroken” by Joanne Cash; produced by Chad Randall Crow

2018: “Whiskeytown Crier” by Erin Enderlin

 

SONG

2019: “World Without Willie” written by Erin Endlerin, Alex Kline, Leslie Satcher and Tara Thompson. performed by Erin Enderlin

2018: “Arkansas’ Mine” written by Zac Dunlap,  performed by The Zac Dunlap Band

 

SONGWRITER

2019: Erin Enderlin

2018: Erin Enderlin

 

MUSIC PRODUCER

2019: Jon Raney

2018: Randy Loyd

 

SOUND ENGINEER

2019: Bryce Roberts

2018: Jon Raney

 

PROMOTER

2019: Keith Symanowitz

2018: J.R. Rogers

 

VIDEO

2019: “Back Home in Arkansas” by Joanne Cash. directed by Chad Randall Crow

2018: “Arkansas’ Mine” by The Zac Dunlap Band

 

RADIO STATION

2019: KDXY “The Fox” Jonesboro

2018: KSSN of Little Rock

 

RADIO DJ

2019: Del Hughes of KWCK, Searcy

2018: Bob Robbins of KMJX, Little Rock

 

PUBLICATION

2019: AY Magazine

2018: Arkansas Living

 

VENUE

2019: Jimmy Doyle Country, Little Rock

2018: Ozark Folk Center, Mountain View

 

YOUNG ARTIST

2019: Bree Ogden

2018: Cam Shelton

 

BASSIST

2019: Doug DeForest

2018: Jimmy Young

 

DRUMMER

2019: David O’Neal

2018: Doobie Bowie

 

FIDDLER

2019: Tim Crouch

2018: Melody Hart

 

GUITARIST

2019: Steve Davison

2018: Randall George

 

STEEL/DOBRO PLAYER

2019: Garland Harris

2018: Steve Matlock

Image courtesy of Erin Enderlin