And the Winner is... Childers and Stapleton at the Grammys

By Roberta Cantrell
BSN Editor

Eastern Kentucky stole the show at this year’s Grammy Awards Sunday evening Feb 1, in the country music categories. Lawrence County’s own Tyler Childers took home his first-ever Grammy for Best Country Song at the 68th awards show in Los Angeles for “Bitin’ List,” a song Childers wrote for his 2025 album “Snipe Hunter.”

It has been noted that over the last several years, Childers has grown from a cult favorite into a headlining force, drawing listeners well beyond the traditional country lane. His music’s appeal has long rested on authenticity: characters that feel lived-in, melodies that carry the weight of old-time influence, and performances that hit with unforced conviction.

Johnson County-raised Chris Stapleton took home his 12th Grammy in the Best Country Solo Performance category for “Bad as I Used to Be.”

The song was featured in the recent Brad Pitt car racing movie “F1.” It is Stapleton’s first new recording since the release of his fifth album, “Higher,” in 2023. It was the first Grammy for Childers, the 12th for Stapleton.

Neither Childers or Stapleton was in attendance of the Grammy awards however, Childers’ band “The Food Stamps” accepted on his behalf in a ceremony held Sunday afternoon ahead of the Grammys’ evening airing. “He keeps us all grinning like mules eating saw briars,” said multi-instrumentalist Jesse Wells of Childers during the acceptance speech for the award. Childers and Stapleton competed against each other in three (3) Grammy categories, including the ones each artist won in. Childers won over “A Song to Sing,” a work Stapleton co-wrote (and recorded as a duet) with Miranda Lambert for Best Country Song. Stapleton won over Childers’ “Nose on the Grindstone” for Best Country Solo Performance.

Childers is set to return to Lexington for a headlining performance on June 7 at Railbird. Stapleton, who headlined Railbird in 2024, will make his closest concert appearance to Central Kentucky on Aug. 1 with a performance at PayCor Stadium in Cincinnati.