Billboard honored Miranda Lambert on Wednesday night at its 2026 Country Power Players ceremony, adding her to a roster of country music figures recognized at The Eye Rooftop at Category 10 in downtown Nashville. The event also featured honors for Riley Green, Tucker Wetmore, The Red Clay Strays and Austin Neal.
The recognition came as Billboard’s co-chief content officers Leila Cobo and Jason Lipshutz opened the evening by pointing to country music’s staying power and its current reach. Lipshutz said the genre keeps expanding with new superstars, new hits and new records, while still valuing its traditions, and added that Billboard’s charts show country is enormous right now even as it remains timeless.
The ceremony drew a sharp cross-section of the business and the stage. Melinda Newman hosted, celebrating the executives on Billboard’s Country Power Players list alongside the artists being honored, while Riley Green received the Hitmaker award from Clint Black and Tucker Wetmore took home the Rising Star award from HARDY.
Green said the recognition would give him confidence to keep writing songs and playing more shows, calling it a pat on the back. Black praised him as pure country and said he was impressed with his songwriting. Wetmore, meanwhile, thanked God and said he was nothing without faith, adding that he wanted to thank everyone around him.
One part of the night remained unclear in the ceremony details: Lambert was named among the honorees, but the specific award she received was not identified in the information released from the event. That leaves the main question around her recognition unanswered, even as Billboard used the Nashville gathering to spotlight the people shaping country music now.
