PERENNIAL NOMINEE PAUL FRANKLIN WINS CMA’S MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR PRIZE

NASHVILLE, TN – November 20, 2025 – Sometimes you’ve just gotta keep picking and grinning and waiting to exhale. On his 33rd nomination for the honor, steel guitar wizard Paul Franklin finally was proclaimed the Country Music Association’s Musician of the Year live in front of a packed house at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena during the 59th Annual CMA Awards (ABC) last night. Franklin, who is greatly loved and admired within his industry, was clearly stunned as he exited side stage, then found himself swarmed by well-wishing fellow musicians (and two very excited publicists!).

This morning, as Franklin reflected on the previous evening, he had this to say: “My journey has been about putting love into the songs I record, and as a consequence of that, I have formed a lot of wonderful relationships. Imagine a career that has been so rewarding and so long it’s like climbing Mt. Everest. Last night, winning this award felt like being in the clouds above that mountain, and looking back on all the relationships and all the music I’ve made, and all of a sudden all that love came rushing back toward me.” Franklin, who has recorded and/or toured with virtually every major country artist of the last 40 years, dedicated his award to his father, Paul Franklin, Sr., a celebrated designer and builder of steel guitars who often collaborated with his son.In a particularly serendipitous moment, Franklin came to stage following his win to play steel behind Brandi Carlile and Patty Loveless as they sang a tribute to his long-time friend and recording partner, Vince Gill, on hand to receive the CMA’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement award. As a duo, Franklin and Gill recorded two tribute albums to their own musical heroes, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens in Bakersfield (2013) and Ray Price in Sweet Memories (2023) both released on MCA Records. A native of Detroit, Franklin moved to Nashville in 1972 and quickly established himself as a steel guitar master. Among the artists he has worked with, in addition to Gill, are Post Malone, John Maher, Kacey Musgraves, Michael Buble, George Strait, Blake Shelton, Harry Connick, Jr., Alan Jackson, Shania Twain, Barbra Steisand, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Megadeth and countless others. Franklin currently tours with Chris Stapleton.