The 2022 SESAC Nashville Music Awards: Winners, Performances, and More

After not being in person for three years, the celebrated SESAC Nashville Music Awards returned for a night of festivity in the Country Music Hall of Fame to commemorate songwriters and their achievements over the past year.

The night kicked off with a performance of "Soul" by Lee Brice and Blanco Brown. "Soul" is the latest radio single from Brice, who has had major successes with "One Of Them Girls" and "Memory I Don't Mess With." It was the first time Brice and Brown performed the track together and the duo got the crowd invested and hyped up with their electrifying energy. At one point, Brown made the entirety of the audience stand up and out of their seats.

Jennifer Wayne, a member of the country trio Runaway June, was awarded for her work on Keith Urban's "Wild Hearts," Matt McGinn was celebrated for his contributions on the Tim McGraw No. 1 "7500 OBO" and Kane Brown's "Like I Love Country Music," and Joe Fox accepted an honor for being a co-writer on Jon Pardi's "Last Night Lonely." Other honorees included Chris Lacorte, Jeremy Bussey, Ben Simonetti, Casey Brown, and Matt Alderman.

Jordan Davis performed "Buy Dirt" alongside his brother Jacob Davis who had credit on the track and fellow brother duo Josh Jenkins and Matt Jenkins. Their four voices blended sweetly for a down-home version of the tune

Rising artist Megan Moroney performed her track "Tennessee Orange" with just an acoustic guitar. The track entered the Billboard Hot 100 despite Moroney being an independent artist showcasing the power of fandom and social media. In Nashville, the crowds always appreciate a clever line, and she got a nod from the crowd after singing, "In Georgia they'd call it a sin / I'm wearing Tennessee orange for him."

Josh Jenkins returned to the stage to accept the accolade for Songwriter of the Year. He was also surprised to learn via a recorded message from Walker Hayes that "Fancy Like" had won Song of the Year. While giving his acceptance speech, Jenkins spoke on his beginning when he and his brother would write songs on yellow legal notepads in separate rooms.

The ceremony ended with a surprise of Oreo milkshakes to salute the raging and continuous success of "Fany Like."

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