The 57th Annual GMA Dove Awards honored Christian and gospel music in Nashville, with Wickham named Artist of the Year and Jamie MacDonald winning New Artist of the Year.
The 57th Annual GMA Dove Awards took place on October 6, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, at Bridgestone Arena. Phil Wickham was named Artist of the Year, while Jamie MacDonald took home New Artist of the Year. Wickham, Brandon Lake, and Josiah Queen each won three Dove Awards, leading the night in major categories.
Josiah Queen’s song “Dusty Bibles” won Song of the Year, and Brandon Lake was named Songwriter of the Year.
Tasha Cobbs Leonard won two awards, including Traditional Gospel Recorded Song of the Year for “Church,” her collaboration with John Legend. CeCe Winans took home Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year for the second year in a row. Veteran Southern Gospel artist Karen Peck earned her ninth career Dove Award.
The evening featured a tribute to Dolly Parton performed by Amy Grant and Natalie Grant, according to Billboard. Amy Grant said Parton was a rare artist who seemed to belong to everyone. The tribute included a video clip of Parton singing “How Great Thou Art,” followed by the two performers joining in.
They ended their performance with a rendition of Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” A tribute to gospel legend Richard Smallwood featured Jonathan McReynolds, Kierra Sheard, Donald Lawrence, Maurette Brown Clark and Ted Winn. Percy Bady served as musical director.
Brandon Lake’s song “The Jesus I Know Now” with Lainey Wilson won Country/Roots Recorded Song of the Year. Josiah Queen also earned Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year for “Dusty Bibles” and Recorded Music Packaging of the Year for Mt. Zion. Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s album TASHA won Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year.
Jamie MacDonald, who was named New Artist of the Year, shared that he spent years healing from addiction and shame.
The evening also honored faith-based film and television with wins for David and The Chosen. The animated feature David won Feature Film of the Year, while The Chosen won Television Series of the Year for its fifth season. International artists receiving recognition included Andrea Bocelli, Daddy Yankee and Sarai Rivera.
Phil Wickham said that writing songs with others to worship God was something he never took for granted. Josiah Queen expressed gratitude to his co-writers on “Dusty Bibles” and described receiving the award as an honor. Tasha Cobbs Leonard said work on TASHA followed a personal spiritual journey in which she experienced new aspects of God’s character.
Tauren Wells hosted the event for the fourth year in a row. The awards show was broadcast Friday, October 9, on TBN and TBN+, with a simulcast on SiriusXM The Message. An encore broadcast is scheduled for October 16 on TBN, TBN+ and TBN’s YouTube channel.
IMAGE: Christian artist Phil Wickham in concert in Pinellas Park, Fl. on January 21, 2008.. Photo: paul adonis hunter / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0