Welcome to the sixth annual Golden Boot Awards! The Boot’s fan-voted digital awards, the Golden Boot Awards feature 10 categories of staff-selected nominees who made waves in the country music world in 2019. Readers can vote for their preferred winner in each category as often as once per hour through 11:59PM ET on Jan. 23. We’ll announce the winners on the site on Jan. 24.

Country music is a genre steeped in tradition, and the 2019 Golden Boot Awards nominees for the Living Legend Award are the keepers of that tradition. Loretta Lynn’s lyrics changed the way country songs told stories, Ricky Skaggs continues to keep the tradition of bluegrass music alive, and Clint Black has been delighting country fans for 30-plus years.

Both Dolly Parton and John Prine are still releasing excellent new music, and Shania Twain continues to impress us much with her busy tour schedule. While Kenny Rogers has retired from touring, his influence on the genre is long-lasting, as is John Hiatt’s. Dozens of artists in country and beyond have covered his songs.

Garth Brooks keeps selling out world tours, Reba McEntire’s talent and fiery energy continue to inspire, and Vince Gill’s influence has kept the tradition of string music thriving. Charlie Daniels’ fiddle and Kris Kristofferson’s lyrics draw crowds across the country, too.

The Oak Ridge Boys keep the collaborations coming, opening up their influence to bigger audiences every year, and in 2019, Steve Earle released an excellent record tribute record to late folk-county songwriter Guy Clark. Over two and a half decades since “Chattahoochee,” Alan Jackson is still doing his own thing, much to fans’ delight.

Willie Nelson, too, keeps playing excellent live shows despite some recent health setbacks, and Randy Travis is plotting new live shows, his first since his debilitating stroke in 2013. George Strait is known as the “King of Country” for a reason, Ronnie Milsap is still one of the biggest crossover singers of all time, and Jim Lauderdale continues to be one of the most prolific singer-songwriters in country.

Which one of these incredible artists gets your vote for the Living Legend Award in the Golden Boot Awards? Cast your vote below!

More From Big Cat - Country with Attitude