Stanly County native wins Academy of Country Music award

If he doesn’t already have his hands insured, a Stanly County native may want to check into that.

Tim Galloway, son of Eli and Vicki Galloway of Albemarle, learned Monday that he has been named the Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year through the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards.

Though the ceremony for the major artist awards happened in May, the awards for Galloway and others will officially be presented in August.

Galloway won over Brian Sutton, Danny Rader, Ilya Toshinskiy and Todd Lombardo.

While the ACM Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year is a category that has only been around for a few years, acoustic and electric guitar players were once grouped together in the Guitar Player of the Year category. Past winners in that category include Chet Atkins, Glen Campbell, Roy Clark and Vince Gill.

“I was definitely surprised to hear,” Galloway said. “I’ve gotta give credit to my parents more than anything. They taught me to work, not quit and not make excuses. I can’t imagine what it was like to hear the awful noise I was making for years, nearly non-stop.

“It wouldn’t happen with out them. I’ve been very blessed with family and friends that I can always lean on when I need to,” he added.

Galloway has been in Nashville since 2006. While he toured for his first decade or so there, he now is primarily a session musician.

Besides acoustic guitar, the self-taught musician has recorded using the banjo, bouzouki, fauxbro, resonator, ukulele, bass and electric guitar.

Over the last year he worked on new music from Bryan Martin, Bailey Zimmerman, Chase Matthew, Cody Johnson, Harper Grace, Ian Munsick, Jordyn Shellhart, Josh Ross, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Nate Smith and Randall King.

SportsPlus