Updated in 2026:

TRADITIONAL SECTION

According to the NZ Gold Guitar Awards, a traditional song is not defined by when it was released but by traditional style. Traditional Country songs are acoustic and draw from music traditions including Appalachian folk, early honky-tonk or Australian bush ballad style. They are characterised by fingerpicking, bass note runs/pluck-strum style and open-chord strumming. 

Examples include:

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams
The Garden - Sierra Ferrel 
Leave Him In The Longyard - Slim Dusty
My Dear Companion - Dolly Parton, Linda Rondstat and Emmylou Harris
Frankie and Johnny - Jimmie Rodgers