_Photo by Stuart Levine_

Willie Nelson will be awarded this year’s Gershwin Price for Popular Song. The honor will be bestowed upon the iconic country musician at a Washington, DC ceremony that is currently being planned for November.

The Gershwin Prize is named for songwriters (and brothers) George and Ira Gershwin, who penned an assortment of Great American Songbook standards. Nelsonn even covered the brothers’ “Someone to Watch Over Me” for his 1978 album Stardust.

The award ceremony will be filmed for television and will feature performances and speeches by various musicians. The lineup for the event will be revealed in the coming months. Past recipients of the Gershwin Prize, which is bestowed by the Library of Congress, include Paul McCartney, Caroline King, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.