Here is the 58th Annual CMA Awards recap featuring big wins by country superstars Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson, and more.

The 58^th Annual CMA Awards took place Wednesday evening, November 20^th, right in the heart of Music City at the Bridgestone Arena. Last year’s CMA Entertainer of the year and this year’s Female Vocalist of the Year, Lainey Wilson, joined Luke Bryan and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning to host the historic event which honors Nashville’s brightest stars who had massive success in country music this year. There was a total of 20 performances, 19 presenters, and 31 first-time nominees.

The night kicked off with a special performance by Post Malone and Chris Stapleton—the two sang “California Sober,” off Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion record. This was followed by a comical introduction by the three hosts, and the first award, Single of the Year. 

After the break, Megan Maroney and Shaboozey took the CMA stage for the first time as solo artists. Moroney sang “Am I Okay?” and Shaboozey merged “Highway” with his 17-week #1 smash “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Later, Riley Green joined another first-time performer, Ella Langley, for their top 10 song, “you look like you love me.” The song was awarded Musical Event of the Year before the show. Charlie Worsham also received an award before the show, bringing home the Musician of the Year.

After Luke Combs sang the rocking “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” from the major motion picture, Twisters, Moroney came back to the stage to accept her Best New Artist award. 

Kacey Musgraves performed her graceful tune “The Architect,” then Old Dominion took home their seventh-straight Vocal Group of the Year Award. Lead singer, Matt Ramsey gave an inspirational speech on the power and strength of coming together as bandmates to create something beautiful. Post Malone came back on stage after to sing the emotional tune, “Yours,” about fatherhood.

In a stacked Album of the Year category, Cody Johnson’s Leather beat out Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, and Luke Combs’ records. As the great sport he is, Jelly Roll was second only to Johnson’s wife to congratulate his counterpart with a huge hug. After, New Artist of the Year nominee, Bailey Zimmerman was lowered onto stage from the rafters to sing his new party song, “New To Country.” The performance was filled with smoke and confetti explosions.

Hosts Lainey Wilson and Luke Bryan got their solo moments on stage with performances of “4x4xU” and “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” respectively. Later, Eric Church showcased “Darkest Hour,” his new, unifying song that recognizes the disasters Hurricane Helene caused in North Carolina and Tennessee. 

The night was an unforgettable one for many, but especially for George Strait, who received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, Chris Stapleton, and Lainey Wilson helped honor him by performing his biggest songs over the years including “Amarillo By Morning,” “Give It Away,” and “Troubadour” that had everyone in the audience singing along. The King himself sang a new song off his new record, “Honkytonk Hall of Fame.” 

Ashley McBryde, who was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, paid tribute to the late Kris Kristofferson with a gorgeous cover of his song, “Help Me Make It Through The Night.” Kristofferson sadly passed away less than two months ago. 

There were two country-pop collaborations: Thomas Rhett and Teddy Swims on Rhett’s “Something ‘Bout A Woman” and Swims’ “Lose Control” and Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan singing “Cowboys Cry Too” off Ballerini’s new record, Patterns. Other collaborations included Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood singing “I’m Gonna Love You;” and Jelly Roll and Keith Urban performing “Liar.” Jelly Roll also joined Brooks & Dunn for a moving performance of the duo’s hit, “Believe.” Audience member swayed to the tune lifting their hands up with some even shedding tears as the two belted out the final chorus.

Brooks & Dunn were later awarded the Vocal Duo of the Year for the fifteenth time and first since 2006. The final collaboration and performance of the night was Dierks Bentley covering Tom Petty’s “American Girl, with other American girls, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. 

From the once in a lifetime collaborations, to the exquisite sets and performances, the CMA Awards never fails to disappoint, and we were honored to be in attendance again in 2024. Country music is thriving right now and we are so proud of everyone involved from the artists, producers, and songwriters, to the costume designers, marketers, stage crew, and beyond. 

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Here is the 56th Annual CMA Awards recap featuring big wins by country superstars Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, and more.

The 56^th Annual CMA Awards took place last night (November 9^th), returning to the iconic Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, this show was all about uniting fans and country artists with our favorite music genre and honoring the greats that paved the way. For a full list of all of the nominations and winners, click here.

The show began with a medley of hits, celebrating the late, great Loretta Lynn. Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Reba McEntire took to the stage delivering an incredible performance of Lynn’s classics like, “You’re Looking at Country” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Carly Pearce also honored Lynn with her incredible song, “Dear Miss Loretta,” later in the show.

Shortly after, the CMA’s hosted another incredible female-led performance of Ashley McBryde’s killer album Lindeville. Artists like John Osborne, Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack, and Pillbox Patti joined her on stage.

With a quick introduction, first-time CMA awards winner for Video of the Year, Cody Johnson graced the stage next, singing an electric rendition of his hit song, “‘Til You Can’t.” Similarly, Cole Swindell took to the stage to sing his latest number-one hit, “She Had Me At Heads Carolina.” Of course, he brought out Jo Dee Messina to sing with him. Lambert also returned to sing her new song, “Geraldene” and Underwood with, “Hate My Heart.”

The star-studded event continued with a killer performance from Luke Combs. The Entertainer of the Year nominee blew fans away, singing his song, “The Kind of Love We Make.” The other Luke, Luke Bryan also performed his current single, “Country On” later on in the show. The night continued with performances by Zac Brown Band, who sang their song “Out In The Middle” and an exciting duet by Thomas Rhett and Katy Perry. The latter duo sang their new song, “Where We Started,” a country-pop medley, begging for radio play.

However, HARDY and Lainey Wilson may have given arguably one of the best performances of the night with their song “wait in the truck.” The eerie ballad came to life, as the two New Artist of the Year nominees sang their hearts out, receiving a huge applause and standing ovation from the audience. Next up, Morgan Wallen, an Entertainer of the Year nominee, also showed up to perform his hit song, “You Proof.”

The CMA Awards continued to showcase collaborations throughout the night. Kelly Clarkson and Carly Pearce joined Kelsea Ballerini on stage to sing “YOU’RE DRUNK, GO HOME.” The threesome brought their sassy energy and huge vocal chops to the country music stage.

Another highlight of the night is when Chris and Morgane Stapleton took the stage with none other than the iconic, Patty Loveless. An incredibly harrowing performance, the collaborators sang Loveless’ “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” getting each and every artist on their feet celebrating the performance with them.

Country music artists continued to celebrate the icons that came before them both in and out of the genre. Brothers Osborne took the stage with The War and Treaty to celebrate the forthcoming tribute album, Stoned Cold Country for The Rolling Stones, coming in 2023, while Elle King joined by The Black Keys and celebrated the late hall of fame, Jerry Lee Lewis.

Of course, the night would not be complete without the monumental tribute to Alan Jackson, who was the newest recipient of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. Carrie Underwood strutted onto the stage to announce the icon, even singing a little something. Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, and Lainey Wilson shared the stage to celebrate Jackson’s career. They sang songs like, “Chattahoochee,” “Drive (For Daddy Gene),” and “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow.” Jackson, himself also sang his song, “Don’t Rock The Jukebox.”

Overall the 56th CMA Awards were a great night for country music. The show came back to its roots, mixing the new country music sounds with more traditional country, proving that we can all love the genre together.

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