Eric Church paid tribute to his home state of North Carolina and those affected by the flooding of Hurricane Helene with a performance of “Darkest Hour” at the 2024 CMA Awards. Dressed in a black velvet blazer and accompanied by a choir (including longtime vocal foil Joanna Cotten), a horn …

Ashley McBryde paid tribute to the late Kris Kristofferson with a stripped-down, acoustic rendition of Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night” at the 2024 CMA Awards. Accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, McBryde performed the classic song of loneliness and connection to a montage of photos from Kristofferson’s life, …

Chris Stapleton did triple duty at Wednesday’s CMA Awards in Nashville. The country singer opened the show with Post Malone, delivering their duet “California Sober,” and later performed “What Am I Gonna Do,” the opening track of his Album of the Year-nominated LP, Higher. He also paid tribute to George …

Before some of country’s biggest stars took the stage on Wednesday evening at the 2024 CMA Awards, Billy Ray Cyrus pointed out the absence of an artist who made history as the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Country Albums chart. Taking to social media, Cyrus weighed in on Beyoncé’s …

Jelly Roll is one of 18 artists singing Brooks & Dunn songs on the duo’s new album Reboot II. On Wednesday, the former rapper joined Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks onstage at the CMA Awards to perform his version of “Believe.” Like B&D’s 2005 original, Jelly Roll’s version on Reboot …

George Strait was honored with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 CMA Awards. Lainey Wilson kicked off the homage with a note-perfect take on Strait’s signature “Amarillo by Morning,” followed by Jamey Johnson’s plainspoken but swaggering rendition of “Give It Away.” Parker McCollum and Miranda Lambert traded …

It made perfect sense: The song Kacey Musgraves chose to perform at this year’s CMA Awards is also, by a long measure, the most traditionally country song on her 2024 album Deeper Well. It’s also, perhaps not coincidentally, the only song on the record co-written with her old Music Row …

Despite acting since she was a child, leading one of Disney Channel’s topsitcoms,Wizards of Waverly Place, starring in A24cultclassic Spring Breakers, and landing Golden Globe and Emmy nods for her lead role in smash hit series Only Murders in the Buildings, Selena Gomez still has trouble convincing casting directors to …

Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan gave all the cowboys in Nashville permission to get a little teary-eyed at the 2024 CMA Awards. The pair took the stage for a performance of their anti-toxic-masculinity duet “Cowboys Cry Too,” a nominee for Musical Event of the Year. “In our world and culture …

Shaboozey took another victory lap in his breakthrough year with his debut performance at the 2024 CMA Awards. The musician took the stage for an electric performance of his record-breaking single “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which he preceded with a bit of his song “Highway.” “A Bar Song,” a juggernaut …