Tonight is one of the biggest nights in Country Music as the 56th CMA Awards will be taking place live at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
This year the show will be hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, and while Peyton isn’t in the industry himself, he’s always been a fan of the genre.
Whether it’s starring with Brad Paisley and cranking up the Outlaw channel in commercials, singing “Friends In Low Places” with Dierks Bentley, or “Tennessee Whiskey” with Chris Stapleton, it seems the Sheriff has always been tied closely to the genre and tonight is just a further step into being one of those people that is always around the big events.
He spoke about his love of country music and what taking on the host role means in an interview with Stage Right Secrets.
“I’m a fan and I hope that kinda comes across cause there’s a lot of great country music fans and it’s been a big part of my life for a long time. When you go to college in Tennessee you learn to love country music.
Knowing that I was going to get to co-host it with Luke, someone that I know he’s a friend of mine… I just thought it’d be fun. I always liked taking on new projects, especially ones that you have a passion for and things you enjoy, so I’m glad to be here, it’s been fun working on it… and I think that’s the main thing, it’ll be a lot of fun on Wednesday night.”
Throughout the interview he also gave a list of artists he’s excited to see perform.
“I’ve been to the show before, I watch it every year, I love country music and so I’m personally excited about having a great seat and seeing Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett, Lainey Wilson, and Miranda Lambert perform.”
In another segment he also threw out Hardy’s name, rounding out a solid list of people in the mainstream that admittedly seems to be heading in the right direction for the first time in awhile, although Justin Moore did make a good point on why viewership has been dropping in recent years.
Gotta love ole Peyton. I’m sure Luke Bryan is going to throw some corny forehead jokes out there tonight and I’m excited to hear what he’s going to respond with. While there’s no denying hosting a show is a daunting task, I’m sure the guy that had absolute monsters trying to drive him through the turf for 17 years in the NFL will be up to it.
The show starts at 8pm ET on ABC and will be available to stream for free tomorrow on Hulu.
Crossing our fingers for a big night for Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, and all our other favorites here at Whiskey Riff.
