Your 2024 CMA Award performances are HERE.
Wednesday, November 20th, country music stars from all over will gather at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena to celebrate the year that country music has had.
Nominations for the show were announced in September, and Morgan Wallen led the pack with seven nominations. Chris Stapleton and Cody Johnson are not far behind him, with five nominations each, and many other stellar artists are up for awards celebrating the fresh faces in country music, the fantastic music that was released throughout the year, videos whose production blew others out of the water, and of course recognizing those who captivating an audience on stage.
Now that the awards show is right around the corner, the Country Music Association has announced who will be forming throughout the evening. And while the CMA Awards typically do not lean into the authentic sound of country, playing into the Nashville artists who play the radio game, I must admit there are a few names on this that I am surprised to see in a good way. CMA said with the lineup announcement that this mix of artists includes:
“First-time nominees and performers, along with Country Music favorites and reigning CMA Awards winners.”
The lineup includes Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Sierra Hull, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Ashley McBryde, Post Malone, Shaboozey, Chris Stapleton, Teddy Swims, Thomas Rhett, Molly Tuttle and Lainey Wilson.
I love seeing Molly Tuttle and Sierra Hull on this list. They are incredible bluegrass players, and we typically do not see that side of the genre represented at the CMA Awards.
Performances throughout the night will include Dierks Bentley tipping his hat to Tom Petty with his cover of “American Girl” featuring Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. Post Malone and Chris Stapleton are also teaming up to take their duet “California Sober” off Malone’s latest project, F-1 Trillion, to the stage. Malone and Stapleton will also have separate performances throughout the night, with Malone performing “Yours” and Stapleton performing “What Am I Gonna Do.”
From the ladies, we will see Lainey Wilson perform her hit “4x4xU,” Ashley McBryde is set to deliver a “showstopping performance,” but the official press release did not disclose her song selection. Given McBryde has been paying tribute to her fellow CMA Female Vocalist nominees, I would love to see her do a medley of the artist’s hits, tipping her hat to the other powerhouse vocalist in that category.
While this is a solid list of performers, I wish a few country music legends were taking the stage this year. Where’s Wynonna Judd, Tanya Tucker, George Strait, or Alan Jackson?
The Country Music Association has noted that more performers will be announced in the weeks ahead. Regardless, I will be tuning in on ABC on November 20th to watch the show, and I am excited to see the announced artists crush their performances on stage.
