The next round of performers is here.
With the 2026 CMA Awards set to air live from the Bridgestone Arena next Wednesday, November 18th on ABC, we now have the full list of performers for the show. Of course, there has been a lot of controversy with the CMA, as Sammy Kershaw, the ’90s star behind smash hits like “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful,” “Queen of My Double Wide Trailer,” “Vidalia” and more, revealed las week that the CMA Awards had denied his request to walk the red carpet at this year’s upcoming ceremony.
The Country Music Association issued a pretty sorry statement yesterday addressing the controversy surrounding artists being denied red carpet access ahead of next week’s CMA Awards, and it’s safe to say a lot of people aren’t impressed, including country artist Jake Owen, who called the CMA out after they released this message about unspecified “criteria” for for determining who gets to walk the red carpet:
But of course, the show must go on… we’ll see if Kershaw ends up on the red carpet when show day comes.
In terms of nominees, women absolutely dominate this year, with Ella Langley riding the highs of her record-shattering success with “Choosin’ Texas” to a staggering nine nominations. These nominations include her first-ever Entertainer of the Year nod, Album of the Year for Dandelion, Single and Song of the Year for both “Be Her” and “Choosin’ Texas,” Female Vocalist of the Year, Music Event of the Year (“I Can’t Love You Anymore” with Morgan Wallen) and Music Video of the Year (“Choosin’ Texas”).
Right behind her with seven is “Choosin’ Texas” co-writer and superstar, Miranda Lambert, who snagged seven nominations. These include her work on both Langley’s Dandelion and “Choosin’ Texas” as well as Female Vocalist of the Year, and two Musical Event of the Year nods for “A Song to Sing” with Chris Stapleton and “Horses and Divorces” with Kacey Musgraves.
Speaking of Musgraves, she made her grand return to the top of the nominations at the CMAs with five. This year, she scored Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Middle of Nowhere, Song and Music Video of the Year for “Dry Spell” and the aforementioned Musical Event of the Year for “Horses and Divorces” with Lambert.
Leading the charge for the men are the likes of Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson and Stephen Wilson Jr with four nominations. In particular, Wilson Jr. is primed to have a huge night.
It was previously announced that Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, Kacey Musgraves, Red Clay Strays, Tim McGraw, Zach Top and Tucker Wetmore will be performing, and we now have the next bunch of artists who will take the stage.
Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs, Megan Moroney, Mumford and Sons, Stephen Wilson Jr. and Vince Gill are set to perform, and Brothers Osborne, Halestorm, Hardy, Luke Bryan and Marcus King will come together to celebrate Brooks & Dunn, who are this year’s recipients of the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lainey Wilson will host the show solo this year, and overall, it looks like there’s a pretty solid group of performers taking the stage next week:
You can see the full list of nominees below.
Entertainer of the Year
- Luke Combs
- Cody Johnson
- Ella Langley
- Chris Stapleton
- Lainey Wilson
Album of the Year
- Ain’t In It For My Health – Zach Top
- Dandelion – Ella Langley
- Middle of Nowhere – Kacey Musgraves
- Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum
- The Way I Am – Luke Combs
Song of the Year
- “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley
- “Be Her” – Ella Langley
- “Beautiful Things” – Megan Moroney
- “Dry Spell” – Kacey Musgraves
- “Gary” – Stephen Wilson Jr.
Single of the Year
- “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley
- “Be Her” – Ella Langley
- “I Knew It, I Knew You” – Taylor Swift
- “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson
- “The Fall” – Cody Johnson
Male Vocalist of the Year
- Luke Combs
- Cody Johnson
- Chris Stapleton
- Zach Top
- Stephen Wilson Jr.
Female Vocalist of the Year
- Miranda Lambert
- Ella Langley
- Megan Moroney
- Kacey Musgraves
- Lainey Wilson
New Artist of the Year
- Avery Anna
- Carter Faith
- Emily Ann Roberts
- Tucker Wetmore
- Stephen Wilson Jr.
Vocal Duo of the Year
- Brooks & Dunn
- Brothers Osborne
- Dan + Shay
- Muscadine Bloodline
- Thelma & James
Vocal Group of the Year
- Lady A
- Little Big Town
- Midland
- Old Dominion
- The Red Clay Strays
Musical Event of the Year
- “A Song to Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
- “Horses and Divorces” – Kacey Musgraves & Miranda Lambert
- “I Can’t Love You Anymore” – Ella Langley & Morgan Wallen
- “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” – Carly Pearce & Riley Green
- “McArthur” – Hardy, Eric Church, Morgan Wallen & Tim McGraw
Music Video of the Year
- “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley
- “Dry Spell” – Kacey Musgraves
- “Gary” – Stephen Wilson Jr.
- “The Fall” – Cody Johnson
- “White Horse” – Chris Stapleton
Musician of the Year
- Tom Bukovac – Guitar
- Jenee Fleenor – Fiddle
- Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
- Rob McNelley – Guitar
- Charlie Worsham – Guitar
