Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena was full of new faces for this year’s Country Music Association Awards. Country convert Post Malone kicked off the show, pop artists Noah Kahan and Teddy Swims performed, and new hitmakers Megan Moroney and Bailey Zimmerman made their debuts. Even the hosting team got a new addition, as reigning Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson joined Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning. But the results were remarkably stale, as Chris Stapleton collected another deserved-yet-predictable haul, elder statesmen Brooks & Dunn collected their 15th Vocal Duo of the Year win, and artists like Shaboozey found themselves boxed out. Even Morgan Wallen’s first Entertainer of the Year win managed to feel like a retread. At least most of the performances delivered.
WHOA: Post Malone just earned his next hit.
Opening an awards show with a non-single, from your first album in the genre, is a bold move. But it’s a bit easier when you’ve got Chris Stapleton beside you. Post Malone and Stapleton rocked their F-1 Trillion standout “California Sober†to kick off the ceremony. Malone even held his own against his partner.
LOW: Luke and Peyton didn’t need to bring Lainey into this.
I hoped Lainey Wilson might bring some new energy into Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning’s host combo, which has been boring for years. It quickly became clear that wasn’t going to happen, when Bryan and Manning started wedging Wilson into the same old jabs at each other. This was the most awkward hosting performance from the duo yet, with a few too many sex jokes and an uncomfortable attempt to acknowledge the election disguised as a Sexiest Man Alive joke. (Adding a third host also seemed to make for some timing confusion, where no one seemed to be sure who had the next line.) “Y’all ain’t as bad as they said y’all were gonna be,†Wilson joked at the end. No: They were worse.
HIGH: Megan Moroney sparkles.
At first, Megan Moroney didn’t seem like a natural on the CMAs stage, with her performance of “Am I Okay?†feeling reserved and uncertain. But during the second verse, when she stepped off a raised platform, she became the star who went on to win New Artist of the Year, injecting her song with a dose of attitude.
WHOA: Shaboozey puts on a show.
When Shaboozey kicked off his set with “Highway,†I was worried the owner of a 17-week No. 1 wouldn’t be celebrating that hit at the CMAs. Turns out, he had a full party planned to transition into “A Bar Song (Tipsy),†complete with a dive-bar set, dancers, and even a roper.
WHOA: Luke Combs blows the roof off the place.
Luke Combs has become as inevitable of an awards-show performer as Chris Stapleton — when you see his name on the lineup, you know you’re in for something good. On Wednesday, it was a rendition of his Twisters hit “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,†from one of the only singers in Nashville whose belt can hold up next to four electric guitars.
LOW: Alan Jackson didn’t fog up the windows of his old Chevy for this.
Sandwiched between ads for Luke Bryan’s Jockey Line and Jelly Roll’s spot for Boot Barn, Dustin Lynch appeared onstage to pay tribute to … Chevy? Yes, the car company sponsored a tribute to all the country songs that have name-dropped it, from “She’s in Love With the Boy†to “Chatahoochee†to “Cruise†to Lynch’s own godawful “Chevrolet.†I can’t wait for the Wrangler jeans tribute at next year’s ACMs.
WHOA: Are we sure this is the Country Music Association?
In another sign of country music’s pop takeover, many of the biggest names in pop music spent Wednesday evening in Nashville. Post Malone performed twice fresh off the news of his Coachella headlining slot, North Carolinian Teddy Swims joined Thomas Rhett for his No. 1 “Lose Control,†folk-pop singer-songwriter Noah Kahan did his duet “Cowboys Cry Too†with Kelsea Ballerini, and Shaboozey performed the biggest hit of the decade. The ceremony’s newfound mainstream appeal even extended beyond the performances: Gold-medal-gymnast Simone Biles showed up to present Female Vocalist of the Year (despite looking a bit confused during some of the performances).
LOW: Sing a new song, Cody Johnson.
If you want to know how Nashville feels about Cody Johnson, just look at the Song of the Year nominees, which feature two of his own (albeit songs that he didn’t write). Honestly, I’m getting tired of hearing the same tearjerker ballads at every awards show. A surprise Carrie Underwood appearance couldn’t even help make “I Wanna Love You†stand out.
HIGH: Let’s hear it for Morgane Stapleton.
Chris Stapleton and his team initially forgot to bring his also-talented wife and collaborator, Morgane up for their Single of the Year win, so he offered his bride an apology and thank-you when he was back on stage a few minutes later, accepting Song of the Year. (Those were just two of his three wins on the night.) Morgane got her moment in the spotlight later, when she joined Chris for a performance of “What Am I Gonna Do?†Chris brought his usual vocal horsepower to the song, but Morgane’s tender harmonies were the emotional backbone.
WHOA: Brooks & Dunn & Jelly Roll bring the tears.
Brooks & Dunn’s “Believe†is emotional even on paper, telling the story of a boy befriending an elderly neighbor and later finding out he died. The duo’s CMAs performance took those emotions to the next level, with an inspired guest spot from Jelly Roll (who also remade the song for their album Reboot 2) and, of course, a full choir. As the audience shots showed, you weren’t the only one crying.
HIGH: Lainey Wilson can still entertain.
Sure, it helps when you’ve got a string trio and a campground set with a real fire. But strip all of that away, and Lainey Wilson’s take on “4x4xU†was the full package, thanks to her exhilarating voice and confident stage presence. She may not be Entertainer of the Year anymore, but she’s still got it.
WHOA: Bailey Zimmerman brings the party to the side stage.
Rowdy newcomer Bailey Zimmerman turned his tiny stage into a full backwoods rager, complete with a beer-pong table and a four-wheeler. He also descended in from the sky, because why not?
HIGH: A parade for the king.
George Strait has a catalogue tailor-made for awards-show tributes — every country musician loves him, and his hits are the sort of pleasant songs you rarely get tired of hearing. So Strait’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award tribute was a veritable hit parade, helmed by top-tier stars like Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, and his recent tourmate Chris Stapleton (whom Strait shared a highlight duet of “Honky Tonky Hall of Fame†with). The King of Country Music may not have needed another coronation, but no one’s gonna complain about hearing “Amarillo by Morning†or “Troubadour†again.
LOW: Eric Church’s “Darkest Hour†tribute is too much.
It was a night full of string sections and choirs, and this was the moment I got tired of it. “Darkest Hour,†a deep cut Eric Church released to benefit Hurricane Helene victims in North Carolina, is a heartfelt song. The dozen-and-a-half musicians joining Church on stage took away from that — the trombone bellows and flute trills distracted, making the song feel cartoonish at moments.
WHOA: Keith Urban rocks.
Jelly Roll’s second performance of the night, of his country-rock hit “Liar,†featured a familiar face in the band: Keith Urban, absolutely shredding on guitar. Jelly is one of the more compelling performers in country, but Urban was the star here, twitching and stank-facing throughout the song.
LOW: The CMAs finally embrace Morgan Wallen.
More than three years after Morgan Wallen said a racial slur on video, he finally won the CMAs’ highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. It was Wallen’s first CMA win since before the controversy, after he took home New Artist of the Year in 2020. (Wallen himself didn’t seem to be expecting any hardware tonight, given that he didn’t show up.) But don’t mistake that multiyear drought for any sort of punishment: The CMAs nominated Wallen for Album of the Year in 2021, just months after the incident, and followed with his first Entertainer of the Year nod in 2022. This wasn’t the CMAs finally opening its arms to Wallen, but rather, making good on a promise. This result — to cap off a night when Shaboozey came up empty-handed for a massive hit and Beyoncé blanked entirely at the nominations for her country project Cowboy Carter — only underlined how much mainstream country music hasn’t changed.