The 60th annual celebration of country music will also feature a tribute to Dolly Parton
The first round of performers for the upcoming 60th Annual CMA Awards has been announced, and it looks, well, pretty similar to last year (with one particularly humble and kind addition).
Ella Langley, Kacey Musgraves, Red Clay Strays, Zach Top, Miranda Lambert, and Tucker Wetmore are all returning after taking the stage at 2025’s honors, with Entertainer of the Year nominee Cody Johnson and Tim McGraw rounding out the list. Hosted by Lainey Wilson and airing live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 18, the night will also boast a tribute to late country legend Dolly Parton that is sure to be star-studded.
McGraw’s upcoming appearance at the CMA Awards will be his first since 2017, when he and Faith Hill sung their nominated duet “The Rest of Our Life” (and we can’t lie, we’d love to see Hill up there, too). It’s been a banner year for McGraw, who just celebrated his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and kicked off his residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas this week.
What hasn’t been announced yet is what songs any of the artists are planning on bringing to the stage — or if they are collaborating with one another. While “Choosin’ Texas” has dominated the charts and the zeitgeist this year — and now, even the midterm elections — Langley already performed the massive hit at 2025’s awards. Will she and Lambert tackle their duet “Snakeskin Boots”? We’d love to see it — as much as we’d also love to see Musgraves bring a Spanish language song like her collaboration with Intocable on “Uncertain, Texas” to the CMAs.
Langley leads the pool in nominations, with nine, including Entertainer of the Year. Lambert isn’t far behind, with seven, making her the most nominated female artist of all time — and in a year where she didn’t even release a record (Crisco will be eligible in 2027).
The CMA Awards airs live from Nashville on Nov. 18 via ABC and Disney+, and available to stream the next day on Hulu.
