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The 57th annual CMA Awards will take place Wednesday (Nov. 8) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena with returning hosts country superstar Luke Bryan and legendary NFL hall of famer Peyton Manning. For the second consecutive year, Lainey Wilson leads all nominees with nine nominations, followed by Jelly Roll with five and Luke Combs and HARDY landing four.
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Chris Stapleton and Carrie Underwood are both seeking their first entertainer of the year award after multiple nominations. Stapleton, Brothers Osborne and Old Dominion will see if their multi-year streaks for male vocalist, vocal duo and vocal group, respectively, continue. This year also includes some surprises, including Tracy Chapman receiving her first nomination for a 35-year-old song, and Wilson swiftly ascending to entertainer of the year category from winning best new artist only a year ago.
The eligibility period for the 2023 show, which will air live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET, is July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023. According to CMA rules, “singles, albums, music videos and qualified music products for the annual show must have been released or reached peak national prominence during the eligibility period.” More than 7,300 members of the country music industry vote for the nominees and winners through three rounds of voting.
Here are Billboard’s predictions in select categories on who will emerge victorious, from Melinda Newman (executive editor, West Coast and Nashville), and Jessica Nicholson (staff writer, Nashville). So they wouldn’t influence each other, the two did not compare notes on their picks.
Entertainer of the year
Luke Combs
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson
Newman: It’s only been a year since Wilson earned her first CMA Awards nominations (and wins), so her ascent into the entertainer category feels, perhaps, a tad speedy. The other four nominees have been here before, including last year, with Combs prevailing. This year marks Stapleton’s and Underwood’s seventh and sixth nominations in the category, respectively, yet neither has won the award, and, despite strong touring efforts in 2023, it feels like they will go home empty-handed again. This year is a race between Combs, who is seeking his third crown, and Wallen, who is after his first. Both have ascended to stadium-act status, and both have had unbelievably successful years at radio. If there was ever a year for a tie, this might be it, but Combs made the leap to multi-continent international touring sensation this year, so he has a slight advantage.
Will win: Luke Combs
Nicholson: While each of the nominees has had an incredible year, it seems that Combs and Wallen are the front-runners in this race. Both have battled it out in the upper echelons of the Billboard Hot 100 (with Wallen’s “Last Night” spending 16 weeks atop the chart, and Combs’s “Fast Car” reaching No. 2). Combs is already a two-time winner and the reigning champ in this category, while Wallen’s One Thing at a Time has dominated the Billboard 200 this year, with 16 weeks atop the chart. Both have had major stadium runs this year, with tours that have taken them to overseas markets as well as domestic shows. Wallen’s 2023 tour began with shows in Australia and New Zealand, and included stops in Canada, but Combs’s 2023 trek visited Australia, Canada and multiple countries in Europe, which might give him the edge here.
Will win: Luke Combs
Single of the year
Award goes to artist(s), producer(s) and mix engineer(s)
“Fast Car” – Luke Combs (Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton, Mix Engineer: Chip Matthews)
“Heart Like A Truck” – Lainey Wilson (Producer: Jay Joyce, Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce)
“Need A Favor” – Jelly Roll (Producer: Austin Nivarel, Mix Engineer: Jeff Braun)
“Next Thing You Know” – Jordan Davis (Producer: Paul DiGiovanni, Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley)
“wait in the truck” – HARDY (feat. Lainey Wilson) (Producers: HARDY, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt, Derek Wells, Mix Engineer: Joey Moi)
Newman: It’s a little surprising that Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” which spent a staggering 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, didn’t get a nod here, but voters leaned toward heavier fare for the most part, favoring murder ballad “wait in the truck,” Jelly Roll’s redemption-seeking “Need a Favor” and Combs’ poignant remake of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” Davis was a runner-up last year with “Buy Dirt” and this year’s entry, “Next Thing You Know,” mines the same family-oriented theme, while Wilson’s “Heart Like a Truck” is pleasing, traditional country. All were hits, reaching the top 2 of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, but the meaty songs here resonated strongest this year, with “wait in the truck” hitting the hardest thanks to HARDY and Wilson’s gravitas-filled vocals.
Will win: “wait in the truck”
Nicholson: This year’s category is packed with hits, including a double-header of chart songs from Wilson (“Heart Like a Truck” and “wait in the truck” with HARDY). Jelly Roll’s rock-infused plea “Need a Favor” is here, as is Jordan Davis’ quieter chart hit, the sentimental “Next Thing You Know.” In terms of chart successes, Combs’s rendition of the Tracy Chapman classic “Fast Car” has been a sales juggernaut, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spending five weeks atop the Country Airplay chart. This crossover hit was inescapable this year, which leans the odds in Combs’ favor.
Will win: “Fast Car”
Song of the year
Award goes to the songwriters
“Fast Car” — Songwriter: Tracy Chapman
“Heart Like A Truck” — Songwriters: Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson
“Next Thing You Know” — Songwriters: Jordan Davis, Greylan James, Chase McGill, Josh Osborne
“Tennessee Orange” — Songwriters: David Fanning, Paul Jenkins, Megan Moroney, Ben Williams
“wait in the truck” — Songwriters: Renee Blair, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt
Newman: The same songs nominated for single of the year are competing here except for “Need a Favor,” which has been replaced by “Tennessee Orange.” It would be something if Chapman won for “Fast Car,” a song that is as heartbreaking today as it was upon its initial release 35 years ago, but that seems unlikely. Other than “Fast Car,” the artists all had a hand in writing the songs they performed and that emotional investment reverberates here. “Tennessee Orange” served as a beguiling introduction to Moroney, while “Heart Like a Truck” showed the vulnerable side of Wilson. “Next Thing You Know” felt like Davis has found his lane that celebrates family and “wait in the truck” refused to pull its punches as it shined a harsh light on domestic violence. The winning song doesn’t need to necessarily make a statement, but “wait in the truck’s” fearlessness in embracing the darkness feels like an achievement worth heralding.
Winner: “wait in the truck”
Nicholson: Most of the same songs nominated in the single of the year category repeat here, including “Fast Car,” “wait in the truck,” “Next Thing You Know” and “Heart Like a Truck.” Wilson’s collaboration with HARDY and her solo “Heart” followed similar chart trajectories this year. “Heart Like a Truck” was named song of the year at the industry-voted NSAI Nashville Songwriter Awards, and it could very well follow that up with a win in this category.
Will win: “Heart Like a Truck”
Album of the year
Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, Ashley McBryde
Bell Bottom Country, Lainey Wilson
Gettin’ Old, Luke Combs
One Thing At A Time, Morgan Wallen
Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, Kelsea Ballerini
Newman: From Kelsea Ballerini’s intensely personal statement of reclaiming her own life after her divorce to Ashley McBryde’s vivid imaginary community in Lindeville, all the nominees here created works that connected with fans and advanced their artistry. Luke Combs’ set is the companion to last year’s winner, Growin’ Up, that celebrates the singer/songwriter embracing middle age. Lainey Wilson graduated to budding superstar status with Bell Bottom Country, which felt like a mission statement as she grew more confident in her delivery and message. It already seemed like Wallen couldn’t rise higher, but One Thing at a Time topped the Billboard 200 for 16 weeks, the most since Adele’s 21 in 2011-12. All will stand the test of time as high-water marks for each artist, but McBryde brought us into a world in an innovative, original way that felt uniquely immersive.
Will Win: Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville
Nicholson: This category celebrates an array of styles, from Wilson’s hippie-country Bell Bottom Country project to Ballerini’s heart-on-her-sleeve Rolling Up the Welcome Mat album, Combs’s hit-filled Gettin’ Old album, and McBryde’s collaborative, creative Lindeville project, which featured John Osborne, Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack, Aaron Raitiere, Benjy Davis and more.
The undeniably red-hot hit project of the bunch has been Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which has spent 16 weeks atop the Billboard 200. Still, this is a category where voters have often awarded creative impact over commercial success, so McBryde and her Lindeville cohorts could pick up the win here.
Will win: Ashley McBryde Presents Lindeville
Female vocalist of the year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
Lainey Wilson
Newman: The same vocalists as last year are competing except for Carrie Underwood, whose slot is filled by a deserving Kelsea Ballerini. Given that she’s been nominated, or won, 16 out of the last 17 years, it’s odd not to see Underwood’s name here, but she’ll definitely be back. Lambert’s been on a bit of a break since parting ways with Sony Nashville, so this is more of a four-way race between the other women. All have had strong years, but Wilson feels unbeatable for the second year in a row.
Will win: Lainey Wilson
Nicholson: Lambert is the winningest nominee in the category, with seven prior wins. Though every nominee here had a stellar touring/performing year, on the recording front, Lambert and Pearce had relatively quieter years. Pearce teamed with Chris Stapleton for the ballad “We Don’t Fight Anymore,” and Lambert paired with Leon Bridges for “If You Were Mine.” Ballerini released one of her most personal, expressive albums to date with her divorce record, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. Wilson is the reigning champ in this category, and seemed to be ubiquitous this year, thanks to heavy touring, a trio of songs surging up the charts, awards show appearances and a campaign with Wrangler. Wilson seems to be a lock in this category.
Will win: Lainey Wilson
Male vocalist of the year
Luke Combs
Jelly Roll
Cody Johnson
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Newman: Jelly Roll replaces Eric Church in this year’s list of finalists and it’s hard to overstate the year he’s had, but the same could be said for all the contenders, including second-time nominee Wallen, who won the title at the ACM Awards in May. Either Stapleton or Combs has taken home the award the past eight years, with Stapleton winning a record-setting six times. Despite Stapleton’s once-in-a-generation voice, it’s undeniably Wallen’s turn.
Will win: Morgan Wallen
Nicholson: This is a stacked category, with Combs, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Stapleton and Wallen all vying for the honor. Wallen, Jelly Roll and Johnson are all hoping to pick up their first wins, against veteran winners Stapleton (six times) and Combs (twice). Stapleton is a perennial favorite in the category, and Combs, Jelly Roll and Johnson have all had solid years, but given Wallen’s juggernaut touring in addition to the chart success of “Last Night” and One Thing at a Time, it looks like this could be the year he cinches a win.
Will win: Morgan Wallen
New artist of the year
Zach Bryan
Jelly Roll
Parker McCollum
Megan Moroney
Hailey Whitters
Newman: Bryan and Jelly Roll are already bonafide headlining arena acts, so it seems strange to even see them in this category, since their stars have ascended so quickly. Additionally, Bailey Zimmerman has dominated the charts in recent months with three Country Airplay No. 1s, so his omission is glaring. McCollum, Moroney and Whitters look like they’re all headed toward long, bountiful careers with Whitters snagging the top new female trophy at the ACM Awards. If voters are going by the numbers, it’s hard to deny Bryan or Jelly Roll, but, if like me, voters feel like they are both past the point of winning this award, Moroney could be the surprise winner.
Will win: Megan Moroney
Nicholson: Bryan is far and away the biggest success story of this crop of newcomers. He’s selling out stadiums nationwide and regularly notching songs and albums to the upper echelons of the all-genre Billboard charts. But Bryan’s comments following last year’s CMA Awards, could have deterred some CMA voters. “Handle on You” hitmaker McCollum, “Everything She Ain’t” singer Whitters and “Tennessee Orange” crooner Moroney have all made strides over the past year, but recent Billboard cover star Jelly Roll has been one of the biggest breakout artists, earning two No. 1 Country Airplay hits this year (including the four-week Country Airplay chart-topper “Need a Favor”) and currently enjoying a top 10 hit on the chart with his Wilson collab “Save Me.” Add in a top headlining tour, and this one is Jelly’s to lose.
Will win: Jelly Roll
Vocal duo of the year
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The War And Treaty
Newman: Maddie & Tae are competing for the ninth time without a win, and they will likely go home empty-handed again, given Brothers Osborne have snagged the trophy five of the last seven years and Dan + Shay grabbed it the other two. Brooks & Dunn, who last won in 2006, are legends, of course, but it seems odd that they are even plunked into this category, since they exist primarily as an occasional touring act. The War And Treaty are a strong addition, but they likely can’t stop the momentum that the excellent Brothers Osborne continue to have.
Will win: Brothers Osborne
Nicholson: This year, 14-time category winners Brooks & Dunn face off against five-time category winners and reigning champs Brothers Osborne, as well as two-time winners Dan + Shay, Maddie & Tae and newcomers to the category, husband-and-wife duo The War And Treaty. Dan + Shay, Brothers Osborne and The War And Treaty all released new studio projects this year. Brothers Osborne scored a top 25 Country Airplay hit with “Nobody’s Nobody,” released their self-titled album and played a string of headlining shows, while Dan+Shay made media waves leading up to the release of their 2023 album Bigger Houses by revealing they nearly broke up, and earned a top 20 Country Airplay hit with “Save Me The Trouble.” Brothers Osborne’s labelmates The War And Treaty also scored a major chart hit this year with their Zach Bryan collaboration “Hey Driver” (which reached the top 20 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100). They’ve been opening tour dates on Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show (in addition to a string of overseas headlining tour dates) and have been ubiquitous on awards show appearances this year. All of these high-profile appearances could give W&T the edge.
Will win: The War And Treaty
Vocal group of the year
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
Zac Brown Band
Newman: The nominations in this category have remained static for the past five years with the same acts vying for the title, with the exception of 2020, when a dissolving Rascal Flatts took Zac Brown Band’s spot. They are all worthy contenders, but, as with vocal duo, the category could benefit from some new blood or have voters pay a little attention to who else is making noise, like Parmalee, whose “Take My Name” was Billboard’s 2022 Country Airplay Song of the Year. Old Dominion continues to grow both creatively and commercially, so expect them to take home their sixth consecutive trophy in this category, tying Little Big Town’s six wins.
Will win: Old Dominion
Nicholson: Old Dominion has arguably been the most visible of this year’s nominees, thanks to to their album Memory Lane and their Country Airplay top 10 hit of the same name. Zach Brown Band earned a top 20 Country Airplay hit with “Out in the Middle,” but Old Dominion seems to be on track to extend their five-year winning streak.
Will win: Old Dominion
In many ways, Garth Brooks made Time Traveler — or at least one particular song on his 14th studio album — for an audience of one.
Gentle ballad “St Paul/Minneapolis (A True Story)” — a rare solo write by Brooks that shares a wistful, nostalgic feel with Brooks’ standards “Every Now and Then” and “What She’s Doing Now” — is about a random encounter he had in the Twin Cities with a women for whom he felt an instant connection. “I don’t have a clue who she is. It’s the weirdest thing. It was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. When she started talking, there was something in me that unlocked. In my dream of dreams, I’d love to run into her again and see if that easy feeling was really that or am I just imagining things,” he tells Billboard.
Brooks says he’s told no one, including his wife Trisha Yearwood, specifics about the chance meeting “because if this person is going to show up, then she’ll know the details that nobody else does and I’ll know I’m talking to the right person.” He’s not even sure if she recognized him, but stresses in the song he isn’t trying to disrupt his life or hers: “Now I’m not looking for relation/ And I don’t wanna change your life,” he sings.
One of the few people who has heard the song before its release is Brooks’ musical hero James Taylor. “I texted him and said, ‘Hey man, would you ever think about producing a song and he said, ‘I’d love to!’ and I was on Cloud 9.” But when Taylor heard the record, he declared it was perfect just the way it was. “Getting that kind of confidence boost, it was just nice to hear from a musical god of yours, “ Brooks says, then laughs self-deprecatingly at the blatant celebrity call-out, adding, “I tell you what, the older you get, the more names you get to drop.”
That’s not the only big name that comes up around the Brooks-produced, 10-track Time Traveler, which is part of The Limited Series, a seven-disc set available exclusively through Bass Pro Shops starting Tuesday (Nov. 7). The $29.99 set also includes Brooks’ three studio albums since he came out of retirement — 2014’s Man Against Machine, 2016’s Gunslinger and 2020’s Fun — and the previously released three-disc Triple Live concert set.
“Rodeo Man,” the album’s rollicking first single, out today, is a duet with Brooks & Dunn’s Ronnie Dunn trading his usual singing partner Kix Brooks for a different Brooks. “He’s one of the greatest voices in country music ever,” Brooks declares of Dunn.
The two icons were swapping songs back-and-forth when Dunn sent Brooks “Rodeo Man,” which he co-wrote with Phil O’Donnell. “I texted him back that it was a smash,” Brooks says of the song that fits right into country’s ’90s music resurgence. Brooks had a few suggestions to add some fiddles and pedal steel and then recorded it to show Dunn the changes he would make after promising him “I’m not going to steal your song.”
Dunn was so happy with Brooks’ version, he suggested they duet on it. “He was very sweet to let me in the door. What we did was combine his track with our track,” Brooks says. Big Machine Label Group will promote the song to radio, as it did Brooks’ 2007 Country Airplay No. 1, “More Than a Memory.” Unlike the rest of the album, it will also be available for streaming on Amazon, Brooks’ exclusive streaming outlet.
Brooks is joined by Kelly Clarkson, who sings backing vocals on the loping “The Ship and the Bottle,” a bittersweet ballad written by Nicolle Galyon, Chase McGill and Jon Nite that Brett Young included on his 2018 album Ticket to L.A., but didn’t release as a single. The song envisions one member of a romantic couple as a bottle and the other as the enclosed ship. The bottle may have to break to allow the ship to be free and pursue her dreams. “The text was simple: ‘Hey, I’ve got a song. It’s not a duet. I would love to hear your voice on it, but I know you’re slammed,” Brooks says of his outreach to Clarkson. “And three seconds later came back in all capitals: ‘YES.’ With exclamation points. It made an older artist feel very good that this younger artist would want to sing along on one of these records.”
The other cover on Time Traveler is “The Ride,” David Allan Coe’s 1982 swampy classic about a hitchhiker who gets picked up by the ghost of Hank Williams. “The story [of Williams] haunted me my entire life,” says Brooks, who added a verse to flesh out what the characters talked about on their trip from Montgomery to Nashville, though he doesn’t take a songwriting credit on the tune written by Gary Gentry and J.B. Detterline Jr. “I’m an a–hole in a lot of different ways, but I just can’t be that guy,” he says.
The song also features Brooks’ first attempt at spoken word. He admits he was scared how it would turn out. “I was like ‘Is this going to sound corny or bad? But when I heard it, I thought, ‘That’s scary.’ I liked it.”
On the rowdy “Neon Neighborhood,” longtime fans of Brooks’ will no doubt recognize a tip of the hat to his raucous “Friends in Low Places,” with a boisterous chorus made up of his band and crew singing along as they did on the 1990 classic. Brooks first enlisted an audience at a show during his current two-year Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace to sing and then brought the smaller contingent into the studio to make the words clearer.
As Brooks, the top-selling solo artist in the U.S., according to the RIAA, gets ready to open his own bar — naturally titled Friends in Low Places — on Nashville’s Lower Broadway, he hopes the song will find its own audience. “I’m not going to push it,” he adds. “We’ll see what kind of life it gets on its own. But I can tell you I just love the whole groove of it and it just feels so good especially when the band just takes off and plays.”
Brooks titled the album Time Traveler because of the different eras of country music it pays homage to and the styles he’s been rediscovering as he programs The Big 615, one of a suite of seven stations that makes up Brooks’ Sevens Network for global streaming platform TuneIn. “What I love about the Big 615 and curating it is that it forces you to listen to the stuff that you didn’t have the time to listen to before and I think that’s really, really good,” he says.
The album includes “Only Country Music,” the song that kicked off The Big 615 when it launched in June and marks the first time Brooks and Nashville writing powerhouse Ashley Gorley have written together. The two were brought together by the song’s co-writer Matt Rossi. “While we’re writing, I tell [Ashley], ‘Man, before this session, I don’t know if it was jealousy or envy, but I’m like ‘60 No. 1s! How is that possible?’ But when you write with this kid he is so far ahead of you the whole time. It’s like, ‘Holy cow. How do you do that?’ And then he leaves and probably goes and does it two more times that day. But he totally carried that session. No offense to Matt Rossi. No offense to myself.”
Brooks will talk about the album further tonight, as he and Bass Pro Shops CEO Johnny Morris appear on live internet shopping platform TalkShopLive in partnership with Bass Pro Shops for an exclusive album release event at 7 p.m. E.T. (viewable via the above link). In addition to availability in the 177 Bass Pro Shops across the U.S. (including 82 Cabela’s), fans can also pre-order The Limited Series through the sporting goods retailer’s online site.
Brooks played Bass Pro’s 50th anniversary birthday party last fall, which led to the collaboration. “He talked to me about water conservation,” Brooks says of Morris, a devoted conservationist. “I said it was like the songwriters, how they’re just getting squeezed out and squeezed out” by low streaming rates and the focus on singles instead of albums. “And he said ‘Well, what can we do about that?’ and I said, ‘I’m looking for a partner for my last limited boxset [and] he was sweet enough to step up.”
The first The Limited Series came out 25 years ago in 1998, and was followed by a second The Limited Series with different content in 2005. The second edition was available exclusively through Walmart. Both series were limited to one million box sets each with one-way buys by the retailers.
The Limited Series arrives two weeks before Brooks plays a free show at the grand opening of Friends in Low Places on Nov. 24. Tickets were available only via Brooks’ The Big 615 station with more than 3 million entries received. The concert will also air live at 7 p.m. E.T. on Amazon Prime and Twitch as the latest in the Amazon Music Live series, which has previously featured Ed Sheeran and Feid.
One of the Nashville music industry’s most festive, star-studded weeks got underway on Sunday evening (Nov. 5) in the walkup to Wednesday’s CMA Awards, with SESAC’s Nashville Music Awards celebrating the writers and music publishers behind many of the year’s most-performed country and Americana songs.
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Following a cocktail hour where more than 400 of Nashville music industry denizens schmoozed, Megan Moroney started the ceremony by performing an acoustic, husky-voiced rendition of one of the celebrated songs of the evening, “Tennessee Orange.” The ballad, which Moroney co-wrote, is nominated for song of the year during the CMA Awards (Moroney is also up for new artist of the year).
SESAC executives including chairman/CEO John Josephson, president/COO Scott Jungmichel, chief creative officer Sam Kling, senior VP/head of Nashville creative Shannan Hatch, and Lydia Schultz Cahill and ET Brown (senior directors, creative services), guided the evening’s festivities and led the charge in honoring the writers’ and publishers’ accomplishments.
“We have a hugely talented group of creators here tonight,” Jungmichel said. “Supporting you continues to be our focus.”
“What an amazing year it has been for country and Americana songwriters,” said Hatch, noting songwriter Rafe Van Hoy’s recent induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year. “Also, more Nashville writers were honored than ever during the SESAC [all-genre] Awards earlier this year.”
SESAC writers Josh Hoge and Christian Stalnecker contributed to writing “Thank God,” recorded by Kane Brown and his wife Katelyn Brown. The song became a No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay chart hit and on Sunday evening, was named SESAC’s song of the year during the Nashville Music Awards. The gratitude-filled ballad is also up for musical event of the year at Wednesday’s CMA Awards. Brown was on hand to help present Hoge and Stalnecker with the honor.
Sony Music Publishing was named publisher of the year, after earning seven awards throughout the evening, for the company’s role in publishing sterling country radio hits including “Thank God,” “Tennessee Orange,” “Dancin’ in the Country,” “You Didn’t,” and “Pick Me Up.”
The SESAC Heritage Award celebrated the legacy of “I’ll Fly Away” songwriter Albert E. Brumley and recognized SESAC’s 80-year partnership with the song and Brumley. Betsy Brumley accepted the heritage award on his behalf. Jamey Johnson was also on hand to perform a gorgeous acoustic version of the song.
Other SESAC-affiliated songwriters honored throughout the evening included Margo Price, Jeremy Ivey, Justin Ebach, Casey Brown, Dillon Carmichael (who earned his first industry award that evening and took the stage to perform a rendition of his song “Son of a A”) and Kelsey Waldon.
The evening concluded with the coveted songwriter of the year trophy, which went to Jon Nite, in recognition of his work in composing songs including “Dancin’ in the Country” (recorded by Tyler Hubbard), “You Didn’t” (Brett Young), and “Pick Me Up” (Gabby Barrett). Video tributes for Nite came from Keith Urban, Tyler Hubbard, Gabby Barrett, songwriter-producer Ross Copperman, Sony Music Publishing’s Josh Van Valkenburg, as well as tributes from Nite’s family.
“I don’t deserve this; this is unbelievable,” Nite said after taking the stage, first thanking his family and his Sony Music Publishing champions.
Nite recalled moving to Nashville over two decades ago, with $500 to his name. He offered advice to any aspiring songwriters: “Keep writing the songs that are part of your life—those are the only ones that work.” He noted the intense work ethic and long-term vision required for forging success within the industry, saying, “I wrote 1,000 songs before I got one cut.” He ended on a note of gratitude, and a bit of incredulousness, for being able to live out his dreams, saying, “It’s unbelievable that SESAC pays us to do what we do…what we love.”
See a full listing of the year’s SESAC Nashville Music Awards honorees below:
“Thank God”
Written by: Josh Hoge, Christian Stalnecker
Published by: Blunts and Bonfires Music, Feels Like Friday, Sony Music Publishing, Chorus 2 Music, RMM 416 Publishing
Recorded by: Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown
“DANCIN’ IN THE COUNTRY”
Written by: Jon Nite
Published by: Cuts Like A Nite Music, Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Tyler Hubbard
“TENNESEE ORANGE”
Written by: Megan Moroney
Published by: Georgiamo, Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Megan Moroney
“YOUR HEART OR MINE”
Written by: Justin Ebach
Published by: Phat Racoon, Universal Tunes
Recorded by: Jon Pardi
“YOU DIDN’T”
Written by: Jon Nite
Published by: Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Brett Young
“PICK ME UP”
Written by: Jon Nite
Published by: Cuts Like A Nite Music, Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Gabby Barrett
“GIRL IN MINE”
Written by: Casey Brown
Published by: Track & Feels, Warner Chappell Music, Tape Room Tunes
Recorded by: Parmalee
“WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE”
Written by: Chris LaCorte
Published by: Card Tables Music, Hang Your Hat Hits, Concord Tunes
Recorded by: Sam Hunt
“BURY ME IN GEORGIA”
Written by: Josh Hoge
Published by: Blunts and Bonfires Music, Chorus 2 Music, Sony Music Nashville
Recorded by: Kane Brown
“OUT IN THE MIDDLE”
Written by: Ben Simonetti, Zac Brown
Published by: Simonetti Music Publishing, Day For The Dead Publishing
Recorded by: Zac Brown Band
“Y’ALL LIFE”
Written by: Josh Jenkins, Pete Good
Published by: Follow Me Where I Go, SMACKWORKS Music
Recorded by: Walker Hayes
“SON OF A”
Written by: Dillon Carmichael
Published by: Riser House Tunes, Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Dillon Carmichael
“PARTY MODE”
Written by: Jared Keim
Published by: Twelve6 Sequoia, Warner Chappell Music
Recorded by: Dustin Lynch
“CHANGE OF HEART”
Written by: Margo Price, Jeremy Ivey
Published by: Peach Pit, Fisheye, RMM 416 Publishing, Good Songs We Love
Recorded by: Margo Price
“THAT KIND OF LIFE (THAT KIND OF DAY)”
Written by: Jim Lauderdale
Published by: Wudang Mountain Songs, Critter City Music
Recorded by: Jim Lauderdale
“TALL AND MIGHTY”
Written by: Kelsey Waldon
Published by: MyKaintuck Publishing, Do Write Music
Recorded by: Kelsey Waldon
“DON’T LET THE DARKNESS”
Written by: Ed Jurdi
Published by: Three Pisces Music
Recorded by: The Band of Heathens
“ALL I REALLY WANNA DO”
Written by: Henry Brill
Published by: Kobalt Group Publishing
Recorded by: Devon Gilfillian
Leading up to this year’s CMA Awards in Nashville, Dolly Parton takes ABC News’ Robin Roberts behind the scenes of her new album, Rock Star.
The hourlong ABC News special Dolly Parton – From Rhinestones to Rock & Roll will air Tuesday from 10-11 p.m. ET. Together, Parton and Roberts discuss Dolly’s collaborations with numerous rock artists on her new album, including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pat Benatar, Peter Frampton, John Fogerty and Steven Tyler. Current CMA Awards co-host Luke Bryan will host the special.
They also discuss the stories behind many of Parton’s iconic fashion looks over the years. Those fashions and stories make up Parton’s newly released book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. The book was also celebrated during the recent grand-opening celebration of Parton’s fashion exhibit at Lipscomb University in Nashville.
The trailer for the hourlong special features a plethora of artists discussing what they love about the 77-year-old member of both the Country Music and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame. The special features appearances from Jelly Roll, Carly Pearce, Keith Urban, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Sting, Lainey Wilson, Darius Rucker, Tim McGraw, Jordan Davis and Luke Combs.
“Ask me what I love about Dolly Parton, and I’ll say everything,” “Need a Favor” singer Jelly Roll says in the special.
Though Parton’s accomplishments, talent and confidence are world-class, she also reveals to Roberts that she has her moments of nervousness too.
“I’m scared sometimes, you know, I’m not made of stone,” Parton says at one moment in the preview clip.
The upcoming CMA Awards, hosted by Bryan and Peyton Manning, will air live on ABC from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 8. Leading this year’s nominees are Lainey Wilson with nine nominations (including her first entertainer of the year nod) and first-time nominee Jelly Roll, with five nominations.
See the trailer for Dolly Parton – From Rhinestones to Rock & Roll below:
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Luke Bryan hits the top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for a 35th time, as he hoists “But I Got a Beer in My Hand” to No. 10 on the chart dated Nov. 11. In the Oct. 27-Nov. 2 tracking week, the song increased by 8% to 18.3 million audience impressions, according to Luminate. […]
Four months after creating a firestorm with his “Try That in a Small Town” video, Jason Aldean professes to still not understanding what all the fuss was about. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times promoting his just-released 11th studio album, Highway Desperado, the 46-year-old singer said the backlash to the song and video was “a little surprising” to him.
“I mean, I felt like the song would probably start a conversation about the state of the country,” he said of the track that was labelled as pro-gun and a “modern lynching song” by detractors who said the threat-filled lyrics appeared to promote violence. “Us putting that song out and it doing what it’s done just shows me there’s a lot of people out there that feel the same way I feel,” he said of the track that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week before suffering a historic fall from the top spot.
After incorrectly claiming that there are “laws being passed” that prohibit shop owners from retaliating against thieves — the Times noted that an early version of a California Senate bill had a provision that would have prohibited businesses from requiring non-security employees from confronting shoplifters — the singer said he “made a point” in the song’s video to show “people of all races and colors doing things that in my opinion were not cool.”
The controversial video that had Aldean performing in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN — the site of the 1927 lynching and hanging of 18-year-old Henry Choate over allegations that he sexually assaulted a white girl, as well as the spot of a 1946 race riot in which two Black men were killed — was pulled from CMT shortly after its debut.
Lyrics challenging those who would “carjack an old lady at a red light,” “cuss out a cop” or “pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store” were juxtaposed in the visual with images of an American flag burning, protesters clashing with police, looters breaking a display case and thieves robbing a convenience store. The narrative also featured images of a Black Lives Matter protest that appeared to be edited out after the backlash.
Asked if he would have shot the video elsewhere had he been aware of the the well-known history of the video’s location, Aldean said it would have been “more of a conversation,” offering that there have been “a ton of things” that were shot on the same location “and it was never brought up. Then all of a sudden, our video comes out. People were trying to find something where there was nothing.”
When the interviewer asked if lines such as “around here we take care of our own” couldn’t potentially be seen as “white people circling the wagons,” or at the least a “pretty hysterical portrait of urban chaos” Aldean said, “you could take it as that if that’s how you want to take it. But the way you take it, versus the way I said it and meant it, it’s not necessarily accurate. It’s a very simple message: What I see happening, I’ve never seen that in the towns I grew up in in Georgia. It just doesn’t happen, and it wouldn’t last.”
Aldean was also asked to comment on a show he played last year at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in which the crowd booed when he mentioned fellow country star Maren Morris in the midst of his long-running feud with the singer. Morris had earlier taken Aldean and his wife, Brittany, to task for her transphobic comments; Morris’ recent single, “The Tree,” was accompanied by a video that was seen as a response to the “Try That” clip.
“I’ve never talked to her for more than probably 10 seconds. So I don’t really have an opinion about her,” he said of Morris. “The only thing I knew was that she was coming after my wife in the media. Obviously, her and I are on completely different ends of the spectrum as far as our beliefs. But I don’t know her at all, truly. That’s what was so weird for me: This chick’s coming after us, and I’ve never even talked to her before. Yet she claimed to know so much about me and my wife somehow.”
In a lightning round of questions, Aldean was asked if President Biden was legitimately elected and responded, “depends on who you ask,” while confirming that he was “very happy” with his decision to not get the COVID-19 vaccine. As for whether he wants twice-impeached, four-times indicted former one-term president Donald Trump to be the GOP nominee next year, he said it “wouldn’t hurt my feelings. I like Trump. Hung out with him a couple times — been very cool to me. I have nothing but good things to say about the guy.”
Three-time ACM entertainer of the year winner and Macon, Georgia native Jason Aldean‘s 11th studio album, Highway Desperado, is here.
Aldean is a co-writer on three of the album’s 14 songs, including the title track “Highway Desperado,” as well as “Hungover in a Hotel” and “Breakup Breakdown.”
Aldean has previously released a handful of songs previewing the album, including “Let Your Boys Be Country,” “Tough Crowd,” and his controversial “Try That in a Small Town,” which earned both praise and intense criticism after the song’s accompanying music video was released in July. The clip features scenes filmed at Tennessee’s Maury County Courthouse, where a Black man named Henry Choate was lynched in 1927. The Columbia Race Riot also occurred there in 1946.
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In a recent interview with CBS, Aldean said that he might have rethought the filming location if he had been aware of the location’s history. “Knowing what I know now, probably not,” he said of whether or not he would choose to film there now. “But it’s also — I’m not gonna go back 100 years and check on the history of this building because, honestly, if you’re in the South, you could probably go to any small-town courthouse, you’re gonna be hard-pressed to find one that hasn’t had some racial issue over the years at some point. That’s just a fact. For anybody that thinks that we picked that building specifically for that reason, because there was a lynching there, whatever.”
Aldean noted that the courthouse location is where he gets his vehicle registration renewed each year and that it is in the county he lives in.
“There was people of all color doing stuff in the video,” he said during the CBS interview. “That’s what I don’t understand. There was white people in there, there was Black people. This video did not shine the light on specific group and say, ‘That’s the problem.’ And anybody that saw that in the video, then you weren’t looking hard enough at the video. I thought it was actually a song that said something for a change. Not just, ‘Here’s another song for radio.’ I didn’t expect it to get the kind of heat that it got. And I think that was probably more because of the video more so than because of the song.”
He concluded, “The whole idea behind the video was to show the lawlessness and the disrespect for cops and just trashing cities. … I’m just not cool with that. I feel like the narrative got switched over and became more of a racial type thing. If that’s what you got out of the song and the video, that’s almost on you, because that wasn’t our intention.”
“Try That in a Small Town” earned Aldean his first Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper, and currently ranks at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart.
Since his breakthrough 2005 top 10 Billboard Country Airplay hit “Hicktown,” Aldean has amassed 25 No. 1 Country Airplay hits, and seven of his albums have reached the top spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Highway Desperado‘s title is a nod to the years Aldean has spent on the road.
“I think when I look back on it, I built my career early on my live show, and have been on the road touring since I was 18 years old,” Aldean said in a statement. “For us, touring is our favorite part. Getting on the bus and going town to town and playing our shows and doing our thing and seeing the fans… the title for the tour and album was really inspired from that.”
Stream Highway Desperado below.
Garth Brooks is slated to headline the first-ever Black Friday Amazon Music Live special on Nov. 24. Brooks’s performance will be livestreamed from the grand opening of his new downtown Nashville bar, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk, giving fans around the world a front-row seat for one of his well-known “Dive Bar” concerts.
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Prime Video and Twitch will air the concert beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 24, with Brooks performing new music live for the first time. The set will also include several of his chart-topping hits and deep cuts from his discography, including music from his upcoming album Time Traveler, out Nov. 7. The new album will be included in his new seven-disc boxed set The Limited Series, which will be available exclusively at Bass Pro Shops.
Viewers will have free access to Amazon Music Live, including viewers without an Amazon account or a Prime membership.
“Amazon Music Live and Garth Brooks are coming together for Black Friday after the game to livestream a special ‘Dive Bar’ concert from the grand opening of the Friends In Low Places Bar and Honky-Tonk in Nashville,” Brooks said in a statement. “We’ve already seen over 3 million entries to win a chance to attend, and thanks to our friends at Amazon, this episode will ensure that everybody who wants to see this show can. Not only will the people see the Friends bar for the first time, but they will also hear new music live for the first time…and if you know us, we will be playing the old stuff, as well.”
Prior to the event, Brooks fans can tune in to Twitch beginning at 6 p.m. ET on Nov. 24 to the AML pre-show hosted by Kelly Sutton and Amber Anderson, hosts of Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast.
Sponsored by Verizon, the AML Black Friday special will air after Black Friday Football—the first-ever NFL game played on Black Friday in history, streaming on Prime Video. Previous episodes of Season Two of AML included Ed Sheeran, Feid, Lil Durk, Trippie Red, Machine Gun Kelly, Metro Boomin with Post Malone, Nav and Offset. Meanwhile, Peso Pluma became the first musica Mexicana artist to perform on AML.
In other Garth news, he has teamed up with Ronnie Dunn for a new song, “Rodeo Man,” which will release Nov. 6 and will be included on Brooks’s album Time Traveler.
Jelly Roll will be the special performer during the third annual Nashville Bourbon Auction, presented by Alliance Bernstein, and set for Nov. 16 at Nashville supper club The Electric Jane.
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Buffalo Trace Distillery is sponsoring the 2023 Nashville Bourbon Auction, and will present its full antique collection. The evening will include a live auction, hosted by Nashville business leaders Max Goldberg and Mark Lombardi, that features allocated whiskey, exclusive experiences and a barrel of one of Buffalo Trace’s award-winning bourbons.
The 2023 Nashville Bourbon Auction will benefit the youth development and mentoring program Impact Youth Outreach (IYO) and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, with 100% of the proceeds going to charity.
The idea to bring in two-time Billboard Country Airplay chart-topper — and current five-time CMA Awards nominee — Jelly Roll as the featured performer for this year’s event came through a friendship between Bernstein Private Wealth principal Dan Weisman and Jelly Roll’s co-manager John Meneilly.
“He came to last year’s event, and mentioned the idea of Jelly Roll performing at this year’s event, and of course Jelly’s career has skyrocketed even more since then,” Weisman tells Billboard.
The Nashville Bourbon Auction launched in 2021, spearheaded by Weisman, musician Drew Holcomb, Lombardi and Goldberg. That inaugural event raised over $100,000 for the TN Golf Foundation. Last year, the event moved to Nashville’s SoHo House and raised $170,000 for former senator Bill Frist’s healthcare nonprofit NashvilleHealth.
The 2023 auction is presented by AllianceBernstein, Bridgeford Trust and Best Brands, and hosted by Weisman, Goldberg, Lombardi, Holcomb, Ryan Moses, Ken Levitan, Robert Sherrill, Paul Steele, Adam Sansiveri, Q Taylor, Sam Reed, Seth Seigle, Jessie Beegle and Meneilly.
“I attended the first annual Nashville Bourbon Auction as a guest in 2021 and was sat next to Master P,” Levitan said in a statement. “It was at that moment I realized what a special event Dan had put together. This year’s event with Jelly Roll is raising money for two great organizations including another one I’m on the board of, the CMHOF, and I’m excited to help the event continue to grow.”
“The nonprofit Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is honored to be a beneficiary of the Nashville Bourbon Auction, and grateful to Daniel Weisman, Adam Sansiveri and AllianceBernstein for creating this opportunity,” Lisa Purcell, the Museum’s executive vice president of external affairs, said in a statement. “We’re pleased that Jelly Roll will be performing, knowing his music inspires empathy and builds community, much like the Museum education programs the event will support. In 2023, the Museum is on pace to serve over 130,000 people through more than 1,300 educational programs, and the sponsors, hosts and contributors to this event help make our work possible.”
Weisman adds that there are hopes to expand the event to other markets such as Los Angeles.
“Buffalo Trace, they are the pinnacle of having a bourbon partner on this,” he says. “The event structure is very repeatable because it mixes bourbon aficionados, music and business leaders in whatever market you are in, and you get this powder keg of people wanting to support a great cause and have a good time.”
Tickets are available at donorbox.org.
As a vocal advocate and ally to the LGBTQ+ community, Dolly Parton has made a point to call for inclusivity and acceptance throughout her career. Now, she’s speaking out once again to defend transgender people being targeted by state-level laws. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Thursday (Nov. 2), Parton was […]
