Country music fans are in for a treat with the 2023 CMA Awards, which will take over Nashville on Wednesday, November 8.
The highly anticipated awards show will bring the best of the genre to the masses, including a performance from Lainey Wilson. The “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” singer, 31, is the most nominated artist this year with nine total nods — an honor she does not take lightly.
“Holy moly y’all. Someone pinch me. I can’t believe my eyes,” Wilson wrote via X in September after the nominations were announced. “Being nominated in these categories with my friends means the world to me. Entertainer of the Year?! Absolutely surreal. We bust our butts on the road every night to give yall the best show & I have the time of my life doing it. All I gotta say is thank yall. I love country music.”
Wilson also made CMA Awards history as the only artist to top the nominations list in her first two appearances on the final ballot. In 2022, her first year as a nominee, she was the top artist with six nods.
Scroll down for everything to know about the 2023 CMA Awards:
Who Is Hosting the 2023 CMA Awards?
NFL legend Peyton Manning and country icon Luke Bryan are cohosting the event for the second year in a row. “You know Peyton, hosting the CMA Awards with you was truly something special,” Bryan, 47, said in an October teaser for the gig, to which Manning, 47, replied, “Luke, it was the stuff of legends.” The twosome proceeded to ride fake horses and pretended to head toward a sunset before agreeing to return as the emcees.
Which Singers Are Nominated for a 2023 CMA Award?
In addition to Wilson, the top nominees for the 2023 awards show are Jelly Roll with five nods, Luke Combs and HARDY with four each and Jordan Davis, Ashley McBryde, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen all up for three awards.
The biggest category of the night, Entertainer of the Year, puts Wilson up against Combs, 33, Stapleton, 45, Wallen, 30, and Carrie Underwood.
Who Are the Top 2023 CMA Awards Performers?
Bryan, Stapleton, Wilson, Jelly Roll, 38, K. Michelle, Little Big Town, Megan Moroney, Old Dominion, Carly Pearce and Tanya Tucker were all announced in the first round of performers. ABC revealed on November 1 that Kelsea Ballerini, Jordan Davis, Cody Johnson, Dan + Shay, The War and Treaty, McBryde, 40, and HARDY, 33, will also take the stage.
Post Malone will join the star-studded lineup alongside HARDY and Wallen for a “county classics medley,” according to the network’s press site.
Which Stars Are Presenting at the 2023 CMA Awards?
The night will be packed with star power thanks to presenters Paula Abdul, Broadway’s Cynthia Erivo and Kevin Cahoon, as well as comedian Nate Bargatze, 2023 World Series MVP, Corey Seager, and The Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner.
Country singers Davis, 35, Martina McBride, Bill Anderson, Keith Urban, Sara Evans, Brian Kelley, Craig Morgan, Darius Rucker and Chris Young, Parker McCollum and Lady A will also help hand out awards throughout the evening.
How Will the 2023 CMA Awards Honor Jimmy Buffett?
Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, Alan Jackson and Zac Brown Band will all be hitting the stage at the CMA Awards to pay tribute musically to Buffett, who died in September. The “Margaritaville” singer was 76 when he passed away after privately battling skin cancer for four years.
Where and When Can You Watch the 2023 CMA Awards?
The CMA Awards take place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The awards show airs live on ABC Wednesday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET and will stream on Hulu for users with the site’s live TV plan.
For more from Nashville, check out Us Weekly‘s VIP Guide to Music City.
