We are only a few days out from the 2025 CMA Awards, which will return to downtown Nashville for its 59th year. Today (Nov. 6), the Country Music Association revealed its first set of artists confirmed to take the stage inside Bridgestone Arena during the Nov. 19 award ceremony.
Along with her duties as the returning CMA Awards host, six-time nominee Lainey Wilson will also take the stage to perform an as-yet-unannounced song. Entertainer of the Year nominee and past winner Luke Combs will treat viewers to a live rendition of his latest single, “Back in the Saddle.” Combs will also team up with rapper BigXthaPlug to perform their recent genre-melding collaboration, “Pray Hard.” Shaboozey and Stephen Wilson Jr. will also join forces on stage for “Took a Walk,” a cut from the 2025 horror film The Long Walk soundtrack. Along with their collaboration, Wilson Jr. will take the stage again solo with a cover of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me.”
Megan Moroney, who earned the award for CMA New Artist of the Year in 2024, is set to share a live version of her current single, “6 Months Later.” Ella Langley, who is up for six nominations this year, will also perform a fresh new track, “Choosin’ Texas,” which dropped last month.
Tucker Wetmore and Zach Top have each earned a performance slot during the ceremony. Wetmore will deliver a rendition of his recent single, “Wind Up Missin’ You,” while Top will take the stage to perform “Guitar,” a track off his 2025 sophomore album, Ain’t In It for My Health.
The 59th Annual CMA Awards will air live on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and will be available to stream the next day exclusively via Hulu. A limited number of tickets to the ceremony, which will be held inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, are on sale now via Ticketmaster.
