Highlights from the 2025 CMA Awards: Lainey Wilson Hosts, Luke Combs Opens, and Vince Gill Honored
The 2025 CMA Awards have arrived. Luke Combs opened the show with a performance of "Back in the Saddle." Lainey Wilson is hosting the event, donning a white and gold bell-bottom outfit with a cowboy hat and a CMA Awards belt buckle. She engaged with country music stars in the audience, including Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, and Shaboozey, before Keith Urban joined her on stage.
The 59th annual CMA Awards are taking place on November 19, 2025, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Billy Ray Cyrus and Elizabeth Hurley presented the single of the year award to Ella Langley and Riley Green for "You Look Like You Love Me." This year marks Lainey Wilson's first solo hosting of the CMA Awards, making her one of three women to host the event alone, alongside Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire.
Dustin Lynch praised Wilson as the ideal host for the award show, highlighting her natural, fun, funny, and confident demeanor. Brantley Gilbert and his wife enjoyed a date night on the CMA red carpet, relishing the opportunity to have some time together without their kids. LeAnn Rimes expressed her excitement about returning to the CMAs, calling it a "full circle moment" after attending the awards show as a teenager in the late 1990s.
The CMA Awards will honor country music artists and feature performances by Megan Moroney, Kelsea Ballerini, Ella Langley, Chris Stapleton, Kenny Chesney, and Miranda Lambert. Country music star Vince Gill will be recognized with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award for his career and influence. Gill emphasized the enduring legacy of music, stating that songs are what will live forever.