The Grand Ole Oprywill celebrate the 60th anniversary of the CMA Awards with a special show on Sunday, November 8, featuring Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Deana Carter, Lorrie Morgan and Jamey Johnson. More Entertainment News
The evening will highlight CMA Award winners from 1974 to 2004, when the annual awards show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House.
Gill, an 18-time CMA Award winner who hosted the awards show 12 times during that era, will host and perform. Other scheduled performers include Skaggs, an eight-time CMA winner and 1985 Entertainer of the Year; Carter, who won Single of the Year for “Strawberry Wine”; and Morgan, a CMA winner for Vocal Event of the Year and Album of the Year.
Johnson, who won CMA Song of the Year honors for “In Color” and “Give It Away,” will perform a collection of award-winning songs from the 1974-2004 period.
The show will also include a multi-artist tribute to the late John Anderson, who had been scheduled to perform before his passing last week.
Anderson had a unique connection to the Opry House. After moving to Nashville at age 17 in 1972, he worked on the construction crew that built the venue. He was assigned to work on the roof, overlooking the area that would eventually become the stage. A decade later, Anderson stood on that same stage as the winner of the CMA Horizon Award and Single of the Year for “Swingin’.”
Additional performers will be announced leading up to the event. The celebration will also feature vintage CMA Awards footage from the Opry House era, highlighting performances and appearances by Alabama, Alan Jackson, Barbara Mandrell, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton and others.
“The Grand Ole Opry House is woven into the history of the CMA Awards, with more than half of our 60 years broadcast live from that stage,” said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern. “We’re so grateful to the Opry for bringing our Country Music family together to honor that era and the artists who made those nights unforgettable, and there’s no one better suited to host the evening than Vince Gill.”
The special celebration takes place 10 days before the 60th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Lainey Wilson, on Wednesday, November 18, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The awards show will air live at 7 p.m. Central on ABC and Disney+, with next-day streaming on Hulu.
Tickets for the November 8 Opry celebration are available at opry.com.
Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter
