The Country Music Association has announced the first round of performers for the 60th Annual CMA Awards, led by Ella Langley, this year's most-nominated artist with nine nods, with a special tribute to Dolly Parton.
The Country Music Association has announced the first round of performers for the 60th Annual CMA Awards: Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, Tim McGraw, Kacey Musgraves, the Red Clay Strays, Zach Top and Tucker Wetmore, with a special tribute to Dolly Parton.
Langley leads this year's nominees with nine, including Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year, plus two nominations each for Single and Song of the Year. Lambert has seven nominations, taking her career total to a record 70 for a female artist. Lainey Wilson will host for a third consecutive year, and the show airs live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 18, from 8 to 11 pm ET on ABC and Disney+, streaming the next day on Hulu.
Langley took home three CMA Awards last year. McGraw, newly inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, will perform as he marks his 40th career CMA nomination. Johnson, the reigning Male Vocalist of the Year, is up for four awards, including Entertainer of the Year.
The lineup is announced by the Country Music Association and ABC, reported by Pollstar, and carried by several country-music outlets in the same announcement. The nomination counts are the association's own. The tribute to Dolly Parton was announced without any detail of who will perform it or what form it will take.
The 60th anniversary show is two weeks away, and more performers and presenters are to be announced in the weeks ahead. Langley, who faces herself in both the Single and Song of the Year categories, is the night's central figure — and the tribute to Parton is the segment with the least detail so far.