George Strait, Charley Pride, Vince Gill & Alan Jackson to Perform at 50th CMA Awards
Well now, perhaps there is a reason for old school traditional country fans to tune into the CMA Awards in 2016. Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, the Country Music Association has promised to honor country music’s past in the presentation, and they have put their money where their mouth is by announcing that seven previous Entertainer of the Year winners will be performing. Announced Monday, that group includes Charley Pride, George Strait, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Alabama, and Reba McEntire.
It would be even better if even older Entertainer of the Year winners such as Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton were also part of the group, but there is a good chance those announcements might be coming, since both were featured as part of the CMA’s “Forever Country” song mashup. There are also rumors started by co-host Brad Paisley that a tribute to Randy Travis may be in store, making the prospects for the 50th Anniversary show not so bad at this point as the CMA’s labor to reach out to all country music fans instead of almost exclusively to the here-and-now superstars like in previous years.
Other previously-announced performers include the usual suspects of Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Kacey Musgraves, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Keith Urban, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, and (cough)…. Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan, and Florida Georgia Line. So you know, there will be opportunities to use the restroom and refresh your beer as well.
READ: Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price Officially Considered for CMA Award Nominations
Something else actual country music fans can look forward to is that Chris Stapleton is up for five awards on the night, including Entertainer of the Year. It was at last year’s CMA Awards that his incredible run began that has yet to run out of gas. Consistently outselling everyone else in album sales, there is a chance Stapleton has another big night.
The 50th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast November 2nd on ABC. Make sure to stop by Saving Country Music for our always-snarky CMA Awards LIVE blog.
Corncaster
October 24, 2016 @ 10:23 am
“to honor country music’s past”
*groan*
how about “to honor country music”? I don’t think country music has stopped being country music just because Lady Gaga learned how to play an A7 chord on the guitar
Brian
October 24, 2016 @ 10:58 am
Here’s taking bets, are they going to actually give most of them a full slot or have them do some type of medley, where each of them get about 45 secs to a minute?
Fuzzy TwoShirts
October 24, 2016 @ 5:13 pm
EXACTLY!
I still haven’t gotten over those stupid as you-kn-whwat “tributes” to Charley and Merle that was really just shitty bro “Country” played while a picutre of their face displauiyed in the background.
And we’re supposed to believe that they actually want to respect and honor our legends this time around? my ass~!!!!!!!!
More than likely we’re going to see Puke Bryan and Jason Al-d-wad shaking their fat man bottoms and trying to rap and in the middle a thirty second break while the real Country artists all stand in a line and sing a single chorus of “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”
Real Country fans won’t be fooled by this farce and will only tune in to watch Stapleton continue his scorched earth takeover of the industry leaving no Bro unburned in a winner-take-all evening that is going to makeCountry music great again. He’s unstoppable at this point and and because I am excited to see him win I may watch (with the liveblog up of course) just to point and laugh at Puke Bryan and complain about Charley Pide not respecting himself enough to not shiow up.
I’m serious. I mean come on???????? why are the legends putting up with the constant belittling of their careers for the 50th special? Waylon would have walked out on these posers if he ever even bothered to talk to them. He’d never sow up to watch a man in lady jeans sing about spring break.
Luckyoldsun
October 24, 2016 @ 9:47 pm
The question is ridiculous on its face. Of course they’re not going to give most of them full slots. The program is intended to showcase the industry today. Most people in the TV advertising “demo” wouldn’t know Charley Pride from Charlie McCarthy. (And I think his voice is shot.)
CJ
October 24, 2016 @ 10:22 pm
Or worse, have them perform in collaboration with people like Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, and co. Or….have them perform duets with random pop stars. >Shudders<
Rita
October 24, 2016 @ 11:34 am
I wonder if they asked Barbara Mandrell…
Corncaster
October 24, 2016 @ 1:26 pm
have her come out and do a jaw-dropper on steel guitar
hoptowntiger94
October 24, 2016 @ 11:59 am
Yeah, not falling for it. It will be forced duets and abbreviated performances.
NPC
October 24, 2016 @ 12:59 pm
Oh, it’s great that Garth is going to be there! It will almost validate Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan, and Florida Georgia Line’s country pedigrees, which solely consist of “having listened to the chorus of ‘Friends in Low Places’ on accident once at a friend’s house”.
seak05
October 24, 2016 @ 1:24 pm
Luke has written for Travis Tritt. Don’t make the mistake of conflating makes bad country music, with has never listened to good country music. A) it’s wrong, most of these artists have a fairly good knowledge of country music b) it comes off as condescending.
Anyways, I thought the overall plan for the show was that most of the performances, even by the contemporary artists, was going to focus on older songs.
NPC
October 24, 2016 @ 2:06 pm
“To further ingratiate yourself to country fans, make sure to explain how you’ve always been a country music fan. Don’t worry that you’re not on record saying such until you’re trying to peddle some mislabeled, watered-down single that has absolutely nothing to do with country to the format, just explain how some member of your family listened to country music and you were exposed to it from an early age. Again, nobody’s checking facts, and make sure not to go into too much detail about your country fandom, lest someone call your bluff by asking you a simple question about country music we all know you can’t answer. Better to just say ‘George Strait is the King,’ and smile!”
-Trigger, “The Country Music Collaborator / Interloper Field Guide”
seak05
October 25, 2016 @ 8:32 am
That’s for like Elle King, someone who didn’t start out in country music. That’s not actually most of the modern country starts. (and side note some pop/rock stars etc also do have an appreciation of country, people can you know listen to multiple musical genres).
Trigger
October 24, 2016 @ 3:12 pm
Real country fans are going to have to learn how to be gracious in victory, and stop expecting the worst even when the news is positive. How much face time will these older artists get? Will they perform a medley of their songs, or perform together to save time? We will see. But how about we be happy that they’re being featured at all, when in previous years that would have been a pipe dream.
The fleeting pop fans that came to country during the Bro-Country era have left the building, and if the CMA’s are going to put up big viewer numbers, they’re going to have to appeal to country music’s base. Millenials barely watch television anyway. The numbers for the CMA’s Fan Fest “Country’s Night To Rock” have been abysmal lately. Chris Stapleton is the reigning CMA Male Vocalist and Album of the Year winner. It is a new day. That doesn’t mean there isn’t much work to be done, but how far are we ever going to get whenever there is positive news, it’s immediately dealt with suspicion or written off? Would rather Alan Jackson, Charley Pride, and George Strait not perform, and give those slots to Cole Swindell, Chase Rice, and Chris Lane instead?
This is what people have been asking the CMA’s to do for years. And now they’re doing it.
Jen
October 24, 2016 @ 3:24 pm
I agree, but the CMAs have a habit of not respecting older artists, so I can understand the frustration and suspicion, but you are correct. At least they invited them.
Trigger
October 24, 2016 @ 4:04 pm
I have been as big of a critic of the CMA’s as anyone for going on a decade, and make no mistake that my eyes remain wide open when it comes to the CMA’s actions and motivations. But as we’ve been speaking and criticizing, the CMA’s have been listening, and are now responding. Throwing their gifts to older country music fans away because they don’t meet our idealistic standards is risking them ignoring our calls for more substance and equality in performers in the future. If featuring these older artists results in better ratings and a more positive reception for their presentation, they likelihood we’ll see more of this in the future increases.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
October 24, 2016 @ 5:17 pm
but by taking the bones they throw us we prove to them that we can be bought and manipulated.
By not watching under any circumstance we send those m-f-ers the message that they effed up big time and we’re not going to stand for it and that they can’t have us back as viewers because they already demonstrated that they don’t value us.
The CMAs can go bankrupt and out of business and it would do Country Music a lot of good to just torch the whole barn and raise a new one that respects Country Music.
They already kicked us out of the barn to let more rats inside. Now they’re trying to get us back in.
And if we go back in we’ll just get thrown out again.
I say burn it down and start over with an institution that respects Country Music.
So are you going to grab a torch or go back in with the easily manipulated masses?
Eduardo Vargas
October 25, 2016 @ 7:49 pm
I don’t understand why you always have to be so damn cynical-
You know what, I am not even going to bother- you simply seem to love ranting and going on and on about how everything in the mainstream needs to be scorched and burned to the ground-
Need some Prozac?? 😉
I mean really, as I’ve said before, we are indebted to the CMA’s thanks to the rise of Chris Stapleton- Not to mention that they also run the Hall of Fame, the most prestigious and exclusive institution in Country Music, where only the best of the best enter- In my book, they have done more rights than wrongs as of late, and have served to be the gatekeepers of the genre when so many artists have remained mum.
Scotty J
October 24, 2016 @ 3:50 pm
The perfect is the enemy of the good.
This is an unqualified positive and to pick holes in it is to miss the bigger picture.
theresa severson
October 24, 2016 @ 7:13 pm
Haven’t watched these award shows for years. Got tired of seeing these so called new country music stars. No talent compared to Charley Pride and company.
Greg
October 25, 2016 @ 7:54 am
I’m happy that Charley,Alan,George and others will be performing,but unless Loretta is on the show,I won’t watch.Hopefully she will be.
Orgirl1
October 26, 2016 @ 7:31 pm
I’m glad that we’re getting some legends this year (I’m watching since Vince will be on it), but yeah, I will also be keeping both eyes wide open as well. Is this better than Pitbull? Hell yeah. But I have my concerns like others do. Hopefully this will be setting a precedence for the future and country music will start connecting more to its past and roots then cutting itself off from tradition.
photo fox
October 30, 2016 @ 7:22 pm
Just saw a post from Ben Haggard on FB that he’ll be performing with Vince Gill, honoring Merle. So that will be great, at least! Looking forward to this. Hopefully if the ratings are good, the trend will continue.