Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker will host this year’s Country Music Association Awards, which will air live from Nashville.

The annual ceremony – usually held at Bridgestone Arena – will instead take place at the nearby Music City Center on Nov. 11.

This is the first hosting stint for Rucker and the fifth for McEntire, who last month received her 51st CMA Awards nomination (for musical event of the year with Thomas Rhett).

The 54th annual ceremony is touted as “Country Music’s Biggest Night” and will air at 8 p.m. on ABC.

While no details have been announced as to the performance setup – the Academy of Country Music Awards in September featured performances beamed in from a handful of familiar Nashville venues, including the Ryman Auditorium and Bluebird Café – Rucker made reference to this year’s ceremony looking “a little different than normal” in his statement about co-hosting the show.

For 11 years, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley resided as steady complementary hosts of the show; in 2019, Paisley dropped out so the spotlight could shine on Underwood, McEntire and Dolly Parton, who split hosting duties in a female-focused presentation.

Nominations for the 2020 CMAs were announced last month, with Georgia-rooted artists including Rhett (male vocalist of the year), Lady A and Little Big Town (vocal group of the year) and Florida Georgia Line (vocal duo of the year) earning nods. Check out the full list of nominees here.

Follow the Atlanta Music Scene on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Former Atlanta News First reporter Savannah Louie won the 49th season of "Survivor" with smarts, strength, grit and focus. (CBS screen shot)

Credit: CBS S

Featured

Angie McBrayer, ex-wife of James Aaron McBrayer, leans her head on her son Sam McBrayer as she and her three children and two grandchildren (from left) Jackson McBrayer, 3, Piper Jae McBrayer, 7, Katy Isaza, and Jordan McBrayer, visit the grave of James McBrayer, Thursday, November 20, 2025, in Tifton. He died after being restrained by Tift County sheriff's deputies on April 24, 2019. His ex-wife witnessed the arrest and said she thought the deputies were being rough but did not imagine that McBrayer would die. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC