54th Annual CMA awards: The Heart of Country Remains True In a year like no other, “The 54th Annual CMA Awards” brought the Country Music community together, live, for the first time in months to celebrate the very best in the genre. In a night filled with riveting performances, heartfelt speeches and emotional tributes, Country Music’s Biggest Night™ proved, once again, that even in the toughest of times, the heart of Country remains true. Eric Church, performing “Hell of a View,” was awarded the night’s top honor of CMA Entertainer of the Year, a first for the artist. “If there was ever a year not to win...” Church laughed as he took the stage to accept the night’s ultimate trophy. “This year, at least for me, has been about loss – loss of life, loss of playing shows, loss of freedom, loss of kids being in school... And you know what the win is? The win is we all were here tonight, together as Country music – in person, live and I believe this, I really believe this: It’s gonna be music that brings us out of this. That is the one thing that’s gonna save the world. Politicians are about division; music is about unity.” Before leaving the stage, the stunned entertainer added as a rallying call, “And I promise you, it’s gonna take everyone in this room to unite.” Now six studio albums into his career, the North Carolinian always approaches things differently. Whether playing back-to-back nights in nearly 30 cities on his 2019 Double Down Tour or pushing himself to new creative limits with his recording process, Church has steadily amassed a faithful congregation – the Church Choir – since 2006’s release of “How ‘Bout You.” Many of those fans took to social media to congratulate the star, with an outpouring of comments proclaiming, “Congratulations Chief!” And it was those fans he was speaking to in the press conference following the awards show. “When you go to a concert and your favorite artist plays your favorite song, and you throw your arm around the person next to you, you don’t worry about whether he’s a Republican or a Democrat, whether he’s pro-life or pro-choice. You’re in that moment and you’re pulling on the rope the same way. I think what we’re missing right now in America is more of the stuff that unites us versus what divides us,” Church shared. “I swear — it’s going to be music that saves us… It’s going to be about how we do it, and how we do it responsibly, and how we show that this is how we’re gonna leave COVID in the dust.” Maren Morris, performing “The Bones,” was the night’s biggest winner, taking home three awards for CMA Single, Song and Female Vocalist of the Year. Luke Combs took home two awards for CMA Album and Male Vocalist of the Year. NashvilleMusicGuide.com
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With an audience full of the biggest names in Country Music, safety was the top priority throughout the event’s production. “It was a privilege to bring the Country Music community together tonight,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “We have worked tirelessly over the past few months to develop a safe environment that would allow us to deliver a show our fans have come to expect. We have followed all protocols established by the CDC, local health authorities and creative unions to ensure the safety of our staff, our crew and our artists at every turn. Every single person was tested prior to entering our footprint, with many individuals being tested repeatedly out of an abundance of caution. Our process enabled us to catch any positive test results immediately and before any of those individuals ever stepped foot into the venue. I am grateful for the grace and the patience shown to us during this process and to those individuals that were unable to join us tonight, you were greatly missed and we wish you and your families the very best.” Trahern added, “I am so proud to be a part of this community. It has been a very difficult year with many of us having suffered tremendous loss. My hope is that with the help of our incredible community of artists, we were able to shine a bit of light into the world through the magic of Country Music.” Jason Aldean, Brothers Osborne, Dierks Bentley and Ashley McBryde kicked off the night with a special collaboration honoring the late Charlie Daniels. Having felt the loss of many
