Roots, Toots n' Hoots Blog

The CMAs 2025 edition

Jeffrey Remz  |  November 20, 2024

8 p.m. - And so it begins - the 58th Country Music Association awards show with Post Malone and Chris Stapleton doing "California Sober." Now, why not have Billy Strings and Willie Nelson, who first performed it? Joking (sort of). Post knows his way around a country song, though. Good start anyway. Post sure gets into it. No surprise as he was excellent on tour in September.

8:04 p.m. - the hosts - Lainey Wilson, Peyton Manning and Luke Bryan - are out. May be the cornball begin. "I'm the good looking star with the amazing voice," said Bryan, maybe jokingly.

8:06 p.m. - "Do you remember your first time," Manning asked Bryan, about his first awards show. "Oh yeeaaahhhh," he said. Yikes! Hopefully the jokes improve.

Sexiest man alive? Pretty sure it's not Bryan despite him thinking so.

8:10 p.m.: Single of the Year:"White Horse" by Chris Stapleton. "Well, amazing," said Stapleton. "So many great and very very popular songs in this category." Got to say, this was a surprise with "I Had Some Help" and "(A Bar Song) Tipsy" going against "White Horse," which is a fine song with great singing too. Stapleton's always low key and tonight's no different.

8:18: Megan Moroney sings "Am I Okay?" She sings it real well but at times without her trademark drawl (though that's there for some of the song). Yupu, she's still breathing.

8:22 p.m. - Wilson is out with a new outfit - a red outfit with her black hat. Looks good, but isn't this gender role at some level?

8:23 p.m. - Shaboozey is out with "Highway," the follow-up to his big hit "A Bar Song) Tipsy," which he sang also. That's a fine song and a real out of left field, surprise hit.

8:31 p.m. - Song of the Year:"White Horse" wins again with the honor going to Stapleton and fellow writer Dan Wilson. Stapleton thanks his wife, Morgane, this time around. he said he forgot to with his first award. Morgane sings backing vocals for him, by the way.

8:34 p.m.- Ella Langley is out with her hit "you look like you love me" with RileY Green. Great song. Very different for the typical fare on the radio - the spoken word thing works. She won Musical Event of the Year for the song earlier.

8:37 p.m. - Thomas Rhett and Teddy Swims team up for soulful songs. "Something About a Woman" for Rhett and Swims' "Lose Control."

8:46 p.m. - Luke Combs scorches on "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" from the "Twisters" soundtrack. Such a great singer. Like the oil derricks behind them also. Fits the song at least.

By the way, Lainey just wore her third outfit in introducing the song. Some shiny, silver outfit. No hat this time.

8:49 p.m. - Moroney wins Beset New Artist. Not a surprise, but stiff competition from Nate Smith, Bailey Zimmerman and Shaboozey too. She is deserving of it as her albums have been strong as has been her singing. "I'm freaking out," she said.

8:52 p.m. - Kelsea Ballerini, who is on the rise for sure this past year, sings "Cowboys Cry Too," a gentle song. Noah Kahan comes out to help. And you got to give her credit for including a lot of fiddle underneath. They sing so well together.

8:56 p.m. - Time to pay attention to the sponsor, Chevy, with an ad for them with Dustin Lynch introducing it. At least they support country music.

9:04 p.m.- Charlie Worsham takes Musician of the year. He gets a wave, but no speech.

9:04 p.m. - Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood duet on "I'm Gonna Love You." It can't be easy for Johnson singing with Underwood since she is one strong voice. Johnson is up to it though.

9:09 p.m. - Stapleton sings with Morgane on "What Am I Gonna Do." No worries on them meshing. They do this every concert.

9:17 p.m. - Kacey Musgraves is out acoustic with "The Architect." It's a pretty song, and she sings it really well. Low key, on the simple side and really well done. Glad that there aren't so many over the top performances tonight (at least so far).

9:22 p.m. - For the seventh time, Old Dominion wins Vocal Group of the Year. "Wow, we just made history. This is crazy," said lead singer Matt Ramsey. "We've collaborated with each other," among others. "It's a really beautiful moment for us. The Red Clay Strays also got nominated. No way were they going to win, but at least they got a nomination. Well deserved by them. Old Dominion owns this award.

9:24 p.m. - Jelly Roll is out with Brooks & Dunn to sing "Believe," another slow-paced song. Perfect song for Jelly with a song of faith and overcoming obstacles. Ronnie Dunn is not exactly a slouch when it comes to singing. BTW, it came out earlier today that Jelly Roll has lost 110 pounds. Good for him. He looks good. The song leaves some in the crowd - Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet - with tears in their eyes. That's the power of music.

9:34 p.m. - Post Malone looks ahead on "Yours" about his young daughter getting married down the road. He is a bit off vocally, a bit strained. Too bad because it's a lovely song. At least, he sings with heart. Comes off great in concert.

9:38 p.m. - Cody Johnson wins his first Album of the Year for "Leather." "I did not expect that," Johnson said. "I truly expected for Chris Stapleton or Jelly Roll to be announced...there are very few moments in your life when Rick Flair feels appropriate, but whew." He's done well and good for him.

9:41 p.m. - okay, got to admit I was wrong. Change of outfits for Manning.

9:41 p.m. - Wilson is out singing her hit "4 x 4." She has such a distinctive voice and fortunately real good songs. She's using a backing string section here.

9:45 p.m. - Bryan has a new outfit too. Glad I'm wrong.

9:50 p.m. - Bailey Zimmerman rocks with "New to Country." This is a sharp contrast to most of the performances tonight with this really rock, not country (he's not exactly traditional) and an over the top performance with confetti, smoke shooting in the air and "BZ" in huge letters.

9:55 p.m. - Brooks & Dunn take Duo of the Year for the 15th time. Got to say that I thought Brothers Osborne would win as they seem to a lot of years. Kix Brooks said, "There's a famous quote - time is undefeated. Not yet, I guess."

10:01 p.m. - George Strait tribute gets underway with "Amarillo by Morning" with Lainey Wilson. Jamey Johnson does his best with "Give It Away." He's not George, but no need to just imitate Strait either.

10:04 p.m. Miranda Lambert and Parker McCollum, both Texans, do a nice reading of "Troubadour" with a lot of fiddle coming through.

10:07 p.m. - And now King George is out himself with Stapleton for "Honky tonk Hall of Fame." Lots of nice singing from Strait and Stapleton, meshing well together. Not to mention oodles of fiddle and country guitar. Well done!

10:10 p.m. - Strait wins the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. In his usual low-key style, thanked his label, fans, staff and family. Strait has never been the biggest talker.

10:16 p.m. - Ashley McBryde goes solo acoustic with a tribute to the late Kris Kristofferson - "Help Me Make it Through the Night." She's solo acoustic and does the song a lot of justice. So much so that she ought to play it at her own concerts.

10:20 p.m. - Male Vocalist of the Year - Stapleton. He has a great night so far with three different category wins. He's very low key of course.

10:30 p.m. - Bryan gets a chance to sing "Love You, Miss You, Mean It." Never been a fan of Bryan. So many of his songs are radio friendly, and this is no exception.

10:34 p.m. - Luke Combs (shades, of course) sings "Darkest Hour," a song connecting with Hurricane Helene in his home state of North Carolina. "Baby don't give up," he sings with a backing chorus behind him. He also utilizes string and horn sections in this soulful, but low-key song. "Darkest Hour" sure fits the moment.

10:44 p.m. - Female Vocalist of the Year - Lainey Wilson for the third time. No surprise. "Man, this community has wrapped its arms around me and lifted me from the get go," she said.

10:46 p.m. - Jelly Rolls sings the excellent song "Liar." Keith Urban helps him out - first on acoustic before switching to electric. he also has about a 10-person chorus helping him. Jelly knows his way arond these kinds of songs. Some nice guitar from Urban too. Very well done.

10:54 p.m. - Dierks Bentley sings Tom Petty's "American Girl" with help from the most excellent Molly Tuttle, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes and Sierra Hull. They sure can play, and Bentley can sing. Nice take ona. great song. Tuttle is so deserving!

10:58 p.m. - Entertainer of the Year - Morgan Wallen. He wasn't there though. And this is bad - presenter Jeff Bridges called him Morgan Whelan, not Wallen. Did not someone go over pronunications with him? Awkward.

A good night overall musically and the awards themeslves. Most of the performances really hit the mark. Actually, none didn't. Well done. Night all!