The Front Porch Blog

Underwood, Travis, Pickler Walk Red Carpet at ACM Honors Event

Jessica Phillips  |  September 23, 2009

Carrie Underwood, Joe Nichols, Kellie Pickler, The Grascals, and more lit up the red carpet inside Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center last night to pay tribute to the evening's ACM Honors recipients.

Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Dolly Parton,Hank Williams, Jr., and more were awarded for their contributions to country music.

Host for the evening Lee Ann Womack was excited to see country/bluegrass singer Patty Loveless. So was Miranda Lambert. "This is the first time I have gotten to meet Patty!" Lambert tells CST.

Bubbly Kellie Pickler was excited to be performing Kenny Rogers' "When Two Fools Collide," with Jamey Johnson, who was filling in for Randy Houser. "I did my own hair for tonight, so I hope it looks okay. I just finished painting my nails on the bus before I came in, and they are still drying. I'm getting red nail polish on everyone!" Pickler said.

Honoree Randy Travis and current ACM Entertainer of the Year Carrie Underwood were on the red carpet at the same time. Underwood would later sing "I Told You So" during the event. "Her voice is so much better suited to the song," Travis tells CST. "I have a baritone voice, and her soprano voice really fits well with the range of the song." Travis also likes Underwood's latest single, "Cowboy Cassanova." "It's good. It's different," he says.

Travis, who is nominated for "Song of the Year," at the upcoming CMA Awards, says he is "honored to be nominated again after so many years."

Underwood herself was quick to return Travis' praise. "Randy is so classy. You never hear of him in the tabloids. I hope that he wins at the CMAs more than I do!" Discussing her upcoming release, Play On, Underwood says, "It's my most personal album. I helped write about half the songs on the album."