CMT’s Artists of the Year celebration invaded Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Oct. 16.
The star-studded evening featured performances from some of country’s biggest names as CMT honored its five Artists of the Year—Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett—as well as Reba McEntire (Artist of a Lifetime award) and Ashley McBryde (Breakout Artist of the Year award).
Performances included:
- Dan + Shay – “Tequila”
- Chrissy Metz – “Even Though I’m Leaving” in honor of Luke Combs
- Chris Young – “Drowning” in honor of Kane Brown’s drummer, Kenny Dixon, who passed away on Oct. 12
- Ashley McBryde – “One Night Standards”
- Carrie Underwood – “Two Black Cadillacs” and “Blown Away” from her tour stop in Cleveland
- Thomas Rhett – “Dream You Never Had” and leading the audience in a prayer for Kenny Dixon
- Lady Antebellum – “Is There Life Out There” in honor of Reba
- Sam Hunt – “Fancy” in honor of Reba
CMT Artists of the Year will re-air Oct. 18 at 7:30 a.m. ET; Oct. 19 at 1 a.m. ET; and Oct. 20 at noon ET; the full show is available for viewing now via CMT.com.
Check out some of our photos from the red carpet, courtesy of Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com.
photos by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com