Grand Ole Opry To Celebrate 60th CMA Awards With Special Show

The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the CMA Awards on Nov. 8 with a…

Photo: Chris Hollo/Courtesy of CMA/Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the CMA Awards on Nov. 8 with a special lineup honoring award-winners from 1974-2004, the era in which the show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House.

Vince Gill will host the show, and performances will include Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Deana Carter , Lorrie Morgan, and Jamey Johnson, who is set to perform a set of the tracks that took home Song of the Year during the 1974-2004 period. Additional artists will be announced at a later date. Tickets are on sale now.

The show will also feature a multi-artist tribute to John Anderson , who was a member of the construction crew that built the Opry House. Ten years later, he took home the CMA Horizon Award and Single of the Year for “Swingin’.”

“The Grand Ole Opry House is woven into the history of the CMA Awards, with more than half of our 60 years broadcast live from that stage,” says Sarah Trahern , CMA CEO. “We’re so grateful to the Opry for bringing our Country Music family together to honor that era and the artists who made those nights unforgettable, and there’s no one better suited to host the evening than Vince Gill.”

“I am just one of millions of country music fans who grew up watching the CMA Awards on television emanating live from the Grand Ole Opry House,” shares Dan Rogers , Opry executive producer. “It truly was ‘country’s music’s biggest night’ even before the show claimed that title. I’ll never forget the show opening year after year and seeing the brightest stars in country music all gathered together in those Opry House pews. The award-winning songs from that era have proven to be timeless, and we’re excited to hear them and celebrate them next month at the Opry House just 10 days before the 60th Annual CMA Awards.”

The CMA Awards are set for Nov. 18 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.