Ella Langley and Miranda Lambert to Rock 2026 CMA Awards

The Country Music Association and ABC have announced the first round of performers for the 60th annual CMA Awards, airing live from Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Ella Langley, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Tim McGraw, Cody Johnson, The Red Clay Strays, Tucker Wetmore and Zach Top are all set to take the stage at Bridgestone Arena.

Lainey Wilson returns as host for the third consecutive year.

The show will air from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with on-demand streaming available the next day on Hulu.

This year's ceremony marks the 60th anniversary of the CMA Awards, which began in 1967 and stand as network television's longest-running annual music awards show.

Ella Langley leads all nominees with nine nominations, tying the record for most nominations by a female artist in a single year.

Her 2025 single "Choosin Texas" is up for three CMA awards, including Song of the Year.

The song spent 23 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking a record previously held by Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You."

Miranda Lambert, who co-wrote and produced Langley's hit single, earned seven nominations this year.

Lambert is nominated for Producer of the Year for her work on Langley's 2025 album, "Dandelion."

Kacey Musgraves comes into the telecast with five nominations.

Cody Johnson has four nominations.

Zach Top enters the night up for two awards.

The Red Clay Strays will be defending the title they picked up last year as Vocal Group of the Year.

Tucker Wetmore is contending for New Artist of the Year.

Tim McGraw was also announced as a performer in celebration of his being newly inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

McGraw has 40 career nominations for the CMAs, the latest of which is a current nod for Musical Event of the Year.

Ben West, Langley's co-producer, received five nominations.

Chris Stapleton and Stephen Wilson Jr. each have four nominations.

Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs and Dave Clauss, Langley's mix engineer, each have three nominations.

Wilson, a 12-time CMA Awards winner, said in a Thursday press release, "I couldn't be more excited to be hosting the CMA Awards again this year, especially with it being the 60th anniversary."

She added, "I've had so much fun hosting the last two years, and this one's going to be extra special."

Show veteran Robert Deaton returns as executive producer.

Alan Carter is back as director.

Jon Macks is the telecast's head writer.

This year's show will include a special tribute to the late queen of country Dolly Parton, who died in August at the age of 80 after what her family described as a brief battle with cancer.