It is that time of year again; put on your boots and get ready for the biggest night in country music! The 52nd annual Country Music Association Awards will be airing on Wednesday, November 14, at 8:00 PM on ABC. Country music megastars Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will once again return to host the ceremony for the eleventh year in a row. The ceremony, which will be broadcast live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, has many appearances scheduled by big names in country music, and it is sure to be a star-studded night.

 Every year, the main highlight of the ceremony seems to be the many, many performances by country music’s biggest stars. This year is no exception. Midland, Kacey Musgraves, Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley and more are all scheduled to perform their biggest hits from 2018. Sophomore Ashley Brady said, “I’m really excited to watch Dierks Bentley perform because he is my favorite country artist, and I love pretty much all of his songs.” It seems to be almost a tradition to see an iconic pair of country artists perform a new song together on stage. This year the tradition will be taken in a bit of a different direction, as Garth Brooks will be debuting a new song dedicated to his wife, fellow country music star, Trisha Yearwood. Miranda Lambert will also be performing with her new group The Pistol Annies in addition to performing her summer hit “Drowns the Whiskey” with Jason Aldean. Many more Millbrook fan favorites, such as Thomas Rhett and Dan + Shay, are also scheduled to go on and are both nominated for a number of awards such as Male Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year, among others.

 As always there are plenty of titles to go around on a spectacular evening. The question of just who exactly is in the running to earn each award this year was announced earlier this fall on Good Morning America. The star who holds the most nominations this year and is most likely to walk away with a few trophies in hand tonight is none other than Chris Stapleton. Stapleton is nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (for the album From A Room: Volume 2), both Single and Song of the year (both for the song “Broken Halos”) and of course, the prestigious Entertainer of the Year. For Entertainer of the Year, perhaps the highest-ranking category, Stapleton is going head-to-head with CMA veterans such as Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, and Keith Urban. It is sure to be one close race.

 Between all of the spectacular performances scheduled, the anticipation of who will take home an award, and the added bonus of two witty and talented hosts, tonight is sure to be an unforgettable evening. Tune into ABC tonight at 8 PM to see how it all unfolds at the 52nd annual Country Music Association Awards.