Nov 08, 2023, 8:45 PM EST
Cody Johnson performs "The Painter"
Cody Johnson performed his hit song "The Painter" from his latest album, "Leather," during Wednesday's show. Johnson is nominated for male vocalist of the year.
Seth Herald/Reuters
CMA Awards 2023 recap: All the biggest wins and epic performances
Lainey Wilson took home the top honor of entertainer of the year.
Last Updated: November 8, 2023, 5:12 PM EST
Many of the biggest names in country music were honored at the 57th Annual Country Music Association Awards Wednesday night.
Lainey Wilson took home three of the top awards of the night, including the coveted entertainer of the year award, as well as female vocalist of the year and album of the year. She won two awards prior to the show, thanks to her collaboration with Hardy on his song "Wait in the Truck," bringing her total number of wins this year to five.
Elsewhere at the 2023 CMA Awards, Chris Stapleton won the award for male vocalist of the year, while Old Dominion and Brothers Osborne won vocal group of the year and vocal duo of the year, respectively.
There were also plenty of notable performances during the packed show, including a moving tribute performance for the late music legend Jimmy Buffett.
Check out a recap of how the night unfolded below.
Key moments:
- Nov 08, 2023, 11:00 PM EST
- Nov 08, 2023, 10:56 PM EST
- Nov 08, 2023, 10:39 PM EST
- Nov 08, 2023, 10:14 PM EST
Here's how the awards show unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 08, 2023, 8:44 PM EST
Ashley McBryde performs "Light On in the Kitchen"
Ashley McBryde delivered an emotional performance of her hit song "Light On in the Kitchen" from her 2023 album, "The Devil I Know."
The singer went into the night with three nominations, including album of the year for "Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville."
Seth Herald/Reuters
Nov 08, 2023, 8:38 PM EST
Luke Bryan delivers a medley of his hits
CMA Awards co-host Luke Bryan performed a medley of some of his biggest hits during Wednesday night's show.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
The "American Idol" judge performed his songs "Huntin', Fishin' and Lovin' Every Day," "One Margarita," "That's My Kind of Night," "Play It Again" and "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)."
Nov 08, 2023, 8:34 PM EST
Tracy Chapman wins song of the year
Tracy Chapman won the CMA Award for song of the year for "Fast Car," which was originally released back in 1988 on Chapman's self-titled debut studio album, and re-recorded as a cover by Luke Combs for his 2023 album, "Gettin' Old."
Presenter and country singer Sara Evans read a message on behalf of Chapman, who was not in attendance at the awards show. "I'm sorry I couldn't join you all tonight," Chapman said in her message. "It's truly an honor for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut. Thank you to the CMAs and a special thanks to Luke and all of the fans of 'Fast Car.'"
Other nominees in the category included Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson and Lainey Wilson for "Heart Like a Truck"; Jordan Davis, Greylan James, Chase McGill and Josh Osborne for "Next Thing You Know"; David Fanning, Paul Jenkins, Megan Moroney and Ben Williams for "Tennessee Orange"; and Renee Blair, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps and Jordan Schmidt for "Wait in the Truck."
