CMA Awards 2023 recap: All the biggest wins and epic performances

Lainey Wilson took home the CMA Award for album of the year for "Bell Bottom Country" during Wednesday's ceremony.

The singer said her album was inspired by her small hometown of Baskin, Louisiana.

"You sit around a kitchen table and tell the same ol' stories you've been hearing for years, the kind of stories that get better every single time you hear 'em," she said. "Stories that make you laugh, make you cry, make you want to drink a beer -- just make you feel something. That's what we wanted to do with this record."

Other nominees in the category included Ashley McBryde's "Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville," Luke Combs' "Gettin' Old," Morgan Wallen's "One Thing at a Time" and Kelsea Ballerini's "Rolling Up the Welcome Mat."

Several country music stars took the stage to pay tribute to the late Jimmy Buffett, who died Sept. 1 at age 76.

Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Mac McAnally and Zac Brown performed a medley of Buffett's biggest hits including "A Pirate Looks at Forty" and "Margaritaville."

Jelly Roll took home the CMA Award for new artist of the year during Wednesday's ceremony.

The singer gave his wife Bunnie XO a shoutout, saying, "You changed my life, baby."

"There is something poetic about a 39-year-old man winning new artist of the year. I don't know where you're at in your life, or what you're going through, but I want to tell you to keep going, baby," he continued. "I want to tell you success is on the other side of it. I want to tell you it's going to be OK. I want to tell you that the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason."

He added, "What's in front of you is so much more important than what's behind you."

Other nominees in the category included Zach Bryan, Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney and Hailey Whitters.

Husband and wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter of The War and Treaty took the CMA Awards stage to perform their song "That's How Love is Made" from their third studio album, "Lover's Game."

The couple was nominated for vocal duo of the year at this year's awards.