50th Country Music Awards Celebration

Tonight, Stapleton will be attending the 2016 CMA Awards, where he’ll undoubtedly be cheered on by his wife of nine years, Morgane, who is also a country singer, and has a recording deal with Arista Nashville.

Underwood and Brad Paisley will host the show, airing live on ABC at 8 p.m.

The fun starts at 5:30 p.m. EST with a red carpet show hosted by Sam Alex and Tara Thompson. But he faces stiff competition from Garth Brooks, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban. Last year, Justin Timberlake stopped the show by duetting with the night’s big victor, Chris Stapleton. Alternatively, you can also watch it on the official website of the CMA Awards for live updates of the event or follow their Facebook page and Twitter account for more details.

As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, the CMA has also put together a massive music video called “Forever Country”.

Country legend Dolly Parton will be honored with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. Underwood is nominated in this category for the first time and many feel she’s overdue for a big win – especially considering she had a huge year with her “Storyteller” album and arena tour. This is the ninth time they are hosting the CMA awards ceremony. The event kicks off TONIGHT via ABC at 7 PM CT.

And more than 500 miles away from Cleveland’s Progressive Field, some of Music City’s best will vie for their own trophies as the CMA Awards celebrate their half-century mark.

Fans of classic country music have complained for years that the CMA Awards and CMA itself give short shrift to the roots of the music and traditional sounds.

The biggest night in country music is returning to ABC 13.