CMT Music Awards Sticks the Landing of Austin’s First Major Televised Awards Ceremony

Gary Clark Jr. playing a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan; Find our full photo gallery from the CMT Music Awards here (Photo by Gary Miller)

Austin has never experienced a production quite like Sunday night’s CMT Music Awards.

Broadcast live from Moody Center on CBS, with several prerecorded performances from earlier in the week on Congress Avenue with the Texas Capitol as backdrop, the entire show was an impressively run machine of superstar performances and seamlessly orchestrated prime-time television. The evening not only marked the first time that the entirely fan-voted awards show has been presented outside of CMT’s home city of Nashville, but also served as the first major televised awards ceremony hosted by Austin. Even with major events like Formula One, ACL Fest, and South by Southwest, the question remained throughout the week how well the mainstream country event would fit in the Live Music Capital.

Sunday’s answer: The CMT Awards fully embraced the city, and the fans both on Congress Avenue and inside Moody Center returned the appreciation.

Austin's Jackie Venson (top right) plays guitar during Alanis Morissette's performance (Photo by Gary Miller)

Ceremony hosts Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini made their requisite nods to Austin with shoutouts to barbecue, the Texas Longhorns, and Matthew McConaughey. San Antonio-born actor Steve Howey even got a round of “Deep in the Heart of Texas” in before his award presentation. And although there wasn’t a mention of Willie Nelson, the event notably showcased homegrown talent with an opening set of Gary Clark Jr. paying tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan with a blistering “The House is Rockin’.” Jackie Venson also slayed behind Lainey Wilson performing “Heart Like a Truck” and in the blowout celebration of Alanis Morissette accompanied by Wilson, Ingrid Andress, Madeline Edwards, and Morgan Wade on “You Oughta Know.”

If Stevie Ray Vaughan and Alanis Morissette being fêted pushed genre expectations for a country music awards show, your parents probably equally shook their heads at Gwen Stafani and Carly Pearce teaming up for No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” or breakout star of the evening Jelly Roll’s face tattoos. The audience loved every moment of it though, which speaks to the efforts of CMT to expand country beyond its often narrow confines.

Shania Twain and Megan Thee Stallion onstage at Moody Center (Photo by Gary Miller)

Equally of note was the Austin-appreciated emphasis on a more inclusive vision for country music throughout the night, led by Megan Thee Stallion presenting Shania Twain with CMT’s Equal Play award. Onstage, Twain called for “an all-inclusive country music.” And amid mainstream country being caught up in the current ridiculous culture wars regarding drag shows, Ballerini brilliantly performed her hit “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” with queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

It’s unclear if the CMT Music Awards will continue to call Austin home, but there is no doubt the show’s move this year was a success in execution. The city proved itself more than worthy of hosting a prime-time spectacular, and even offered a distinct differentiation for the awards show. Unlike events like the iHeart Country Festival, which has broadcast from Austin since 2015 and reflects very little of the city, CMT looked to the locale as an advantage and made it a part of the show.

While the Austin music scene has traditionally set itself in opposition to the big business and mainstream entertainment emphasis of Nashville, as the Texas capital continues to grow, a closer link to the opportunities between the two cities could be beneficial to both.

Kelsea Ballerini performs with queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race (Photo by Gary Miller)