Country music biggest artists and their plus ones hit the non-traditional red carpet at Nashville’s Music City Center on Wednesday (Nov. 11) as part of the 54th Annual Country Music Association (CMA) Awards.
Dubbed “Country Music’s Biggest Night,” this year’s show has been much more low-key in comparison to that of previous years due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). But that doesn’t mean stars, who had been properly COVID-19 tested, didn’t show up in their most glam outfits yet while standing alongside their significant others.
Celebrity couples like Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner, Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin, and Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins, who recently announced they’ll be co-hosting the upcoming CMA Country Christmas television special for the first time later this year, were among some of the A-listers in attendance at the masked and socially-distanced event.
Rhett sported a classy black tux alongside Akins, who donned a floor-length, silk dress. Lambert, meanwhile, dazzled in a pink, calf-length dress while posing with husband McLoughlin, who looked dapper in grey. Luke Combs and Nicole Hocking were also on-hand with Hocking dressed up in a velvet ensemble for the evening.
A glowing Barrett, who is expecting her first child with hubby Foehner, showed their affection for each other as they walked the carpet side by side. Foehner, who wore a cowboy hat, wrapped his arms around his bride while she showed off her adorable baby bump in a body-hugging, sparkly dress.
Co-host of the night, Reba McEntire and boyfriend actor Rex Linn, who announced their romance earlier this year via McEntire’s Living & Learning podcast, also made their debut on the red carpet, stepping out in blue.
New mom Maren Morris, who took home the first two on-air CMA Awards for Single of the Year and Song of the Year for “The Bones,” was accompanied on the red carpet by her husband, fellow artist Ryan Hurd. Together, the two complemented each other by matching in all black. Having a date-night out is likely to be more meaningful for Morris and Hurd after becoming new parents in March to their adorable son Hayes.
“I feel like I’ve been postpartum and so ready to feel like myself again,” Morris, who has been nominated for a total of five CMA Awards told Radio.com earlier in the evening. “I feel like when I put this dress on, I was me again. So, I’m excited to be on the red carpet with it.”
This year, McEntire special co-hosted the ceremony with Darius Rucker. The 2020 CMA Awards aired live from Nashville on Wednesday, (Nov. 11) from 8:00-11:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
Take a look below to see all of the celebrity couples at the 54th Annual CMA Awards.
