Three-time CMA entertainer of the year George Strait is set to receive the 2024 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the upcoming 58th annual CMA ceremony. Strait will additionally be honored with a tribute performance from fellow artists celebrating his impact on the genre. The ceremony will take place on Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on November 20th, and air live on ABC.
“There have been few other artists as authentically Texas and authentically country as George Strait, and country music fans all over the world have been better for it,” shared Sarah Trahern, CMA chief executive officer, in a statement. “As a three-time CMA entertainer of the year and the most nominated artist of all time, he serves as an inspiration and icon to many of the great, new artists we know today. I am thrilled we are awarding him with this deserving honor.”
The CMAs share that the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award is “awarded to an iconic artist who has attained the highest degree of recognition in Country Music. The award recognizes those who have achieved both national and international prominence and stature through concert performances, humanitarian efforts, philanthropy, streaming numbers, record sales and public representation at the highest level. The artist receiving this award has positively impacted and contributed to the growth of the genre over the course of many years and has proven to have an unprecedented historical impact on fans and industry alike.”
Previous recipients of the award include Willie Nelson (2012), Kenny Rogers (2013), Johnny Cash (2015), Dolly Parton (2016), Kris Kristofferson (2019), Charley Pride (2020), Loretta Lynn (2021) and Alan Jackson (2022).
Strait is the most nominated artist in CMA history, with 83 total nominations. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and boasts more than 70 million albums sold throughout his long career.
