CMA Country Christmas became an annual primetime TV tradition in 2010. Since then, a cavalcade of stars have sung fresh and classic carols on broadcasts hosted by some of country music's top names. Many performances pluck at the heartstrings and focus on the reason for the season. Others, like Vince Gill's 2011 serenading of Miss Piggy, bring good, clean fun for the whole family.
The inaugural broadcast was hosted by Jennifer Nettles and featured the likes of Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and Sheryl Crow. Nettles hosted the first seven broadcasts, with Reba McEntire taking the reigns in 2017 and 2018. Since then, it's been hosted by Trisha Yearwood (2019), Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins (2020), Gabby Barrett and Carly Pearce (2021) and Pearce (2022). Yearwood returns in 2023 to co-host with Amy Grant.
Read on for all the key details about this year's special.
How to Watch CMA Country Christmas
Acacia Evans/CMA
The broadcast home of the CMA (Country Music Association) Awards, ABC will air this year's special on Thurs., Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. ET. It'll stream starting the next day on Hulu and Disney+. Per a press release, you can also watch on the ABC app on your smartphone, on ABC.com on your computer and via connected devices (Roku, AppleTV and Amazon Fire TV).
A teaser trailer can be viewed below.
Who's Hosting CMA Country Christmas?
Acacia Evans/CMA
Yearwood returns as a second-time host. Her first Christmas album, The Sweetest Gift, turns 30 in 2024. She followed that up in 2016 with Christmas Together, a collaborative album with her spouse, Garth Brooks.
A Christmas Album (1983) alone makes co-host Grant synonymous with holiday music. She does a series of December concerts in Nashville with her husband, Country Music Hall of Famer Gill, which makes her no stranger to comparable festivities.
Who's Performing at CMA Country Christmas?
Josh Brasted/CMA
A full list of performers for the special, which was pre-taped live in Nashville, has been revealed. It includes Yearwood, Grant, Jordan Davis, Lady A, Ashley McBryde, Jon Pardi, Lindsey Stirling, The War and Treaty, Zach Williams and Lainey Wilson.
Though the song list has yet to be released, we do know that McBryde and Stirling will cover "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."
