George Strait was honored with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award on the 2024 CMA Awards. Lainey Wilson kicked off the homage with a note-perfect tackle Strait’s signature “Amarillo by Morning,” adopted by Jamey Johnson’s plainspoken however swaggering rendition of “Give It Away.”

Parker McCollum and Miranda Lambert traded verses on Strait’s 2008 hit “Troubadour,” a becoming music for the event. To cap issues off, Strait emerged to reprise “Honky Tonk Corridor of Fame,” his duet with Chris Stapleton, from his album Cowboys and Dreamers launched earlier this 12 months. 

Paying tribute to Strait was a becoming batch of artists, all of whom have both opened for, sang with, or collaborated with the King in recent times. Nevertheless it’s considerably shocking that honoring Strait took so long as it did: With a staggering 83 nominations and 17 awards, he’s probably the most nominated artist within the historical past of the CMA Awards. Strait’s final award was 2013 Entertainer of the 12 months. 

Current recipients of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award embody luminaries like Charley Satisfaction and Dolly Parton. 

Johnson’s efficiency, in the meantime, was a pointy rejoinder to the media consideration he’s obtained this week. Performing simply days after being arrested in Tennessee for marijuana possession, the 49-year-old singer-songwriter sounded invigorated and triumphant as he labored by means of Strait’s 2006 Quantity One, which Johnson co-wrote with Invoice Anderson and Buddy Cannon.