Little Big Town could pick up their seventh consecutive CMA Award for Vocal Group of the Year. The group first took home the award in 2012. The foursome – made up of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook – have also won awards for Single of the Year in 2012 for “Pontoon,” as well as Single of the Year for “Girl Crush” in 2015.

Last year, they tied the record held for Vocal Group previously held by the Statler Brothers and Rascal Flatts with six wins in the category. This year, they’re once again nominated with their friends and former tour mates. “We truly are humbled by it,” says the band’s Phillip Sweet. “It’s just amazing to be in that category because there’s so much talent in that category. So, we’re just very thankful.”

The 52nd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday (November 14th) at 8pm ET/PT on ABC.

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
Lanco
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion

Several of country music’s top female artists were honored during CMT’s Artists of the Year live special on Wednesday night (October 17th), including Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman, as well as Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott and the Artist of a Lifetime recipient Loretta Lynn.

LBT’s Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook honored their bandmates Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman. The two ladies then were joined by the legendary Gladys Knight for “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”

Keith Urban celebrated his friend and “The Fighter” duet partner Carrie Underwood, before she hit the stage with her 2019 Cry Pretty Tour 360 opening acts Maddie & Tae and Runaway June with an all-woman medley hailing those who paved the way. The songs they performed include Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” The Judds’ “Rockin’ with the Rhythm of the Rain,” Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” Faith Hill’s “Wild One,” Reba’s “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” and Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” before launching into her recent smash hit, “Cry Pretty.”

Carrie thanked all of the women in the country music industry she called “the backbone of this music” as she accepted her trophy, as well as praised all of the women artists. “To all of the incredible, amazing, talented women that have been on this stage tonight, you are not here because you are women. You are here because you are dang good. And it is an honor to get to share tonight with you.”

Little Big Town’s Kimberly and Karen were overwhelmed in accepting their award and helped shine a light on all of the newer female artists who “are available” to be played on the radio by reading out all of their names during their speech.

Dierks Bentley, along with Sheryl Crow, performed “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” in tribute to Loretta Lynn.

One of the coolest moments of the night was when Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek, who portrayed Loretta Lynn in the iconic film Coal Miner’s Daughter, accepted the Artist of a Lifetime award for the Country Music Hall of Famer who was at home feeling under the weather. She praised their decades-long friendship and was visibly emotional when she talked about her “sister.”

The CMT special will re-air multiple times beginning Friday (October 19th) at 1:30am ET and 7:30am ET, as well as various times over the weekend.

Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban and Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet have been added to the list of stars appearing at the CMT Artists of the Year special on Wednesday night (October 17^th).

Dierks, along with Sheryl Crow and Martina McBride, will join together for a special tribute to honor Loretta Lynn who is receiving the 2018 Artist of a Lifetime Award.

Keith Urban, Elle King, Smokey Robinson, LBT’s Jimi and Phillip, Trisha Yearwood, Oscar winner Sissy Spacek, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood will present.

Performances include honoree Carrie Underwood with Maddie & Tae and Runaway June, honorees Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman with Gladys Knight. Miranda Lambert and Pistol Annies, Kelsea Ballerini with Alison Krauss, Hillary Scott with Tori Kelley and Kirk Franklin and Maren Morris with Brandi Carlile.

This year’s CMT Artists of the Year – celebrating all females – will air live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center Wednesday (October 17^th) at 8pm ET/PT.

After a 20-plus city, sold-out U.S. tour, Grammy-award winning foursome Little Big Town will extend The Breakers Tour into Canada. The highly-anticipated ten-city run begins February 14^th in London, Ontario and will conclude March 2^nd in Abbotsford, BC. All shows will feature special guests, Midland and Ashley McBryde.

Tickets for The Breakers Canada Tour go on-sale Friday, October 12^th at 10am local time (excluding London and Winnipeg). London and Winnipeg will follow at 12pm local time.

Pre-sale tickets and a special VIP package launch NOW on www.littlebigtown.com (password: BETTERMAN). The VIP experience, offered throughout the tour, will include a private, pre-show acoustic performance from the band, limited edition merchandise, and more.

The Breakers Canada Tour Dates and Markets:

FEB 14                 LONDON, ONT

FEB 15                 OSHAWA, ONT

FEB 19                 WINNIPEG, MB

FEB 20                 SASKATOON, SK

FEB 21                 REGINA, SK

FEB 23                 CALGARY, AB

FEB 24                 EDMONTON, AB

FEB 26                 LETHBRIDGE, AB

MAR 1                  PENTICTON, BC

MAR 2                  ABBOTSFORD, BC

About Little Big Town:

GRAMMY, ACM, CMA, and AMA Award-winning group, Little Big Town — consisting of members Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, and Jimi Westbrook — first entered the music scene over 20 years ago with hit songs “Boondocks,” “Bring It On Home,” “Good As Gone” and the GRAMMY-nominated “Little White Church.” Their breakthrough albums Tornado and Pain Killer produced multiple #1 singles, including “Pontoon,” “Tornado,” and “Day Drinking,” as well as the history-making, best-selling country single of the year (2015) “Girl Crush.”  Released February 24, 2017, Little Big Town’s last studio album, The Breaker, debuted #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and Top 10 (No.4) on the Billboard 200 to critical acclaim, marking the group’s fourth Top 10 debut on the Billboard 200 chart. The album features their GRAMMY-winning, multi-week #1 single, “Better Man,” as well as “When Someone Stops Loving You.”

Little Big Town has earned more than 40 award show nominations and in the past five years has taken home nearly 20 awards, including multiple GRAMMY, AMA, People’s Choice, CMA, ACM awards, and an Emmy award. Currently the reigning CMA and ACM Vocal Group of the Year, the Country Music Hall of Fame inductees (2014) went onto receive their star on the Nashville Walk of Fame in 2017. Also in 2017, Little Big Town hosted a sold-out, year-long artist residency at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville — marking the venue’s first-ever, year-long residency in its 125-year history. The band also recently launched 4 Cellars wine, their first non-musical project as a band, with Browne Family Vineyards. On July 26^th The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville launched their new, yearlong exhibit called LITTLE BIG TOWN: THE POWER OF FOUR showcasing the bands powerful and storied 20-year history within the country music community.

For more information on Little Big Town visit LittleBigTown.com or follow them @littlebigtown.

Brandon Lay is set to make his Grand Ole Opry debut on Saturday (September 29th).

This is gonna be one we won't forget.. Excited for my @opry debut on saturday. tickets https://t.co/3PMLCBJ3FR #yadayadayada pic.twitter.com/k4P2X2qQvE

— Brandon Lay (@brandonlay) September 27, 2018

Kacey Musgraves will perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live October 2nd.

Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt and Little Big Town, along with Alabama, have been announced as headliners for the 28th Annual Country Jam. The weeklong event will take place June 13th – 19th in Grand Junction, Colorado. More artists will be announced soon.

In a salute to the women of country music, Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman will be honored at this year’s CMT’s annual Artists of the Year special, along with Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris and Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott.

“This year, we’re evolving the special to reflect what’s happening right now in culture and in the lives of our fans,” says Leslie Fram, Senior Vice President of Music & Talent at CMT, in a press release. “In this monumental year for women, dedicating one of the biggest nights in the genre to applaud female country artists not only solidifies our commitment, but we hope will spark a much-needed change in the industry,” says Leslie Fram, Senior Vice President of Music & Talent at CMT.

CMT will fully turn its focus to supporting the Artists of the Year showcase by dedicating a full day of airtime to a “Woman of Country” takeover across the network’s various broadcast and digital platforms.

The list of performers for the show will be announced soon.

Little Big Town joins an all-star cast for the 10th Anniversary of Stand Up to Cancer, a telethon first airing in 2008 by media and entertainment leaders to help raise money and awareness for cancer research and assist in funding innovative treatments. The organization has already raised more than $480 million.

We are so honored to join @SU2C for their live fundraising telecast. This year marks SU2C’s 10 years of impact in cancer research! Tune in on Sept. 7. https://t.co/dLaOT3PD8Y. pic.twitter.com/vJgSm8nBRo

— Little Big Town (@littlebigtown) September 5, 2018

Academy Award-nominated actor Bradley Cooper will serve as executive producer for the special, while others participating in the telecast include Keith Urban, Reese Witherspoon, Kathy Bates, co-founder Katie Couric, Jennifer Garner, Matthew McConaughey, Mahershala Ali, David Spade, Tony Hale, Marlee Matlin, Ken Jeong, Jillian Michaels and many others.

.@SU2C Rehearsal for tomorrow nights Stand Up To Cancer event. It’s #Up2us to #StandUpToCancer Tag someone you know who needs encouragement and strength and let’s put an end to this horrible disease. #cancerresearch pic.twitter.com/nDhD2RrM2P

— Little Big Town (@littlebigtown) September 7, 2018

Stand Up to Cancer will air commercial-free Friday (September 7th) at 8pm ET/PT on numerous networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Bravo, Freeform, FXM, HBO, ION, REELZ, Showtime, STARZ, Encore, TNT and WGN America, among others.

The members of Little Big Town are up for two People’s Choice Awards, including The Country Artist of 2018 and The Group of 2018. Watch E!’s People’s Choice Awards Sunday, November 11th at 9pm ET on E!

The CMA nominations were announced Tuesday morning (August 28th), and Luke Bryan is once again nominated for CMA Entertainer of the Year, having won the award twice previously. He says he still has to pinch himself when he thinks about having two of those trophies on his mantel.

Luke Bryan learned Tuesday that he's up for his third CMA Entertainer of the Year award. Read more about this year's #CMAAwards nominees. https://t.co/PgAKMkZzJV pic.twitter.com/zqN6p7PLUN

— Tennessean (@Tennessean) August 28, 2018

Honored to be nominated for #CMAAwards 2018 Entertainer of the Year. Don’t miss the show on November 14. pic.twitter.com/ZH6ThbNACH

— Luke Bryan (@lukebryan) August 28, 2018

Keith Urban is nominated for three CMA Awards this year, including Entertainer, Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Graffiti U. He took to his socials to do what he does best — perform his thank yous for all of the nominations. He said, “[It was] an amazing way to wake up and start the day. I love making music, simple as that. I love making music, and to get to make Graffiti U and have the support that it’s gotten and especially to see that this morning in action, that’s an incredible feeling. So to everybody that made that possible, thank you. Thank you very much.”

#CMAawards pic.twitter.com/4U5OFK92w9

— Keith Urban (@KeithUrban) August 28, 2018

Little Big Town just finished up their Bandwagon Tour over the weekend and woke up to a Vocal Group of the Year nomination. The band has won this award for the past five years.

What an incredible year. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. #CMAawards pic.twitter.com/dJYz9fCZte

— Little Big Town (@littlebigtown) August 28, 2018

❤️ @CountryMusic #CMAawards https://t.co/HIV2T9njNW

— Lady A (@ladya) August 28, 2018

Lady Antebellum has won the award for Vocal Group of the Year THREE times; from 2009 through 2011.

Maddie & Tae, who are up for Vocal Duo of the Year said it was a nice surprise to wake up to this morning.

https://twitter.com/MaddieandTae/status/1034455564967927809

Kacey Musgraves had a pair of nominations, including Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Golden Road.

https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/1034658138581094401

Brothers Osborne earns another nomination for Vocal Duo of the Year, as well as a nod for Musical Event of the Year for “Burnin’ Man” with Dierks Bentley.

Always a damn honor! Thanks y’all!@CountryMusic #countrymusicawards pic.twitter.com/1tHSZAQjJK

— Brothers Osborne (@brothersosborne) August 28, 2018

Lauren Alaina is nominated for New Artist of the Year, and while she’s going through a difficult time with her family, this nomination came in at the right time.

God always shines some light in a time of darkness. It’s been a tough week for my family, but this brightened everything up a little. Thank you to all the people who made this nomination possible. You know who you are. @CountryMusic pic.twitter.com/0yQnuhUxyk

— Lauren Alaina (@Lauren_Alaina) August 28, 2018

The 52nd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 14th at 8pm ET on ABC.