Jelly Roll reacts on winning at the 2023 CMT Music Awards
“It’s unreal.”
Mikala Compton, Austin American-Statesman
Country Music Television’s fan-voted CMT Music Awards ceremony on Sunday made its debut in Austin with an event that celebrated Texas culture while honoring country music stars from Nashville and beyond.
With a rollicking take on the Stevie Ray Vaughan classic, “The House is Rocking,” native Austinite Gary Clark Jr. welcomed a packed Moody Center house to the Live Music Capital of the World. Later in the evening, fellow Austin blues rocker Jackie Venson flexed her six-string skills during a fiery take on Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” that featured the Canadian alt-rock icon alongside Ingrid Andress, Lainey Wilson, Madeline Edwards and Morgan Wade.
In between, the show was peppered with references to the Texas capital. At one point, host Kane Brown pulled a slab of brisket from his pocket, which prompted a culinary misstep from co-host Kelsea Ballerini, when she countered with a burrito in her purse. (Newsflash: You were not in California, Kelsea. This is a taco town!)
Breakout star of the night Jelly Roll — a rocker and rapper turned country soul man who stunned the audience with a beautiful rendition of “Need a Favor,” backed by a 20-piece gospel choir — pledged to celebrate his three wins on Sixth Street. Backstage, he told the American-Statesman that his victory lap on Austin’s avenue of debauchery and regret would be fueled by straight tequila, “the sativa of liquor.”
“My wife was born in Houston. I got married in Texas … we’re all Texas,” he added.
Bringing the ceremony to Moody Center was the culmination of a three-year dream for venue general manager Jeff Nickler, who said he was moved to tears during the ceremony. Beyond the show, he was impressed with CMT’s full Austin takeover.
“Throughout the week, not only were there giant free concerts around town, but CMT also recorded all of their network programming live from Austin all week. So there was something going on in nearly every corner of the city every day leading up to the weekend, which was very exciting,” he said.
Here are some highlights from the show and the week leading up to it.
Carrie Underwood took over downtown Austin with fireworks and bops.
Hundreds were treated to a pre-taping of four performances for the award show — starring Carrie Underwood, Tyler Hubbard, Keith Urban an husband-wife duo Kane and Katelyn Brown — on Wednesday night in downtown Austin. But we have to admit, Underwood was our favorite of the night.
Flanked by the Capitol and adjacent to a Quiznos, Underwood came out in a bubblegum pink dress and furry boots to perform her first song of the night, “Pink Champagne.” She sounded absolutely fantastic, and we’ve been listening to “Pink Champagne” ever since. The audience was given light-up wristbands, which turned pink as she performed. Because the performance was being recorded for Sunday’s show, we got to hear “Pink Champagne” a handful of times, in between producers telling the crowd to put their hands up and applaud.
Underwood then disappeared to do an outfit change and reappeared in a black shorts and a blazer outfit, with big red hearts on both, to perform “Hate My Heart,” another catchy tune. She played the song a couple times, and on the last round, fireworks and smoke went off, capping off a wonderful night.
More: Lily Rose honors Nashville shooting victims at CMT Music Awards in Austin
Kelsea Ballerini performed with queens from ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’
Ballerini, half of the show’s hosting duo with Kane Brown, performed her song “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” during the award ceremony with an assist from drag queens Jan Sport, Olivia Lux, Manila Luzon and Kennedy Davenport, all of whom competed on the TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
We loved this moment. With anti-drag bills in Tennessee and Texas, the queens’ performance on a national stage felt important. We caught up with them ahead of the show and heard advice they had for fellow drag artists in Texas.
“Continue to be your authentic self. We’re still motivating young people. We’re still inspiring them. We’re still lifting them up, because at the end of the day, we have a calling, we have a job as drag queens. That’s what we’re here to do,” Davenport, a Dallas native, said.
2023 CMT Music Awards: Here’s what you didn’t see on TV
Stars sparkled on the arrivals carpet.
Was the carpet teal? Seafoam? Aqua? This was a source of debate before stars of country music sauntered into Moody Center in a stylish parade, but the relevant detail here is that the red carpet was not actually red.
CMT Music Awards: A look at the Red Carpet at the Moody Center in Austin in photos
The artists sparkled and shimmered in sequins and rhinestones, tastefully mixed with hats, boots, denim and other Western accents. Shania Twain, who was honored with the Equal Play award (and used her acceptance speech to advocate for diversity and equity), was ravishing in a red-and-black cutout dress. Carrie Underwood wore disco ball silver, and the women of Chapel Hart shone like the sun in radiant yellow gowns. Lainey Wilson wore a spectacular romper with a deep V-cut and a bold blue-and-red tropical print, and Megan Thee Stallion was stunning in a blue cutout gown with bold white accents.
Chris Robinson played a harmonica during a collab performance by The Black Crowes and Darius Rucker.
Is playing the harmonica the coolest thing a person can do? We’re thinking yes, probably. Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes whipped out a harmonica during the band’s performance of “Wagon Wheel” with Darius Rucker on Friday night. Rucker and The Black Crowes were taping an episode of “CMT Crossroads” to a sizable Austin crowd outside the Capitol.
The duo paired up again during the CMT Music Awards to sing “She Talks to Angels.”
OK, back to the harmonica. We were already impressed by how celestial Rucker and Robinson’s voices sounded side by side, but to then bring the harmonica in? Sheesh. Listen, it was very cool and seems hard to do. So, thank you, Chris Robinson, for your service.
Meet Jackie Venson, the Austin guitarist who slayed the CMT Awards with Alanis Morrisette
Two days of block parties were ‘a blast’ for Austin families.
Trevor Scott, host of CBS Austin’s “We Are Austin,” had “a blast” hosting two days of CMT block parties that featured emerging country music acts in downtown Austin, he said between acts on Sunday.
The block parties were family-friendly affairs, and Scott, who shared the stage with Austin’s DJ Cassandra, said several hundred people showed up for each day’s event.
“There were littles. There were people with strollers. There were babies. There were little girls dancing in denim dresses,” he said.
Scott’s musical highlights from the events included Nashville singer-songwriter Matt Koziol and William Clark Green, a native Texan in the lineage of Willie Nelson, who was returning home from a stint on the road.
