Photo: Hubert Vestil / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
Jason Aldean took the 2024 CMT Music Awards stage with “Let Your Boys Be Country,” one of the anthems to appear on his 14-track studio album, Highway Desperado. It marked the country hitmaker’s ninth performance on the CMT awards stage, following his collaborative rendition of “Heaven” with Bryan Adams in 2022 (the same year he celebrated a victory with Carrie Underwood, earning the coveted Video of the Year award for “If I Didn’t Love You”).
Aldean released his 11th studio album in November. the project also included “Tough Crowd,” “Try That In A Small Town” and other highlights. It followed Aldean’s massive double album serving as a tribute to his hometown. The two-part installment, titled MACON and GEORGIA, included “That’s What Tequila Does,” “If I Didn’t Love You,” “Trouble With A Heartbreak,” “Rock And Roll Cowboy” and more.
The CMT Music Awards included a star-studded lineup for the show returning to Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Other performers included host Kelsea Ballerini, Dasha, Bailey Zimmerman, Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town with Sugarland, Megan Moroney, NEEDTOBREATHE with Jordan Davis, Old Dominion with Megan Moroney, Parker McCollum with Brittney Spencer, Sam Hunt, and Trisha Yearwood, who was revealed as the first-ever June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award. CMT also rounded up an all-star lineup for a tribute to the late Toby Keith, who died earlier this year following a battle with stomach cancer. He was 62.
Presenters included Amber Riley, Billy Bob Thornton (Landman), Carly Pearce, Cody Alan, Cody Johnson, Emily Osment (Young Sheldon), Emma Roberts, Gayle King (CBS Mornings), James Van Der Beek, Jane Seymour, Jelly Roll, Max Theriot (Fire Country), Megan Moroney, Melissa Etheridge, Mickey Guyton, Minnie Driver, Montana Jordan (Young Sheldon), Parmalee and Paul Walter Hauser, per a press release issued Wednesday (April 3).
Aldean was recently confirmed in the star-studded lineup of the 2024 iHeartCountry Festival, set for May 4 in Austin, Texas. The lineup also includes Jelly Roll, Old Dominion, Lady A, Riley Green, Ashley McBryde, Brothers Osborne, and Walker Hayes. The show will be hosted by iHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones. Fans across the country can tune in and stream the 2024 iHeartCountry Festival, as iHeartRadio Country music radio stations across the country will broadcast the event in their local markets, as well as on the free iHeartRadio app and iHeartRadio.com, on Saturday, May 4th at 8pm ET/5pm PT (7pm CT). Tickets are available to the general public now. For more information visit iHeartRadio.com/countryfestival.
Aldean is gearing up for his headlining “Highway Desperado Tour,” following more than 40 sold-out shows last year. Special guests Hailey Whitters and Lauren Alaina will join the “Highway Desperado Tour” on select dates, as well as Chase Matthew, Austin Snell, and Dee Jay Silver across all dates, per a previously-issued press release. See the list of tour stops below.
5/18/24 – Thackerville, OK – WinStar World Casino and Resort*
7/11/24 – Syracuse, NY – Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview&
7/12/24 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater& –ON SALE FRI, DEC 15
7/13/24 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center – ON SALE FRI, DEC 15
7/25/24 – Savannah, GA – Enmarket Arena^
7/26/24 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach^
8/1/24 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater^
8/2/24 – Philadelphia, PA – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion^ –ON SALE FRI, DEC 15
8/3/24 – Scranton, PA – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain^
8/8/24 – Evansville, IN – Ford Center^
8/10/24 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake^
8/16/24 – Mt. Pleasant, MI – Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort*
8/17/24 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre
8/24/24 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion&
8/25/24 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion&
8/29/24 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
8/30/24 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live&
9/5/24 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater&
9/6/24 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater&
9/7/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre&
9/12/24 – Lincoln, CA – Thunder Valley Casino Resort*
9/20/24 – Sparks, NV – Nugget Event Center*
9/21/24 – Laughlin, NV – Laughlin Event Center*
10/5/24 – Macon, GA – Macon Amphitheater&
*Not A Live Nation Date
& with Hailey Whitters
^ with Lauren Alaina