Backstage Country

Kris Kristofferson Tribute Planned At CMAs With Dierks Bentley, Chris Janson

The Country Music Association has revealed its 2019 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award recipient will be Kris Kristofferson. A special tribute is planned during “The 53rd Annual CMA Awards,” featuring…

Kris Kristofferson Tribute Planned At CMAs With Dierks Bentley, Chris Janson
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

The Country Music Association has revealed its 2019 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award recipient will be Kris Kristofferson.

A special tribute is planned during “The 53rd Annual CMA Awards,” featuring Kristofferson’s classic “Me and Bobby McGee” by Dierks Bentley with Sheryl Crow, Chris Janson and John Osborne.

Chris Janson said, “Kris Kristofferson is one of my favorite artists of all time. I’m very humbled to be a part of an incredible tribute to a legend who has done so much for country music. I couldn’t imagine being part of anything cooler than this at the CMA awards.”

The Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award is for an iconic artist who has attained the highest degree of recognition in Country Music. The Award was established to recognize an artist who has achieved both national and international prominence and stature through concert performances, humanitarian efforts, philanthropy, record sales, and public representation at the highest level.

The artist receiving this Award has positively impacted and contributed to the growth of the genre throughout a course of years that have proven to have an unprecedented historical impact on fans and industry alike.

Previous recipients of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award include Willie Nelson (2012), Kenny Rogers (2013), Johnny Cash (2015), and Dolly Parton (2016).

“The 53rd Annual CMA Awards” broadcasts live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 8/7c on the ABC Television Network.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.