Sophia Michaels
The CMT Music Awards is moving to a new location this year, but some familiar faces will be along for the ride. Kane Brown announced on Thursday that he would be returning as the fan-voted event’s co-host alongside Kelsea Ballerini when the show airs live on April 2 from Austin’s Moody Center.
This makes the fourth consecutive year for the superstar Brown to co-host the proceedings, and he will also perform his hit duet “Thank God” with his wife Katelyn during the broadcast. The song is a multi-week Number One hit with streams in the hundreds of millions.
In addition to his hosting role, Brown will make his acting debut in 2023. He is set to appear on the CBS drama Fire Country on April 7, playing a train-hopping character that’s part healer, part Robin Hood.
Ballerini, who recently released the EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, will mark her third year as co-host. She was forced to handle the duties virtually from her home in 2022 after getting diagnosed with COVID days before the show, so Falcon and the Winter Soldier star Anthony Mackie stepped in to join Brown at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium.
Nominations for the 2023 CMT Music Awards have not yet been announced. The show’s move to Austin makes it one of two country awards programs to head to Texas this year, as the 2023 ACM Awards will be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on May 11.
