Post Malone and Chris Stapleton Open the 2024 CMA Awards with Rocking 'California Sober' Performance

Mar. 15, 2025

Chris Stapleton and Post Malone.Photo:Theo Wargo/Getty

Theo Wargo/Getty

TheCMA Awardsare off to a great start thanks toPost MaloneandChris Stapleton!

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Malone, 29, and Stapleton, 46, opened the 58th annual country music awards show with a rocking performance of “California Sober.”

Both musicians took the stage wearing cowboy hats and were strumming their guitars as they belted out the lyrics to the track, which was featured on Malone’s country albumF-1 Trillion.

Check out all of PEOPLE’s full CMA Awards coveragehere.

Stapleton went into the night with five nominations, including the coveted entertainer of the year prize, and took home an early single of the year win for “White Horse.” Malone, meanwhile, is nominated for four.

The massive tour kicks off April 29 in Salt Lake City and makes stops in major cities across the country before wrapping July 1 in San Francisco.

Malone’sF-1 Trillionwas released in August and reached No. 1 on theBillboard200 albums chart. The project included star-studded collaborations including the No. 1 single “I Had Some Help” withMorgan Wallen, as well as “Pour Me a Drink” withBlake Shelton, “Guy for That” withLuke Combsand “What Don’t Belong to Me.”

The 58th Annual CMA Awards broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on ABC. The show streams the following day on Hulu.

source: people.com