Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.countryliving.com
Key Points
- Rodney Atkins says he won’t attend the CMA Awards this year.
- Like Sammy Kershaw, he wasn’t approved to walk the red carpet, he reveals.
- The “Watching You” hitmaker had a string of No. 1 hits in the early 2000s and continues to tour.
Sammy Kershaw isn’t the only throwback country hitmaker who’s getting the cold shoulder from the Country Music Association (CMA). Rodney Atkins says he, too, was denied access to walk the red carpet at next week’s CMA Awards.
“Neither one of us got approved to walk the CMA Awards red carpet,” the “Farmer’s Daughter” singer reveals to fans in a video message, referring to himself and the “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful” hitmaker.
“When I heard about Sammy, I thought, ‘What a shame. He’s a great guy—sweetheart of a dude. Singing dude, spent his life representing country music … then I found out same thing happened to me,” Rodney says. “And in a way, I get it. I’ve always been kind of an outsider—maybe a shrub in the landscape of country music.”
But the country star points out that both he and his wife, Rose Falcon, are voting members of the CMA—and that he has played the organization’s annual festival, CMA Fest, more than once, for free. “I’m incredibly grateful to the fans who’ve made this career possible,” Rodney continues in a typed message. “You’ve always made me feel welcome in country music, and that’s what matters most.”
“I also believe the artists who helped build the foundation of country music, like Sammy Kershaw, deserve a place in its celebrations,” he adds. “Country music should never get above its raisin’.”
The CMA Awards, known as “Country Music’s Biggest Night,” are heavily focused on the genre’s biggest songs, albums, and artists of the year prior. But this is an anniversary year; for the 60th annual CMA Awards, CMA CEO Sarah Trahern says the show will throw back to the ’90s, ironically.
“You can’t get hotter than the ‘90s now in a lot of ways. When we did the 50th, we reached way back to the very beginning,” she shared with Billboard in October. “We’ll reach back some to the early days of the CMAs, but really, the hot artists today, their heroes are the stars of the ‘90s.”
Sammy Kershaw was a reliable country music hitmaker in the 1990s, with 10 of his singles charting in the Top 10. Rodney’s success came in the early 2000s—both “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)” and “Watching You” held onto No. 1 for four weeks (2006 and 2007, respectively), followed by two-week No. 1s with “Cleaning This Gun (Come on in Boy)” (2008), “It’s America” (2009), and “Take a Back Road” (2011).
Rodney is currently promoting a new single called “Years Are Short” from his May 2026 True South album, which he notes made it to the second round of voting as a potential CMA Awards Album of the Year nominee this year.
The 2026 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on November 18. The first round of performers has been announced, including Miranda Lambert, Cody Johnson, and Tim McGraw. Lainey Wilson will host the awards. Watch via ABC or Disney+ starting at 8 p.m. ET, or stream the show the next day on Hulu.
Amanda Hensel Jermstad is a skilled writer based in Austin, Texas. She spent 14 years as Editor-in-Chief of Taste of Country, where she led coverage of the artists, stories and trends shaping country music. With a career deeply rooted in the genre, Amanda has built a reputation for sharp editorial insight and authentic storytelling. Outside of work, she’s a proud mom of three.
