CMT Awards

Texas set to host CMT Music Awards for the first time ever in 2023

Kelsea Ballerini

Getty Images for CMT

Big news from the Moody Center: during Carrie Underwood's sold out show, CMT Music Awards co-host Kelsea Ballerini came on stage to announce that the CMT Music Awards will come to Austin next year. Airing Sunday, April 2, 2023, the fan-voted awards ceremony will be hosted in Austin for the first time ever.

Ballerini will return as the event's co-host for the third year in a row, which she also shared during Underwood's set. The Austin stop of Underwood's Denim and Rhinestones Tour was the perfect time to share the announcement, since Underwood currently holds the title as the winningest artist in CMT history. According to a release, she has garnered a total of 25 trophies, and she will be the first performer for the 2023 show.

“Both Austin and Nashville are two of the world’s greatest music cities and we couldn’t be more excited to announce the return of the CMT MUSIC AWARDS on CBS than with co-host Kelsea Ballerini surprising Carrie Underwood, our most awarded artist, in the middle of her incredible live performance at Moody Center – the exact venue where we’ll all be back exactly five months from today!” shared CMT Music Awards executive producers Margaret Comeaux, John Hamlin, Leslie Fram, and Jason Owen.

“Our fans are in for an unforgettable night of music with plenty of surprises, as the Live Music Capital meets Music City for the first time ever on a national stage in what will be a true country music extravaganza.”

The 2023 CMT Awards is the result of two years of planning between CMT, CBA, Paramount, and the Moody Center team. The show will make its global premiere exclusively on the CBS Television Network, available for both live streaming and on demand on Paramount+. For its inaugural year on CBS, the 2022 CMT Music Awards delivered 5.89 million viewers, a 529 percent increase from June 2021.

“The programming team at Oak View Group and Moody Center have spent the past two years cultivating this relationship and working to endear CMT, CBS and Paramount to Austin and our new, world-class arena," says Michael Owens, vice president of programming at the Moody Center, in the release. "CMT’s commitment to Austin reflects those efforts and we couldn’t be more grateful and excited to host them next year."

LIVING HISTORY

Texas Revolution comes to life at new immersive attraction in Gonzales

Facebook/Texas Legacy in Lights

'Texas Legacy in Lights' puts audiences in the midst of Texas history.

A brand new way to experience the history of the Lone Star State has debuted at the Gonzales Memorial Museum, located about two hours from Houston. Texas Legacy in Lights bills itself as the "world's first permanent, narrative-driven, live-action projection mapping film."

The film was produced and directed by Gonzales native John Franklin Rinehart, who used 3D mapping projection to bring to life the story of the Texas Revolution starting in 1835, including the Battle of Gonzales. It is projected in HD on the museum’s façade after dark, and audiences are encouraged to sit on the museum lawn to take in the one-of-a-kind visual presentation that puts them in the middle of the action.

"It's a great experience for our city," says Gonzales Mayor Isaac Anzaldua. "Everybody here seems to be enjoying themselves, and with this, they begin to understand where they came from. We still embody the same spirit of 'come and take it' that they had back in 1835."

The film delves into the little-known history of the iconic "Come and Take It" flag created by Sarah DeWitt, who sewed it from her daughter's wedding dress. Peggy Schott (Fear the Walking Dead) portrays the iconic Texas pioneer.

"I had family in Texas before the Revolution who were there, and I was so excited to join this project," Schott says in a press release. "It's hard to find stories of the women from that time. I'm honored to play Sarah DeWitt and to tell her story in a way that will inspire people for years to come."

A woman's face in the Texas Legacy in Lights Show An image from the immersive new Texas history projection show. Photo courtesy of Texas Legacy in Lights

Most stories of the Texas Revolution focus on the more famous moments at the end of the war, such as the fall of the Alamo and the decisive victory at San Jacinto. Texas Legacy of Lights, instead, highlights the opening volleys in the war for independence from Mexico, many of which took place in and around Gonzales.

"One hundred years from now," Mayor Anzaldua says, "our community will look back and see how we continued to embody the Come and Take It spirit — a spirit of determination, love, and peace. To know that we share a part in shaping the future of our great city is exciting and very rewarding."

The outdoor presentation runs Tuesday-Sunday at 8:25 pm and 9:15 pm at the Gonzales Memorial Museum (414 Smith St). Screenings are free and open to the public. Watch the trailer for the film here:

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