Well, that was certainly unexpected, wasn’t it? Of course, nobody knew exactly what to expect for the 2019 Country Music Association annual CMA award show.

Even if you tried, it’s doubtful you could have imagined what was about to happen that evening in Nashville, TN, just a few minutes from the most music on one block in the world on Broadway from First to Second Avenue.

That’s where many of the fans probably ended up after the show, unless they bought passes to the afterparty from VIP Concierge.

In looking back, it’s plain to see why Brad Paisley was kicked off his perch as perennial host with Carrie Underwood. As Grand Funk Railroad said it years ago, “These fine ladies, they had a plan.” And what a plan.

The 2020 Lineup

To open the show, a virtual who’s who of country stars performed or had their songs performed. This was an assortment of the young and the old, the new talents and the veterans, the current and past sales leaders who still hit the charts with a bullet.

Who would have expected Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire to not only sing Dolly Parton’s song “Those Memories of You,” but the sing it with her?

We were all lookin’ at country when Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman sang Loretta Lynn’s hit “You’re Lookin’ at Country.”

The all-girl group made up of Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires called The Highwomen, thrilled the crowd when they sang Tammy Wynette’s “Your Good Girl is Gonna Go Bad,”vocals.

And, by the way, Reba’s got it all goin’ on, doesn’t she. Stripping off her outfits to reveal another cool one underneath it. She’s got more than enough sass to match her class. If you don’t like fashion, well, that’s too bad, because there was plenty of that going on from side to side and top to bottom.

Surprises Await at the CMA’s

But even at this point, surprises are waiting. Like Tanya Tucker joining the ladies to belt out a beautiful version of her classic, “Delta Dawn.” Then, Gretchen Wilson kicked it hard with “Redneck Woman” followed by Crystal Gayle, singing “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.”

And there was still more!! Terri Clark let it be known that she’s still “Got Better Things To Do,” and Sara Evans left no doubt that she was “Born to Fly.” Then, to end it with a wallop, Martina McBride, dressed in gold, came out by herself and sang “Independence Day.”

All the ladies sang along for the chorus, earning a standing ovation from the crowd.

Did you guess that the show had a female slant to it? Was it obvious, or is it just me? Women in music were being celebrated with nominations in every category except Male Vocalist of the Year.

And who knows what to expect next year, except the unexpected? Apart from being an OK tongue twister, excepting the unexpected or accepting it will serve for the time being.

Get Ahead of the Game With CMAs Tickets

But we know all about the CMAs and we know they’ll be hard at it even as we blog. Given this year’s mega-mammoth surprising show, they’ll have to dig deep to surpass the WOW factor next year.

The good thing is that we know they will, so get in line and reserve your tickets to the 2020 CMA Awards show in Nashville, TN, where you can enjoy live country music, a shot of smooth Tennessee whiskey and a locally brewed beer with your cornflakes at the local bar.