At the 2024 CMA Awards on Wednesday, November 20, George Strait will receive the highest honor the CMAs can bestow: the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. The Lifetime Achievement Award was first presented in 2012 when Willie Nelson became the first recipient. The Lifetime Achievement Award is not presented every year and Strait will be the first recipient of the award in three years.

There will also be a “star-studded performance from several artists who deeply admire Strait” as part of the 58th annual CMA Awards presentation.

During his career, George Strait has won the coveted CMA Entertainer of the Year award three times (1989, 1990 and 2013), as well as 17 other CMA Awards, and is the most nominated artist in the history of the CMA Awards with a total of 83. Strait is also a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is administered and selected by the CMA. These accolades come with 60 number 1 singles and 33 platinum or multi-platinum selling albums.

The CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an iconic artist who has achieved the highest level of recognition in country music. The award recognizes those who have achieved both national and international fame and status through concert performances, humanitarian efforts, philanthropy, streaming songs, record sales and public representation at the highest levels. The artist receiving this award has positively influenced and contributed to the growth of the genre over many years and has proven to have an unprecedented historical impact on both fans and the industry.

Previous recipients of the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award are Willie Nelson (2012), Kenny Rogers (2013), Johnny Cash (2015), Dolly Parton (2016), Kris Kristofferson (2019), Charley Pride (2020), Loretta Lynn (2021) and Alan Jackson (2022).

“Few other artists have been as authentically Texas and authentically Country as George Strait, and country music fans around the world are better for it,” say Sara Trahernthe CEO of the CMA. “As a three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year and the most nominated artist of all time, he serves as an inspiration and icon for many of the great new artists we know today. I am very happy that we grant him this well-deserved honor.”

If George Strait receives the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, that means there will at least be some real country music on display during Wednesday night’s CMA Awards on ABC.

Be sure to follow Saving Country Music’s annual LIVE blog during the presentation.