Taylor Swift Will Perform at the 2026 CMA Awards, Her First CMA Performance in 13 Years

Taylor Swift is going back to Nashville, and this time she’s bringing a guitar. The Country Music Association and ABC announced on Friday, November 13, that Swift will perform at the 60th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, November 18. It will be her first performance on the CMA stage in 13 years, since she sang “Red” at the 2013 show, and her first time attending the ceremony since 2016.

When are the 2026 CMA Awards and how can I watch?

• Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2026
• Time: 8 to 11 p.m. ET
• Venue: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
• Host: Lainey Wilson (her third time hosting)
• Watch: live on ABC and Disney+, next day on Hulu

What is Taylor Swift nominated for?

Swift is up for Single of the Year with “I Knew It, I Knew You,” the original song she wrote and produced with Jack Antonoff for Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5. Swift has said the track was inspired by Jessie, the cowgirl voiced by Joan Cusack. According to Billboard, it’s her 26th career CMA nomination, and she has never won in this category.

The competition is stiff. She’s up against Ella Langley’s “Be Her” and “Choosin’ Texas,” Lainey Wilson’s “Somewhere Over Laredo,” and Cody Johnson’s “The Fall.” Langley leads all nominees this year with nine nods.

A country comeback years in the making

“I Knew It, I Knew You” has quietly become one of Swift’s biggest country moments in over a decade. The song reached No. 1 on U.S. country radio, her first chart-topper on the format in 13 years, as reported by IBTimes and Wide Open Country. When the nominations came out in September, Swift reposted the news on Instagram with a cheeky line saying she hadn’t yee’d her last haw, and promised to see everyone on November 18.

Her CMA history is long. She won the Horizon Award (now New Artist of the Year) in 2007 and has 12 CMA wins in total, including Entertainer of the Year in 2009 and 2011. In 2009 she became the youngest Entertainer of the Year winner ever. Her last appearance was in 2016, when she surprised the crowd to present Garth Brooks with Entertainer of the Year. A win next week would make it 13.

Who else is performing at the CMA Awards?

Swift joins a lineup that includes Ella Langley, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Kacey Musgraves, The Red Clay Strays, Zach Top, Tucker Wetmore, Luke Combs, Vince Gill, Megan Moroney, Mumford & Sons, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson and Stephen Wilson Jr., according to Deadline. There will also be a tribute to Brooks & Dunn, this year’s Lifetime Achievement honorees, and one honoring the late Dolly Parton. Rolling Stone reports Swift is not part of the Parton tribute.

The CMA hasn’t said what Swift will sing, though Parade reported she’s expected to perform “I Knew It, I Knew You.” Given how much Toy Story 5 has meant to her this year, that seems like the safest bet in Nashville.

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Sources: Billboard, Rolling Stone, Deadline, ABC7, Men’s Journal.