How the CMA Awards will keep attendees safe from coronavirus
The awards will take place from the Music City Center on Nov. 11
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With the 2020 Country Music Association Awards set to kick off on Wednesday, the show will be delivered to fans a bit differently because of the coronavirus pandemic.
While the CMAs will still take place from Nashville, Tenn., the extravaganza will not be broadcasting from its regular home at Bridgestone Arena and will instead be relocated across the street to the more intimate Music City Center.
This year will be without the exciting red carpet in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus and although the show will not have fans in attendance, artists who are scheduled to perform, their staff and any guests they bring will be permitted into the venue.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Co-hosted by country legends Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker, who are slated to perform a tribute collaboration, others gracing the stage at the shindig include Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett and Florida Georgia Line.
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Despite the lack of fan energy, viewers will still be presented with all of the winner announcements, however, only 60% of the scheduled 20 performances will air live on TV, Robert Deaton, a longtime producer for the CMA Awards, told the Tennessean.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lambert, 36, the leading nominee with seven nods including entertainer of the year, will perform "Settling Down" from her album of the year nominated record "Wildcard." Fellow entertainer of the year nominee Luke Combs will perform "Cold As You," and Morris, 30, will sing her nominated hit song "The Bones."
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In an effort to keep artists, their staff and guests safe, multiple stages will be used during the night, as implementing a number of smaller stages greatly aids producers and crew in their turnaround efforts going into performances.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Furthermore, in terms of sanitization, showrunners will have each stage thoroughly cleaned and changed over in a matter of 15 to 20 minutes, according to the Tennessean. Which is why there will be fewer live performances.
Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris and more are taking the stage at the CMA Awards on Nov. 11. (AP, File)
Deaton did not divulge which performances will air live and which will not.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Seating arrangements are designed with strict social distancing guidelines in mind and gone are the days of shoulder-to-shoulder assignments.
Instead, a banquet-style approach will be implemented and artists will each be assigned a table for themselves and their guests. Each table will be spaced eight feet apart, according to the Tennessean.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Robert is going to have to remind people, when your friend wins, you can elbow them, but don't throw yourself all around them," CMA CEO Sarah Trahern told the publication. "It's going to be a little different, but I actually am so excited about the fact that all of the awards are going to be live, and the people have that experience of being together and celebrating the best of music, in a year that certainly wasn't normal for any of us."