WHY CMA AWARDS WILL HAVE A GEORGIA FLAVOR

A couple of things can always be counted on at the Country Music Association Awards — quirky musical pairings and the fact that a sizable portion of the nominees will have Georgia roots.

In recent years, the spotlight event for country music has successfully adopted the mission of the Grammy Awards to showcase live performances, preferably with unusual pairings.

This year, the CMAs, which will air live from Nashville at 8 p.m. Wednesday on ABC, didn’t conjure anything as interesting as Little Big Town and Ariana Grande (2014) or Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton (2015).

Yes, there is a One Directioner — Niall Horan — performing with Maren Morris.

But the others are comfortably familiar: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, who just wrapped a joint tour and will release their first album together Nov. 17; Pink and Keith Urban (she and Kenny Chesney are up for musical event of the year with “Setting the World on Fire”); Reba McEntire and Kelsea Ballerini; and an opening performance featuring Eric Church, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Urban and others.

While nothing official has been announced to honor the victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting last month (although the CMAs briefly tried to prevent the media from asking artists about the tragedy), it’s possible this opening gathering will pay tribute.

A few more things to look for during Wednesday’s broadcast:

Representing the Peach State: This year’s crop of Georgia nominees includes Leesburg’s Luke Bryan (entertainer of the year); Rossville’s Lauren Alaina (new artist of the year — even though her breakthrough came on the 2011 season of “American Idol”); Cedartown’s Sam Hunt (single and song of the year for “Body Like a Back Road”); Florida Georgia Line (vocal duo of the year —

— the band’s Tyler Hubbard hails from Monroe); Little Big Town (single of the year and music video of the year with the Taylor Swift-penned “Better Man,” album of the year for “The Breaker” and vocal group of the year; the group’s Karen Fairchild is a graduate of Lassiter High School in Marietta, and Kimberly Schlapman is a native of Cornelia); Lady Antebellum (album of the year for “Heart Break” and vocal group of the year — the band’s Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley hail from Augusta); Valdosta’s Thomas Rhett (male vocalist of the year, musical event and music video for “Craving You” with Maren Morris); Atlanta’s Zac Brown Band (vocal group of the year).

Other performances: Last year’s Entertainer of the Year, Garth Brooks, will take the main stage. Also on the live docket are Bryan, Rhett, Newnan hero Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Jon Pardi, Stapleton, and Carrie Underwood.

Speaking of Underwood: She and Brad Paisley will cohost the ceremony for the 10th consecutive year, so expect their usual combination of gentle topical humor and self-aware hokey kneeslappers.

For live coverage of the red carpet and backstage at the CMA Awards, follow The Music Scene blog on MyAJC. com.

RICK DIAMOND / GETTY IMAGES FOR CMT TOP: Little Big Town — (from left) singersongwriters Karen Fairchild, Philip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook, shown at the 2017 CMT Artists of the Year on Oct. 18 — will perform Wednesday at the Country Music Association Awards. The band,...

ROBB COHEN PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO / ROBBSPHOTOS.COM LEFT: Atlanta’s Zac Brown Band, who played the first of two sold-out nights on May 12 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, is up for vocal group of the year at the Country Music Association Awards.

MICHAEL LOCCISANO / GETTY IMAGES RIGHT: Singer Lauren Alaina is up for new artist of the year.

CONTRIBUTED BY RICK DIAMOND/ GETTY IMAGES Singersongwriter Sam Hunt is nominated for single and song of the year for “Body Like a Back Road.”