Three generations of country music legends came together at the
2025 ACM Awards
On Thursday evening (May 8), when the show’s host
Reba McEntire
joined forces with
Miranda Lambert
and
Lainey Wilson
For a showing of their latest track, “Trailblazer.”
Wilson kicked off the show, followed sequentially by Lambert and McEntire as they each took turns performing tributes to their respective music idols.
Wearing identical outfits of brown leather paired with turquoise accents, the trio of musicians performed in perfect unison, their voices blending seamlessly throughout the show.
Every lyric resonated personally with the journey of rising as a female in country music, paying homage to the trailblazers who set the path forward in this industry.
The track also acknowledged an additional viewpoint: ”
They offered me a place at the table / And I’m keeping one for you,
At some point, McEntire smiled while pointing at Wilson and Lambert.
The three women
announced
“A Trailblazer” mere days prior to the performance, they explained that Lambert and Wilson co-wrote the song. When they invited McEntire to participate, she eagerly agreed.
The lyrics namecheck some of their biggest country music influences, including
Dolly Parton
,
Loretta Lynn
,
Patsy Cline
and Tammy Wynette.
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Full List of 2025 ACM Awards Winners
“We wanted to lean in pretty hard to paying tribute to each person,” Lambert added. “We had to do it strategically though, because we didn’t want it to be so blatant — but more like a secret thing that you would have to listen to it twice.”
They also wrote the song in hopes of conveying a sense of passing the country music torch along to a new generation of “trailblazers” in the genre.
Tributes, look-backs and full-circle moments have been a theme of this year’s ACM Awards ceremony, which is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the awards show.
Reba McEntire, who is hosting tonight, returned to perform for the second time, singing “Trailblazer.” The evening commenced with her leading a 12-minute opening medley honoring numerous ACM’s Song of the Year recipients spanning across six decades.