Mega Country Stars Open the Show at the 2016 50th Annual CMA Awards

Vince Gill’s guitar opened the show in a powerful display of the instrument that serves as a cornerstone of the country’s genre. He kicked off the show with Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried.”

Carrie, in her second stunning, glittering dress of the night, also took to the stage in the first minutes to belt out “Stand by Your Man.”

Paisley teamed up with some of the greats from country’s past.

Alabama popped in to play “Mountain Music.” Charlie Daniels lit the stage on fire with “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” before Reba got “Fancy” in a gorgeous fiery dress.

A history of country wouldn’t be complete without a little Dwight Yocum, of course. Tim McGraw lent a helping hand. Other major names like Clint Black stopped by to kill some time with a few bars of “Killin’ Time.”

Allan Jackson rocked while begging us “Don’t Rock the Jukebox.”

We know we weren’t the only ones fighting back tears as Randy Travis brought the crowd to their feet when he joined the crowd for “Forever and Ever, Amen.”

If the rest of the show is anything like this, it’s sure to be one of the biggest nights in country history.

This article originally appeared on our sister site, Womanista.com.