Kacey Musgraves given 2019 CMA International Artist Achievement Award

Prior to her performance at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium (February 27), the Country Music Association (CMA) awarded Kacey Musgraves the International Artist Achievement Award for 2019.
The recent Album of the Year winner at the 2019 Grammy Awards was surprised backstage by the CMA, who gave Musgraves the award that “recognises outstanding achievement by a United States-based artist who has demonstrated the most significant creative growth, development and promotion of the Country Music industry outside of the United States during the eligibility period.”
In 2018, Musgraves headlined C2C 2018 in the UK and Ireland – six years after playing in the UK for the first time – while also becoming the first country music artist to perform at Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. On Musgraves’ most recent tour, she performed a sold out headline gig at Wembley Arena and also played in Oslo for the first time.
This is the second time that Musgraves has won the award – 2016 being the first – and expressed her gratitude for receiving the accolade.
“Thank you so much to the CMA for honouring me with the International Artist Achievement Award,” Musgraves said. “I absolutely love experiencing new cultures and playing overseas.”
In a surprising twist, Musgraves duetted with Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams at the subsequent show, with the two singing Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun in front of a packed Nashville crowd.