Maddie & Tae, RaeLynn, Among CMT’s Next Women in Country Honorees

By Annie Reuter

Lee Ann Womack shared the stage with CMT’s Leslie Fram at Nashville’s City Winery earlier this week to celebrate the females in country music.

CMT’s second annual Next Women of Country showcase was hosted on Nov. 4 and featured acoustic performances from nine of the Next Women in Country, including new inductees Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, RaeLynn and Kelsea Ballerini.

On hand was Jewel, who is a mentor for the new class of Next Women. She addressed the crowd and stressed the importance for more females to be played on the radio. “It’s okay to play women back-to-back,” she said.

Related: Maddie & Tae Take on Bro Country in New Video for ‘Girl in a Country Song': Watch

Gavin DeGraw, no stranger to working with the country community having recorded recently with Sara Evans and Martina McBride, introduced the evening’s event before the performances began.

“Our mission remains as critical as ever now in our second year of NEXT WOMEN,” said Leslie Fram, svp of music strategy, CMT, in a press release. “As champions of music, we have to ensure these incredible female voices are heard. It’s time for a change in the male-dominated format, and CMT is proud to celebrate and empower the female voices that are making an indelible mark in country music.”

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