CMA Touring Awards: Luke Combs’ Crew Celebrates Wins, Ben Farrell Honored
Keith Urban hosts “The 19th Annual CMA Touring Awards.” Photo: John Russell/CMA
On Monday (March 3), the Country Music Association hosted its annual CMA Touring Awards at Marathon Music Works in Nashville. The event, emceed by Keith Urban, honored the leading professionals in country music touring with awards in 20 different categories.
Alongside industry executives, crews and families, several artists attended the event to support their nominated team members. Luke Combs, Kenny Chesney, Caylee Hammack and Old Dominion were among those who joined the celebration to honor the hard work and dedication of their touring teams.
Luke Combs’ “Growin’ Up And Gettin’ Old Tour” Crew accepts the award for Crew of the Year at “The 19th Annual CMA Touring Awards.” Photo: John Russell/CMA
The biggest winner of the night was Combs whose “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” team managed to accrue a whopping seven of the 20 awards, including Lighting Director, Tour Video Director, Tour Videographer/Photographer, Front of House Engineer, Monitor Engineer and Tour Manager of the Year, prompting Urban to jokingly refer to the event as “The Luke Combs Touring Awards,” warning other crews in the crowd to watch out if they were in the same category.
Keeping with the theme, Combs’ team also took home the night’s most prestigious award, Crew of the Year. “This is one of the coolest nights of my career, and I mean that very sincerely. Over the years I have played so many incredible shows and been to so many incredible places and none of that would have been possible without these guys,” shared Combs.
He continued, “I feel like an outsider in this room in the best way possible. I have one percent of the talent that you guys have. From putting on these shows, climbing up in the rafters, programming the lights, running the sound, working out the logistics—I honestly owe everything I have to you guys. From every artist in country music I want to say a sincere thank you to everyone here tonight.”
The late Ben Farrell was honored with the 2024 CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award at the 19th CMA Touring Awards. Photo: John Russell/CMA
Other big wins of the night included Morris Higham’s Clint Higham who took home the award for Manager of the Year, The Neal Agency’s Austin Neal as Talent Agent of the Year, Sacks & Co.’s Carla Sacks as Publicist of the Year and Charlie Worsham who received Touring Musician of the Year.
At the end of the night, CMA posthumously honored promoter Ben Farrell with the Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is given to an individual who has positively impacted and contributed to the growth of touring in country music and has proven to have a historical impact on fans and the industry alike.
Farrell dedicated 52 years of his life to the country music industry. Throughout his career, he played a pivotal role in shaping the live music landscape, working with legendary artists such as Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson and George Strait.
Higham presented the award to Farrell’s wife, Autumn Farrell, and daughter, Ella Farrell, alongside Jim Varnell. Farrell is only the seventh person to receive this award.
Full List of CMA Touring Awards Winners:
Business Manager of the Year: Julie Boos (Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy Inc.)
Coach/Truck Driver of the Year: Wendy Holt (Lainey Wilson)
Venue of the Year: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville
Publicist of the Year: Carla Sacks (Sacks & Co.)
Lighting Director of the Year: Kevin Northrup (Luke Combs)
Tour Video Director of the Year: Tyler Hutcheson (Luke Combs)
Tour Videographer/Photographer of the Year: Andy Barron (Luke Combs)
Talent Agent of the Year: Austin Neal (The Neal Agency)
Front of House Engineer of the Year: Todd Lewis (Luke Combs)
Monitor Engineer of the Year: Michael Zuehsow (Luke Combs)
Support Services Company of the Year: Dega Catering, Nashville
Backline Technician of the Year: Derek Benitez (Chris Stapleton)
Touring Musician of the Year: Charlie Worsham (Guitar, Dierks Bentley)
Talent Buyer of the Year: Adam Weiser (AEG Presents)
Manager of the Year: Clint Higham (Morris Higham Management)
Stage Manager of the Year: Donnie Floyd (Morgan Wallen)
Tour Manager of the Year: Ethan Strunk (Luke Combs)
Unsung Hero of the Year: Robin Majors (Kenny Chesney)
Crew of the Year: “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour” crew
