Wednesday 11/6 at 6 am: the intersection at Broadway and 5th is closed to traffic and in the middle of the Bridgestone arena plaza there’s a stage all lit up. The CMA Awards are tonight, and the town is already in a “country” mood.

In about half an hour Robin Roberts, from Good Morning America, and Country music star Luke Bryan, with the help of a good number of party crashers, are going to wake up Broadway. Not that this street needs it, the neon signs are always on.

6.30 – 8 am: Luke Bryan performs three and a half songs over about an hour and a half. The fans don’t like the intervals, but wait patiently, ‘cause when Luke Bryan starts singing you feel like part of something special. And it is! It’s going on right here, in this relatively small plaza, but it’s being broadcast on national television. I mean, that’s cool, right?

As for me, I grab the opportunity to see how this kind of show works. The waiting when the cameras are off air and the cheering when they are on is like being behind the scene and in front of it all at the same time!

But what about Luke Bryan? He warmed the audience with a few seconds of ‘Country Girl (Shake It For Me)’ (he definitely shook it for the ladies!), then went on to sing ‘Crash My Party,’ ‘I Don’t Want This Night To End,’ and ‘That’s My Kind Of Night.’

I’ve gotta say, “Pretty nice way to get my day started!!!”

SPOILER ALERT!

Robin Roberts announced ‘Highway Don’t Care‘ by Tim McGraw, featuring Keith Urban and Taylor Swift, has won the CMA Award for the Musical Event of The Year & Video of The Year. I was quite disappointed, because I don’t think it’s that great of a video. What do ya think?

The CMA Awards will be broadcasted tonight on ABC at 8/7c, and I’ll be live-tweeting!

Follow us @lifelemonsblog