will be missing country music’s biggest night.
The country star canceled his appearance at the CMA Awards on Wednesday after a death in the family, PEOPLE confirms.
The Country Music Association tweeted a statement regarding Chesney’s absence ahead of the show, writing, “CMA Musical Event of the Year winner & Entertainer of the Year nominee @KennyChesney will be unable to appear on tonight’s telecast due to a death in the family.”
Check out PEOPLE’s to get the latest news on country music’s biggest night.
Chesney is nominated for the night’s biggest award Entertainer of the Year alongside , , and .
He also picked up an early win during the day for Musical Event of the Year for his collaboration with David Lee Murphy on “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.”
“Sometimes you hear songs & they just feel good,” Chesney wrote on Twitter. “Occasionally one that feels good says something that people need to hear. That’s how I felt about Everything’s Gonna Be Alright when I heard it. Proud to have been part of this with my friend @davidleemurphy. #musicaleventoftheyear.”
The 52nd annual CMA Awards air Wednesday, Nov. 14 from Nashville at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
