PICS: Alabama’s Award, Tim McGraw’s Kids Highlight CMA Fest Day 4

Alabama surprised the Day 4 crowd at CMA Fest, but CMA Fest had a surprise for them, too. The group was honored with the Pinnacle Award, an honor just three other artists have received.

Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry accepted the award on Sunday night (June 11) at Nissan Stadium. It came midway through a night that featured Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley and more on the main stage.

• The Pinnacle Award recognizes an artist who “has undeniably redefined the pinnacle of success in the genre” and has also “attained the highest degree of recognition within the broad expanse of music worldwide.”
• Garth Brooks (2005), Taylor Swift (2013) and Kenny Chesney (2016) are the only other recipients.
• Alabama also featured Jeff Cook, who died last November after battling Parkinson’s disease.

Related: Alabama’s Jeff Cook Dies at 73 

While Bryan closed the show with a set that included “Play It Again,” “That’s My Kind of Night” and his new single, “But I Got a Beer in My Hand,” McGraw might have provided the best made-for-TV moment when he brought out a chorus of fifth and sixth graders from Metro Nashville Public Schools to help him sing “Humble and Kind.”

CMA Fest will air on ABC on July 19. Scroll down to see pictures from all four days, including photos of all artists who planed Nissan Stadium on Sunday.