Nashville showed up last night.
The 2026 K-LOVE Fan Awards Weekend officially kicked off Friday evening at the Delta Ballroom inside the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, with CAIN headlining a Kickoff Concert alongside Colton Dixon, Ben Fuller, and Leanna Crawford - four of the most beloved live acts in Christian music, all on one stage.
Doors opened at 6:30 PM and the night was underway by 7:00 PM, setting the tone for what promises to be one of the biggest fan-driven weekends in Christian music this year.
The Kickoff Concert was just the opening move of a weekend packed with programming across all three days. Saturday brings Worship in the Round led by Jon Reddick, Chris Brown, Matt Maher, and Tasha Layton, followed by an Emerging Artist Showcase hosted by Bart Millard of MercyMe, then a Songwriters Showcase featuring Steven Curtis Chapman, Andrew Ripp, Anne Wilson, Matthew West, and Terrian.
The weekend closes Sunday morning with a worship service led by Josh Baldwin, Pat Barrett, and Zahriya Zachary - and then the main event.
The Awards Are Sunday Night
The 13th annual K-LOVE Fan Awards takes place May 24 at Nashville's iconic Grand Ole Opry House, hosted by Lauren Daigle and Sadie Robertson Huff - the most awarded female in K-LOVE Fan Awards history and a two-time Podcast Impact winner, respectively. Phil Wickham leads all nominees with four nods this year.
Fans who cannot be in Nashville can catch the exclusive television premiere on Trinity Broadcasting Network on May 29 at 7:30 PM ET, with an encore airing June 5.
More Than a Celebration
What makes the K-LOVE Fan Awards Weekend stand out is not the production - it is the people. One attendee from a past year captured it well: "I was initially hesitant about a weekend so large becoming too booked and overwhelming to remember why I was there in the first place - to magnify God and to see Him magnified. However, the opposite occurred. I was pleased to see that the heart of Jesus was never lost, from the vulnerability and humility of the artists on stage, to random timely interactions with fellow attendees."
That is the heartbeat of what started last night. And there is still more weekend to go.
For full nominees and background on this year's awards, see our earlier coverage here.
