Kelsea Ballerini Becomes First Female Artist To Headline 'CMT Storytellers'

Photo: Getty Images

“HEARTFIRST” superstar Kelsea Ballerini will become the first female artist to headline the next installment of the CMT Storytellers music series, premiering this month.

The show will feature performances by the 2023 CMT Music Awards host — including career-spanning hits “Peter Pan,” “homecoming queen?,” “Half of My Hometown,” and “If You Go Down (I’m Goin' Down Too)” — and will delve into never-before-heard stories behind her songs, CMT announced on Thursday (February 2). The one-hour show was filmed in front of an audience in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Songwriting is my therapy, my haven, my best friend, and my exhale,” Ballerini said, per CMT. “It’s the purest part of what I do, and I am grateful to join a lineup of storytellers I’ve learned from as I tell mine.”

CMT Storytellers: Kelsea Ballerini will premiere on Thursday, February 16 at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT. it’s set to air again on Sunday, February 19 at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT, Friday, February 24 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and Saturday, February 25 at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT and 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT. Previous artists to headline CMT’s Storytellers series include Brooks & Dunn and Darius Rucker. Storytellers aired on VH1 from 1990 to 2015, featuring Garth Brooks, The Chicks, Pearl Jam, Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and tons of other iconic artists, CMT notes.

Ballerini’s latest full-length project to release is Subject To Change, a long-awaited 15-track album featuring GRAMMY-nominated “HEARTFIRST,” “The Little Things,” “Love Is A Cowboy,” “What I Have” and other fan-favorites. Ballerini is gearing up to perform her biggest hits on her “HEARTFIRST Tour,” on Kenny Chesney’s headlining tour and other performance dates. She’s also performing with Wynonna Judd, and will appear in the legendary concert event, “The Judds: Love Is Alive - The Final Concert,” set to air this spring.

Watch the CMT Storytellers: Kelsea Ballerini trailer here:

Watch Kelsea Ballerini perform “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” here: