Along with host Keith Urban and Hall of Fame member (and Museum Board President) Vince Gill, the roster included Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Brantley Gilbert, Billy Joe Shaver, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Trace Adkins, Rosanne Cash, Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr., Jessi Colter and Sheryl Crow. (Loretta Lynn was scheduled to perform but withdrew at the last minute due to the illness of a close associate.)

The artists came from across multiple generations but were united under the night's theme "Rebels and Renegades, the Outlaws are IN." Urban described that theme in a statement on his website: "The purity in making music on your own terms � to create art in your own way � for me, is at the heart of the outlaw spirit," he wrote.