Miranda Lambert lit up the stage when she performed during the 59th ACM Awards on Thursday evening (May 16).

The powerhouse singer-songwriter returned to her home state for Country Music’s Party of the Year. The performance took place weeks after Lambert released her fiery revenge anthem, “Wranglers,” to kick off a fresh chapter in her music. The single is reminiscent of a few other hits spanning Lambert’s career. In particular, she reflected on 2011 anthem “Mama’s Broken Heart,” 2014’s “Little Red Wagon,” her 2014 collaboration with Carrie Underwood, “Somethin’ Bad,” and 2005’s “Kerosene,” to name a few.

Lambert’s ACM Awards performance also comes shortly after she performed at the 2024 Stagecoach Festival in California, and surprised the crowd with Reba McEntire as a surprise guest. The pair teamed up to perform Lambert’s “Gunpowder and Lead,” McEntire’s “Fancy” and more. McEntire returned to host the ACM Awards for her 17th time — more than any other artist, according to the Academy of Country Music — and to perform the first new song from her upcoming album, “I Can’t.”

The 59th ACM Awards lineup also included Post Malone, Parker McCollum, Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan; Nate Smith and Avril Lavigne; Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, Jason Aldean (delivering a tribute to late country star Toby Keith), Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson. On Tuesday night (May 14), Smith, Megan Moroney and sister duo Tigirlily Gold were revealed as early winners. Moroney, the New Female Artist of the Year, performed during the ACM Awards Red Carpet Show. Smith, the New Male Artist of the Year, debuted a duet version of his heartache anthem with Lavigne, and sister duo Tigirlily Gold, who won in the New Duo or Group of the Year category, performed on the ACM Awards stage for the first time. See iHeartCountry's live-updated list of winners throughout the evening here.

Lambert’s next chapter of music follows Palomino, the 15-track project she released in April 2022. That album included Actin’ Up” — which includes the lyric that inspired the name of Lambert’s Las Vegas residency, Velvet Rodeo — “Geraldene,””Music City Queen” featuring The B-52’s, a cover of Mick Jagger’s “Wandering Spirit,” “If I Was a Cowboy,” “Carousel” and more. The former ACM Entertainer of the Year and Triple Crown winner has also since released “Space in My Heart” with Enrique Iglesias, her live rendition of “Carousel” from the 2023 ACM Awards, “If You Were Mine” with Leon Bridges, and more.

Muss