HGTV / YouTube Ben and Erin Napier
The presenters for the 56th Country Music Association Awards were announced this week, and two familiar HGTV faces.
Erin Napier teased the news in an Instagram story early in the morning on Thursday, November 3 with a cryptic message for fans. “There will be 2 very exciting announcements coming today. It’s a lot in one day. (More is more?!)” the “Home Town” host wrote.
The first announcement was revealed hours later when the CMA Awards presenters were announced, and Erin and her husband Ben Napier were on the list.
Fans Excited For the Napiers Big News
Fans are elated for the Napiers to present at the awards ceremony next Wednesday, November 9, and many took to Instagram to share their excitement with the hosts.
“Y’all have done some cool stuff but this, THIS, is the one I freaked out and yelled about 😂😂#ilovecountrymusic,” one fan wrote.
“Y’all are hopin’! Love that more people can see what great pair you two are & wishing you continued success!” another fan commented.
The Napiers also received applause emojis from actress and singer Mandy Moore. The Napiers are big “This Is Us” fans, and even own one of two 1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneers used by the Pearson family on the show.
Ben & Erin Napier Are Friends With Country Music Stars
Besides their high-profile HGTV show fame, Ben and Erin Napier make for perfect CMA presenters given their friendships with some of country music’s biggest stars.
Ben and Erin met country singer Chris Stapleton and his wife Morgane (who sings backup for her husband) at one of their concerts in 2018. According to The Bobby Bones Show, Morgane’s mother recognized Ben and Erin in the crowd and started talking with them. Ben and Erin knew Chris’s photographer and were brought backstage to meet Chris and Morgane, becoming fast friends.
The friendship continued for years, and eventually, when Chris and Morgane had an old airstream trailer in need of a renovation, they gifted it to the Napiers, who remodeled it as a part of their show “Home Town”. The trailer, named Jolene after the Dolly Parton song, now lives with the couple in Laurel, Mississippi.
The Napiers also got to work with another famous Chris in country music, Chris Lane, on their spinoff show “Home Town: Ben’s Workshop”. In “Ben’s Workshop”, Ben would work with a new celebrity guest each episode to teach them some lessons he has learned about woodworking and carpentry. Lane was a guest on season one of the spinoff series, and it was revealed that he and Ben Napier have a shared history, according to Today.
“He actually didn’t have any building experience, but our high schools played each other in sports and so we immediately connected over that,” Ben said about Lane. In the episode, Napier and Lane worked together to craft a custom mic stand for Lane to take with him on tour.
All episodes of “Home Town” and “Home Town: Ben’s Workshop” are available on discovery+.
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