“The Biggest Waste of Anybody's Time”: Colter Wall Reveals Why He Doesn't Go to Awards Shows in New Interview

Colter Wall has become renowned throughout the country music landscape for just how hard he is to get a hold of. Unlike some of the cowboy-hat-donning acts of today, Wall is a real-life rancher, who famously seems to prefer spending his time working the cattle at home in Saskatchewan than doing anything public-facing.

For example, Post Malone was the most sought-after country collaborator of the past year, with 90% of artists longing for a call to hit the studio with the genre-blending maverick as he made his keenly awaited foray into the Music City scene with F-1Trillion.

Yet when Post Malone attempted to organise a session with Colter Wall, the reclusive Canadian crooner agreed, but stipulated that he'd have to come up to his remote Saskatchewan ranch if he wanted to collaborate. As a result, that duet never materialised.

From time to time, though, Colter Wall reluctantly drags himself away from his ranch and crafts a stellar new record, as was the case with 2023's widely lauded project, Little Songs.

However, while Wall never fails to draw plaudits from critics and fans alike, you won't ever catch him making his way down to Nashville or Texas to challenge for any CMA, ACM or CMT awards. In a rare interview recorded for bull rider Dale Brisby's Rodeo Time podcast during the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, the ’Sleeping on the Blacktop’ hitmaker has delved into why he dislikes these glitzy ceremonies.

Colter Wall reflected, “Awards shows to me seem like probably the biggest waste of anybody's time. I've never understood it. I don't understand why anyone would care”.

Hilariously, after Dale Brisby shared this part of their conversation across his socials, Colter Wall took to his Instagram Stories to joke, “Dale tricked me into ranting about award shows”.

Wall confirmed he's usually asked to attend, but he's never been tempted to go, “Every year there's something, you know, ‘Do you wanna be a member for this thing?’ No, really I don't. Or even just like, ‘Do you wanna go? Would you wanna go and walk the carpet?’ Or whatever the deal is. And it's just kind of like...no. I really, really don't”.

Colter Wall admitted that he knows the heightened visibility of those events would be beneficial to him professionally, but stressed that he still can't seem to find the willpower to make an appearance, “I'm probably being an idiot, because I'm sure it would help my career. But I just don't care. I don't care. I don't get the point of everybody going up there, patting each other's backs about, ‘Oh, you made a record’. It doesn't do anything for me and...I just think I could probably be doing something better with my time than worrying about walking down a carpet and watching everybody talk about how great they are. I don't have time for that”.

Colter Wall certainly has a point about the sheer volume of country fans that watch the likes of the CMA awards. But at the same time, Wall has worked hard to maintain a distinctly anti-establishment, anti-mainstream image, and the fact that he never shows up at these ceremonies probably strengthens his brand much more effectively than if he decided to walk the red carpet. Nonetheless, adding a gorgeously sparse, stripped-back Colter Wall performance into the mix at the CMAs, ACMs or CMTs would undoubtedly be something we'd love to see one day.

Colter Wall performed at the 2024 NFR on December 8th, with a special set at Park MGM with Vincent Neil Emerson and Kade Hoffman. Wall is set to embark on his 2025 North American tour in mid-January, with dates lined up in California, Oregon and more.

For more on Colter Wall, see below: