Heartbreakers Reunite with Chris Stapleton at Americana Awards 2026

The Heartbreakers have reunited alongside Chris Stapleton , for a rare live performance at the Americana Awards 2026. Check it out below.

- READ MORE: The Tom Petty NME obituary: 1950 – 2017

This year’s edition of the event took place at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville last night (Wednesday September 17).

At the ceremony The Heartbreakers were honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and to mark the occasion, founding members Ron Blair, Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell and Stan Lynch joined uo for their first live performance together in nine years.

It was country music legend Chris Stapleton who joined them for the performance, helping them break out ‘American Girl’ and ‘Breakdown’.

As the set progressed, they were also joined by longtime members Scott Thurston and Steve Ferrone to play ‘You Wreck Me’. Check it out below.

Stapleton has been in the same circles as The Heartbreakers for years now, as he was the tour opener for them and Tom Petty back in 2017, as they hit the road for a 40th anniversary tour.

He has also recorded with Mike Campbell since then, joining up with him for his side project The Dirty Knobs.

Petty died in October 2017 at the age of 66, and this year would mark 50 years since the band formed. To mark the occasion, the late singer’s estate will be releasing an archival box set featuring music from their formative years (1971-78) on November 6. Visit here to pre-order.

As for Chris Stapleton, the country music star hasn’t dropped any new music since his last studio album ‘Higher’, which was released back in November 2023. Since then though, he has had some big appearances under his belt, including a performance at the opening week games of the NFL over the past weekend, and a 2024 surprise collaboration with Dua Lipa at the Country Music awards, where they duetted on his hit ‘Think I’m In Love With You’

The post Watch The Heartbreakers reunite alongside Chris Stapleton at Americana Awards 2026 appeared first on NME .

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