Coming up December 8th, Carly Pearce will be stepping out on her own to host ABC’s CMA Country Christmas special. She hosted the special last year with Gabby Barrett. As someone whose dream has always been just to have a seat at the country music table, to now be leading the country music family holiday celebration on her own is a thrill for Carly.

“I love Christmas so much, so to be able to kind of be the face of this Christmas special on my own – I feel like last year was so helpful for me to kind of get my bearings of what it even is like to host something that big. And having Gabby Barrett there with me, we kinda were learning together, and so I feel really ready to be able to step out on my own and do this. And we have been working on the show and I think it’s gonna be really great, and also an opportunity, hopefully for country music fans who maybe you don’t know… Maybe they know my music, but they don’t know me as a person, they can get to know me a little bit better.”

CMA Country Christmas, hosted by Carly Pearce, and featuring performances by Dan + Shay, Maren Morris, Scotty McCreery, Old Dominion, Carly and more, will air Thursday, December 8th at 9 ET/8 PM CT on ABC.