Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes Are Calling Dibs on a Date Night at CMT Music Awards

Now this is a date night to be stoked about.

Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes were arm in arm as they walked the red carpet the CMT Music Awards in Austin, Texas, on April 7.

The “Hole in the Bottle” singer arrived at event, where she’ll serve as host, in a red lacy dress, while the Outer Banks star looked sharp in a cream jacket worn over a white top with black trousers. (See all the stars on the red carpet here.)

Later in the evening, Kelsea will take the stage to perform, joining a roster of country stars including Trisha Yearwood, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson and Sam Hunt.

Kelsea and Chase’s rockin’ outing comes a few months after the couple celebrated their first anniversary together. “a whole trip around the sun with my bestie,” Kelsea wrote on Instagram Jan. 7. “@hichasestokes thanks for making me write love songs.”

The change of tune follows a season of heartbreak for Kelsea, who filed for divorce from ex Morgan Evans in 2022.

In fact, the 30-year-old credits her six-track EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat with helping her “process” the breakup. “It’s the way I got my feelings out of my body and heart and put them to music,” Kelsea explained in a statement the day of her EP’s release last February, “which is the purest way I could’ve handled it.”