Reba McEntire and Rex Linn flirt in funny fashion at OKC’s Western Heritage Awards panel

Ahead of the April 13 awards, Reba and fellow honoree Keith Carradine took part in a discussion with Linn as moderator at the National Cowboy Museum.

Reba explains romance of West, Mo Brings Plenty honors nephew at Western Heritage Awards

Entertainment icon Reba McEntire, Oscar winner Keith Carradine and rising Native American star Mo Brings Plenty were the headliners at the 63rd Annual Western Heritage Awards.

And they proved big draws: About 1,000 people packed the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Sam Noble Special Events Center in Oklahoma City April 13 to honor the past year’s acclaimed releases in Western literature, music, television and film and induct new members into the Hall of Great Westerners and Hall of Great Western Performers.

This year’s ceremony also brought back favorite Western celebrities like actors Barry Corbin, Bruce Boxleitner, Patrick Wayne, along with musicians R.W. Hampton and Red Steagall. The latter is credited with helping Reba launch her storied career.

Plus, “Dark Winds” cast members Kiowa Gordon, A Martinez and Nicholas Logan took the stage as the hit AMC series was named Outstanding Fictional Drama for the second straight year.

Here are some of the highlights of the 2024 Western Heritage Awards:

I was honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award this past weekend at the Western Heritage Awards. I always want to be the cowgirl that stands up for the underdog, and that’s what this award means to me. pic.twitter.com/LzP0DXcQ2D

— Reba McEntire (@reba) April 17, 2024

Reba McEntire speaks from her heart while emotionally accepting lifetime achievement award

Reba got emotional as she accepted the lifetime achievement award to a raucous standing ovation. She likened this year’s Western Heritage Awards to going to church and admitted that she had ignored the advice of her boyfriend, actor and fellow Oklahoman Rex Linn, to write out her speech.

“I said I wanted it to come from my heart, because this is such a special room, a special place for the McEntire family, to so many of my friends,” Reba said. “This award means a lot to me. But it’s not for me, because this isn’t about me. It’s about friends. It’s about that, by the grace of God, we get to live in this beautiful country and get to gather here today and talk about the Lord.”

Reba McEntire speaks on April 13 after being awarded the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2024 Western Heritage Awards at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

The Country Music Hall of Famer said she was always captivated by the Western way of life, even when she couldn’t quite work out why she and so many others found it so romantic.

“When we’d get up at 4 in the morning to go gather cattle and weigh and ship them out and then go school by 8:15, I couldn’t figure out, ‘Where is the romantic part of this? This is a lot of hard work.’ But I loved to watch the old Western movies, because the cowboys always protected and defended the underdog. That’s what I loved about it. That’s what cowboys and cowgirls do,” she said.

“(That’s what) the Western way of life is all about: pulling for your neighbor, reaching out and helping them stand back up when they get knocked down. That’s the romantic part about it.”

Rex Linn hosts during the 2024 Western Heritage Awards at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 13, 2024.

Rex Linn returns as emcee of the Western Heritage Awards

With his girlfriend “Tater Tot McEntire” receiving one of the evening’s biggest awards, Linn, who grew up in OKC, returned as master of ceremonies for this year’s Western Heritage Awards, after hosting the 2019 and 2021 events.

With the usual irreverent humor and boundless energy he brings to the ceremony, Linn dedicated most of his opening monologue to poking fun at his girlfriend and 2024 Hall of Great Western Performers inductee Keith Carradine, who played a married couple in the 1994 TV movie “Is There Life Out There?”

The funny bit included Linn narrating clips from the telefilm, which was based on Reba’s 1992 hit of the same name.

“What in the wide world of sports? Woo-hoo. What was that rated?” Linn quipped as a scene of Reba and Carradine kissing played on the big screens.

Keith Carradine, left, talks with Rex Linn after a panel discussion ahead of the Western Heritage Awards April 13, 2024, at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.