Watch Sturgill Simpson busk outside the Country Music Association Awards

The Country Music Association Awards were held last night and, as expected, there was a political undertone to the evening.

The CMA Awards had a controversy on its hands when, prior to the event, it instructed journalists covering the red carpet to keep their questions to music — i.e. avoid talking about politics and gun control. While they ultimately backed down from their stance after much protest from journalists and country musicians alike, the issue made itself apparent right at the beginning of the show.

Hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood wasted no time getting political during their monologue, in which they not only invoke politics, but did so with a song. "Before he Tweets," sung to the tune of Underwood's "Before he Cheats," dealt with U.S. President Donald Trump's propensity for addressing issues on Twitter.

"In the middle of the night, from the privacy/ Of a gold-plated White House toilet seat/ He writes 'little Bob Corker, NFL and covfefe,'" sang Paisley.  

Outside the gala, on the streets of Nashville, Sturgill Simpson busked as a form of protest. "I don't take requests but I take questions about anything you want to talk about ... because fascism sucks," he wrote on a sign. 

He also performed an acoustic set for any fans who happened to be passing by. 

The Awards' desire to avoid political seemed to have the opposite effect, making it one of the show's most political nights in recent memory. 

— Jesse Kinos-Goodin, q digital